When the Foo Fighters announced their intent to tour once lockdown restriction ended, people were ecstatic. Not only because it’s the Foo Fighters, but because Dave Grohl and crew have been advocates of COVID safety measures. The band supported VaxLive and required proof of vaccination for all ticketholders, something that caught the ire of Ricky Schroeder, don’t forget. Bet that had the band quaking in their boots. They kicked off their tour at Madison Square Garden on June 20th (with the expected anti-vaxxers bs leading up to it). However, with the rapidly spreading Delta variant and people making public safety a political issue, COVID is still very much a part of the conversation in the US. And it felled the Foo Fighters, at least from their Los Angeles show at the Forum. Wednesday, the band announced that someone within their organization had contracted the virus and for the safety of everyone, they were postponing their July 17th concert. CNN has more on the story.
Weeks after the Foo Fighters played the first capacity show at Madison Square Garden, they have announced they must postpone their Los Angeles concert due to a confirmed case of Covid-19 within their organization.
The band had been scheduled to play the Los Angeles Forum on Saturday.
On Wednesday, they announced via their verified Twitter account: “Despite having made every effort to follow CDC COVID protocols and local laws, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case within the Foo Fighters organization.
“Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans, Saturdays (sic) show at the Los Angeles Forum is being postponed to a later date,” the tweet read. “The new date will be announced shortly. Tickets for the July 17th date will be honored for the new date.”
It was not revealed who had tested positive.
Obviously, this is unfortunate on several levels. It’s too bad the band has to postpone the concert. It’s a bummer for all the folks holding tickets for Saturday’s show. I hope they are available on the new date. I’m sure they were looking forward to this for a while. It’s also a bummer because the Forum is a great venue, let’s pray they are able to rebook it for the rescheduled date. And, of course, it’s unfortunate that someone in their org has contracted COVID. My guess is this was caught in a routine testing. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes they make going forward. I don’t doubt they did take every precaution so how are they going to prevent someone else from coming down with it?
I applaud the Foo Fighters for being up front with what happened. I think it’s important to let people know the threat of COVID and the Delta variant is still very strong. A band with the means such as Foo Fighters could have full time medical staff, and someone still got it. It’s important to show these high profile celebrities taking this seriously, especially in Los Angeles where they just reinstated indoor mask mandates due to the rise of the Delta variant cases.
Photo credit: Instagram and Avalon Red
It’s good to see how responsible people/organizations act.
This is something we will see more of until we get a better grasp of COVID. Kudos to them being responsive and proactive – as we should all be.
I wouldn’t expect less from Dave Grohl.
+1
Yes love dave 🙂
I was at the Foo’s MSG concert and it was just fantastic. I was really sorry to hear about the Forum show – it would have been just as spectacular (maybe more, since it would be a home-town crowd – most of the band lives in the LA area).
I am hoping that the person who tested positive is asymptomatic (or at least not very sick). Assuming they were vaccinated, they should be OK in the long run. I suspect the band is being tested regularly and having their team tested, regardless of their vaccination status or lack of symptoms. Vaccinations are not 100% effective against testing positive, but so far, they seem to be highly effective against getting seriously ill. My 78 year old mother had COVID in April 2020 and is still dealing with some after-effects; I’ll take the victories where I can.
The Foos are doing the right thing here, which is to be expected from them. They seem like a good group of people. Although I did see a joke running around yesterday about how someone getting COVID was to be expected – there is a Germ in the band.
They do, its a huge part of their appeal for me- pragmatic despite their jobs being so abnormal. dave doesnt believe in guity pleasures he openly admits the things hes a nerd about, he seems authentic. Kurt cobain was comfortable with his masculinity too, both called out gross guys in the audience of their shows
My sister and BIL have tickets for the Sat. show; they’re bummed. But good for the FFs for being so responsible!! I wish EVERY venue would have to hold the same standards!
I just got an email from The Geffen Theater here in LA. It opened with the fact they would require proof of vaccination and I started cheering (in my head lol), because I LOVE live theater and miss it so much!!. Then it went on to say you could *also* provide proof of a negative test w/in 3 days (face falling), OR if unvaxxed you MUST wear a mask throughout the performance (Jaw dropped). Well…that killed it for me. NO Geffen plays this season. There was *no* word on if/how they upgraded their ventilation system, and I won’t be trapped in a small space for a few hours w/people who could be carrying the virus.
I have been double vaxxed since late March, but I *still* won’t go into crowds unmasked (and that’s outdoors), and I won’t go into dept. stores yet (as they don’t have reduced occupancy anymore). There is still a lot we DON”T know about these variants, and they are HIGHLY contagious, so I’m keeping myself out of these situations for the foreseeable future.
I know some people, incl. my own sister who keeps saying how “tired” she is of masks (aren’t we all??), will be rebellious and ignore/downplay this new mask mandate in L.A., but I for one am glad for it. I just wish the FDA would get off it’s politicized ass and fully approve these vaccines so that it CAN be mandated by business, military, and schools. THAT will help to start to curb this plague. You could still have a choice to NOT vax, however, you will be denied a LOT more entry into places you want to be.
Sigh… ok. I know it’s long… I need a LOT more coffee!
Stay safe everyone!!
+1000 to everything you said. 👍
I went to my first indoor show post-COVID recently and it was weird and kind of emotional. I brought a mask, but absolutely no one was wearing them, so I didn’t either (there is no mandate where I am). Fast forward to this week and I’ve had a terrible cough and felt crappy for a week straight now. My COVID test came back negative, but between that and the story about Catt Sadler getting sick even with the vaccine, I’m going to be a lot more cautious going forward, even if I’m the only one in a mask. It’s easy to forget that we’re not “back to normal.” I’m glad to hear about people continuing to make tough calls like this.