Dave Grohl Grants Birthday Wish, Invites Fan to Drum With Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl, sitting atop his guitar throne, deigned to grant an 18-year-old fan's birthday wish at a recent Toronto gig, inviting him onstage to drum with the Foo Fighters during a performance of "Big Me."

Grohl welcomed the lucky drummer boy, Anthony Bifolchi, after spotting his sign, which asked, "It's my birthday, can I play drums?" The frontman, however, also gave Bifolchi fair warning and cracked: "If you suck on the drums, I will personally tar and feather your ass backstage."

After dismissing Bifolchi's request to play "Best of You" — "That's the last one we're gonna play tonight, ding dong!" — Grohl commanded a rendition of "Big Me" off the Foo's 1995 self-titled debut. Though again, Grohl cautioned, "It's the easiest one. If you fuck this up, you're gonna look like a total fucking asshole."

Despite Grohl's cheeky threats, and nearly bringing the song to a close too early, Bifolchi held his own throughout the performance, finishing with a bombastic drum fill for good measure. On Reddit, Bifolchi answered a handful of questions about the experience, writing, "I was just thinking, 'Don't drop your stick. Please don't drop your stick.' Thank god I didn't."

The Foo Fighters will continue to tour in support of their 2014 album Sonic Highways throughout the summer and fall. The band was forced to cancel a handful of recent European dates after Grohl broke his leg in Gothenburg, Sweden while, as he wrote, making a "mad dash to the right of the stage during 'Monkey Wrench' to shred some tasty licks for the kids up front."

Despite the injury, Grohl finished that gig, but did not play again until the Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary homecoming concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. three weeks later. Since then, Grohl has performed while perched atop a giant throne, outfitted with guitar necks and speakers, and built by the band's road crew based on a design he drew while in the hospital.