Foo Fighters finish off a rousing July 4 festival

WASHINGTON -- Neither severe weather nor frontman Dave Grohl's broken leg would prevent the Foo Fighters from hosting -- and closing -- their 20th Anniversary concert here on July 4.

Less than one month after breaking his leg during a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden, Grohl led the band in an energetic and emotional two hour-plus set.

He emerged atop an elevated throne, the elaborate seatback of which had the band's FF logo and a circle of revolving lights. Different-colored strobe lights dotted the base, too. Just minutes into the set, the apparatus ferried Grohl onto the runway and amidst the tens of thousands on the stadium floor for part of the opening song Everlong and subsequent number Monkey Wrench.

It was during that song on June 12 that Grohl tripped on some cables and fell from the stage dislocating his ankle and breaking his leg. He did return to the stage that night in Sweden to finish the concert, but canceled several subsequent June shows in Europe and the U.K. For this show, his right leg, encased in a purple cast, rested propped up at a 90-degree angle.

His return, welcomed by an appreciative crowd of about 48,000, appeared cathartic. Though he played guitar while sitting, Grohl bounced in his seat, bobbing his head and unleashing vocals with a howl. Occasionally, he would toss his head back for a moment, basking in the adulation.

The performance shattered the saying that you can't go home again. "I would never have canceled this show. This is the one!" hollered Grohl, who grew up and played in bands in the Washington, D.C. area before moving to Seattle to join Nirvana at the age of 21.

He founded Foo Fighters in 1995 and wanted to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary -- and kick off the U.S. tour -- with a special concert in his hometown. Grohl told the audience how when he was in the hospital he came up with the idea of a moving throne and drew a picture while heavily sedated. "I said, 'I'm not missing this show for the world'," he said, dedicating the show to the band's crew for building it.

Grohl's drawing of the contraption -- a mash-up of the Game of Throne's Iron Throne, the daleks from Doctor Who and a Price is Right set piece -- was projected on the massive stage screens, as was the X-ray of his leg fracture and the video of him falling. He asked the crowd to confess "how many of you saw it on YouTube?"

The musicians have tried to keep a good attitude about the incident, even selling T-shirts that say "Break a Leg" on the front and "Broken Leg Tour" on the back.

Despite more than three weeks without playing together -- they rehearsed at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium on Friday -- the Foos showed no rust and appeared upbeat with their return to the stage.

Guitarists Chris Sheflett and Pat Smear, bass player Nate Mendel and drummer Taylor Hawkins created a sonic vortex that propelled the action. The set list touched all periods of the band's career. Particularly transcendent was a trio of songs from the 2014 album Sonic Highways: Something From Nothing, Congregation and Outside.

At one point, Grohl hopped off the throne and used crutches to make his way down the runway, accompanied by Shiflett and Smear for acoustic versions of My Hero and Times Like These. After delivering the line, "It's times like these you learn to live again," Grohl told the crowd that "these are words to live by. It could be worse." Then he screamed the last chorus to drive home the advice.

The Foo Fighters' set capped a diverse day of music from artists that had appeared on the Grohl-directed Sonic Highways HBO documentary series.

Among the highlights: Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews attacked the stage like a boxer, even moonwalking during the funky Do to Me.

After that, the stage rotated to reveal Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The red jumpsuit- adorned, recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee ripped into Bad Reputation.

Severe weather led to an hour-plus delay before blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr. restarted the festivities amidst a moody mist of rain to convey a blistering rendition of Numb. Classic rockers Heart provided a hit-filled retrospective with the melodic These Dreams and a thundering Barracuda.

Hip-hop superstar LL Cool J stalked the runway, too, escorting the crowd through his three decades of hits including Mama Said and I Need Love.

Buddy Guy brought the focus back to the blues, opting for the appropriate Feels Like Rain. He also ceded the spotlight for 16-year-old guitarist Quinn Sullivan, who sang Buddy's Blues, about listening to Guy as a child guitarist and eventually jamming with and touring alongside him. Guy also name-checked Soldier Field in Meet Me in Chicago, a song about his longtime home which he talked about during the Sonic Highways series.

Prior to the Foos taking the stage, go-go music legends Trouble Funk pumped out a percussive session that culminated with a raucous brass and guitar jam on Drop the Bomb and Don't Touch that Stereo.

The Foo Fighters themselves added to the strange musical brew, with an abbreviated version of Yes's Owner of a Lonely Heart -- "That's for (Yes bassist) Chris Squire (who died last week)," Grohl said. -- and a full length Under Pressure with Hawkins handling the late Queen singer Freddie Mercury's high notes.

"We're the most expensive cover band in the world," Grohl exclaimed. He said he played the song at the stadium as revenge for not winning a battle of the bands contest decades ago at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va.

A massive fireworks display ended the night, but before that Grohl asked the crowd if they wanted to come back again next year. "I'll talk to my friend (promoter) Seth (Hurwitz) about it," he said.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider