Foo Fighters paid tribute to one of rock’s biggest bands with a bit of help from Jack Black.
After a month break, Dave Grohl and the Foos resumed their Australia and New Zealand tour on Saturday, January 20, at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium. During this time Down Under, the band has honored the late Bon Scott of AC/DC by covering one of their more scandalous rock songs, “Big Balls.”
According to Rolling Stone, the Foo Fighters usually summon their drum tech, Fiona Jeans, to deliver Scott’s tongue-in-cheek verses about throwing massive fancy parties — aka, the titular “big balls” — but for the Saturday concert, Jeans had a special guest to help them out: Jack Black. The 54-year-old singer and actor was in New Zealand to film the upcoming Minecraft movie and decided to lend his rock energy to the performance.
Fan footage of the concert shows Black wearing a tie-dyed shirt bearing a rising phoenix with matching shorts, dancing along as Jeans delivers the song’s first line. “I’m upper-upper class high society,” they sing before handing the mic to Black, who adds how they’re “God’s gift to ballroom notoriety.” Jeans takes back over, singing about how they “always fill my ballroom / The event is never small / The social pages say Jack’s got / The biggest balls of all.”
Black — summoning the rock fervor he usually reserves when playing with his band, Tenacious D — led the audience in a sing-along to the chorus. It was a rock experience fans weren’t expecting and one that sent them home happy.
Grohl, 55, and Black’s friendship goes back decades, with the former Nirvana drummer playing on Tenacious D’s debut album in 2001. Grohl also portrayed the devil in the “Tribute” music video, a role he reprised in the band’s 2006 film, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. Black has also appeared alongside the Foo Fighters, helping the group cover classic rock songs.
Before Black sang about “Big Balls,” he found his way to the Billboard charts thanks to some “Peaches.” His song from the 2023 Super Mario Bros. was a viral hit due to its repetitive chorus and outrageous music video, which saw Black embrace the absurdity while dressed in a Bowser-green suit. “Peaches” also scored a nomination for Best Original Song at the 2024 Golden Globes and a Best Song nomination at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.
Both times, Black lost to Barbie, with Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” claiming the Golden Globe, while Mark Ronson and Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” took home the Critics’ Choice.
