Chicago’s “Letters To Santa: The 24-Hour Music and Comedy Marathon” happened again this year across 24 hours on December 19th and 20th. Truth be told, at press time, Spencer and Sammy Tweedy were playing an experimental set in the event’s final hours. In short, it’s a benefit that raises money for families in need at Christmastime, where they get surprised on Christmas Day with “armloads of gifts” (and $10,000.) Along with the younger Tweedys, this year’s performers included Jeff Tweedy, Dave Grohl, Ty Segall, Chris Kattan, Bonnie “Prince” Billie, Steve Albini, and others.
For his livestreamed set, Dave Grohl pulled out a deep cut that hadn’t been played in a dozen years. Along with Foo Fighters classics like “Times Like These” and “Everlong,” Grohl’s five-song acoustic set also included the Nirvana rarity, “Marigold.” A B-side to the “Heartshaped Box” single and part of the In Utero deluxe release, it was a song that Grohl actually wrote in 1992 when he was with Nirvana and the band played sparsely with Kurt Cobain doing backing vocals to Grohl’s lead. Grohl wrote the song and eventually played it on tour with the Foo Fighters in 2006, and it appears on Skin And Bones, the Foo Fighters’ live album. It’s a very deep cut, a classic to die-hard fans (I had it on a bootleg CD when I was a kid), and one of the songs that were referred to on the Foo Fighters Instagram video as one that, “He wouldn’t normally play.”
Watch Dave Grohl playing “Marigold” below.
