Kenny Aronoff played the hero at Sammy Hagar‘s Best of All Worlds show in Cincinnati Tuesday night by taking over on drums for Jason Bonham, who had to leave the tour for an unspecified family issue.
“Tonight I’m going to dedicate this to the Bonham family in England, hope everything works out OK over there, and to our brother Jason,” Hagar said during the intro to “Eagles Fly.” The band played a full 21-song set with Aronoff, beginning with 5150‘s “Good Enough.”
At the conclusion of the show-closing cover of Van Halen‘s “When It’s Love,” Hagar gave a special shout-out to “the man who saved the day, Kenny fucking Aronoff.” The lineup of Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and Aronoff amounted to a Chickenfoot reunion of sorts, as Aronoff replaced Chad Smith in the group’s touring lineup from 2011 to 2012. (Hagar’s current band also features keyboardist Ray Thistlethwayte.)
Videos from the show can be seen below.
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Aronoff replaced Smith in Chickenfoot because the original drummer’s commitments with the Red Hot Chili Peppers made him unavailable. Smith returned later and took part in their final tour to date in 2016.
“[T]he cool thing about this band is that the level of musicianship is so high,” Aronoff told UCR during the first Chickenfoot tour, which came just after he’d worked with John Fogerty then Brandi Carlile, and was rehearsing to play on the soundtrack for the 2013 Jimi Hendrix movie All Is By My Side.
“[E]verybody’s been in so many bands that we’re starting at such a high experienced level… there’s a lot of stuff that you don’t have to discuss. It’s like if you took a bunch of NFL players and put them together, they’re already starting with a lot of experience, so it’s just a matter of making it gel… it gels so well, personality wise and musically.
“And I think maybe that’s what Chad was thinking when he picked me. He picked me personally – he kept telling them, ‘This is the guy you should get to replace me while I’m out with the Chili Peppers.’ And it’s worked – he’s right. It was just the right combination of people.”
The U.S. leg of Hagar’s Best of All Worlds tour continues tonight in Nashville, and is scheduled to conclude in St. Louis on Saturday. There has been no official announcement about Bonham’s absence from the tour.
Watch Sammy Hagar Dedicate ‘Eagles Fly’ To Jason Bonham and His Family
Watch Sammy Hagar Thank Kenny Aronoff, ‘The Man Who Saved the Day’
Watch Kenny Aronoff Perform with Sammy Hagar
Loverboy and Sammy Hagar Perform in Inglewood
Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani join the Red Rocker to celebrate Van Halen in Eddie’s hometown.
Gallery Credit: Alex Kluft, UCR