Last weekend, as a relative rash of Instagram photos showed (one, two, three) I caught two Foo Fighters shows at Fenway Park. They were long and great, with lead singer Dave Grohl defying his previously-reported-upon broken leg by performing from an absurd semi-mobile throne.
But perhaps the most ridiculous thing of all occurred on night two, when a special guest came by the show. Grohl explained that he’d had a check-up with his orthopedic surgeon that afternoon, who had flown up from Baltimore to see how he was healing. After confirming all was well with the recuperation, Grohl’s doctor told him he could rock Fenway Park that night. Grohl then said “Well then Dr. Lew…so can you!”. Grohl asked his doctor if he knew any songs to come sing on stage. It turns out, he did.
Now, bear in mind, this is Dr. Lew C. Schon:
[Photo via the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons]
Dr. Lew is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He’s internationally recognized as a foot and ankle expert and innovative designer of new surgical techniques and prosthetic devices. In 2012, he was installed as president of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society. He’s clearly a pretty big wheel down at the cracker factory. He is not, however, the picture of a rock star.
And yet? He killed it. In between my bemused laughter, I captured a few mediocre shots of Lew on the big screens:
Fortunately, concertgoer Kara Matuszewski Sassone captured the whole song on video, and posted it to YouTube.1 It’s definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of the White Stripes, Foo Fighters, or just nerds rocking in (and out of) their bow ties.
Do note that the video ends with a fair amount of salty language. It’s fairly well called for though, because as Dave Grohl noted in amazement, “Holy shit, that’s actually my doctor”.
Footnotes:
