Last night was the season finale of Saturday Night Live and I was tuned in as I have been most weeks for many decades now which includes when the show was new in the 1970’s. Most of my life I have always preferred comedy over most forms of entertainment after music of course. I knew Sir Paul McCartney was going to be there and I would not miss that one. The soon to be next month 84-year-old is still rocking and doing a fine job at this point. A new album ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane” will be released on May 29th. The album was produced by Andrew Watt. It features heavily nostalgic and Beatle-esque instrumentation, with McCartney playing the majority of instruments himself, alongside a special duet with Ringo Starr.
So, I tuned in to NBC at the appointed time and the first thing I see is what looks almost like Will Ferrell the expected host, but it took a moment to see that it was Chad Smith who happens to be one of my favorite rock drummers. Soon the gig was up, and Will Ferrell showed up dressed almost identical to Chad. I laughed and knew at that moment the show was going to rock. And so, it did.
On August 29, 2009, I was at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach to see one of the best rock music shows I had seen in years. Chickenfoot. Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith. I had HOB “crash the barricade” tickets so I got in early to have a dinner buffet and literally get a position in front of the stage for the show before they opened the doors. I spent the afternoon easing into the evening with some early appetizers and a drink out front. I had ditched the luggage in the ocean front room about a block up the street in lieu of the HOB vibe. By the time the buffet was over I ended up in the center in front of the microphone stand where I camped out for the show. I don’t have any photos of the show, but I can remember lots of details from that night. Sammy came out in a washed out OU812 tour T-shirt from his days at Van Halen and the funny part was it had a hole in the front. He had jeans that, by the second song had sustained a wardrobe failure. His zipper had busted so he finished the song and made fun of the situation. One of his crew guys came out with a roll of duct tape and taped over the zipper right on stage! The crowd was eating it up! Sammy had his red rocker microphone stand right in front of me about two feet away and over to the right Michael previously of Van Halen was pounding some bass at a setting of 11 on a giant Peavy bass stack behind him. He was using a Jack Daniels logo bass. Joe Satriani was in another dimension with his Ibanez guitar just ripping runs at lightning speed. Chad who most people know as a mega star with the Red-Hot Chili Peppers was pounding the drums as hard as anyone I have ever heard. I have heard Jason Bonham live a few times and Keith Carlock so many times who both hit them as hard as anyone, but I can tell you the force of that bass and percussion on this night was making me MOVE.
There was a moment when the band cranked up “Get It Up” where at about three minutes into the song there is a vocal chant after a guitar solo where the whole band stops. There is a four count and the song takes off. I knew this from listening to the tracks of the first album so many times repeatedly. I literally screamed 1,2,3,4 and pumped my fist in the arm to the count of four perfectly. I would sometimes do that in my car listening to that track way too loud. You could hear it as the audience was quietly listening to the song and the band had stopped. Sammy grinned at me from three feet away. Chad kept looking my way for the next few seconds. The show went on through what could be any band’s greatest hits off a debut album. ‘Sexy Little Thing, “Soap on a Rope,” “My Kinda Girl, “Turning Left” which was used right during this time on a NASCAR broadcast as an introduction to a race on TV, the show just did not stop rocking. At one point a guy standing next to me on the stage rail had two young boys with him that were about half as tall as us. I was afraid they were going to get smashed by the crowd, so we made sure to keep some space around them to protect them. One of the boys had a Van Halen painted skateboard helmet on and his dad at one point had him on his shoulders to see. Sammy reached out and asked for the kids helmet with a motion of his hand without breaking stride on a rock song with his microphone in the other hand. The boy handed him the helmet and Sammy grinned. He raised a hand towards the crew to motion for one of them to throw him a sharpie. Now imagine this because it happened. Sammy NEVER stopped singing and the band was rocking as Sammy walked from player to player and got that helmet signed for the boy. He bought it back before the song ended and handed it down to the boy who was inches from me. The crowd ROARED. What a crowd this was! What a freaking show this was! The music was off the meter and so good. The band was really into it and the crowd was incredible. I don’t recall anyone looking at a phone or yelling at a friend over the music. Everyone was locked in and rocking! Chad said after the show that the crowd at that show was likely the best on the entire tour. When the lights finally came up and the audience was draining out the door Chad was standing behind his drum kit as I looked at the stage crew working. Chad looked out and asked to the few people who were left “Who did that four count?” I looked at him and smiled. What a freaking night that was. That is the kind of show you wish you could see every night. I still love Chickenfoot!
So last night when Chad showed up on SNL playing drums for Paul McCartney, I was smiling for several reasons. Paul’s band was great and it is so good to see a man who needs nothing in life to still create a brand-new album and play his song released in 1973 on a live stage in New York City in 2026.
Paul even sat in on some of the comedy. He played the SNL season closer with his 1979 song “Coming Up.” I am so glad he is still healthy and giving us a show in 2026.
Long live SNL, comedy, and Paul McCartney. Oh, and thank you Chad Smith for being a part of the band Chickenfoot so long ago. See ya’ down the road.