Foo Fighters performed the first show back at Madison Square Garden (MSG) and made New York and music history as they welcomed vaccinated fans back to the iconic venue on June 20 for the first 100% capacity concert in a New York arena since March 2020.
The three hour long, sold out show with no opening act marked Madison Square Garden’s first concert in more than 460 days in yet another resounding endorsement of the return of live music. The last full capacity show at MSG was The Brothers, which celebrated the Allman Brothers Band music on March 10, 2020. Since then, limited capacity events like Knicks games have taken place at the arena.
Despite anti-vax protests, MSG required a vaccination check for entry at the show, mainly the Excelsior Pass, the NYC-only digital “passport” that provides proof of vaccination. The venue allowed attendees to mask up at their own discretion. For children under 16, a negative COVID-19 test paired with an ID could, and can, suffice in place of a vaccine passport.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for over a year,” said Dave Grohl. “And Madison Square Garden is going to feel that HARD. New York, get ready for a long ass night of screaming our heads off together to 26 years of Foos.”
Dave Chapelle joined the band to sing a cover of “Creep” by Radiohead. Other covers of the night include “Somebody to Love” by Queen and as a sneak peek for the new Foo Fighters Record Store Day album, they offered a cover of “You Should Be Dancing” off Hail Satin, due on July 17, a satirical take on The Bee Gees.
The 12 time Grammy Award-winning band, sold tens of millions of records and created anthems, their globally anticipated 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, was released February 5, preceded by the chart-topping groove of “Shame Shame,” the brain-rattling “No Son of Mine,” and the epic swell of “Waiting on a War.” Since 1995, the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee have held the title of the last great American arena/stadium rock band.
Foo Fighters first headlined a sold-out Garden in February 2008 on their “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” tour, returning to rock the venue for another sell-out show in November 2011 on the “Wasting Light” tour. Most recently, the band sold-out two nights at The World’s Most Famous Arena in July 2018, on their “Concrete and Gold” tour. The announcement of the June 20 MSG show follows the news of Foo Fighters’ first six U.S. dates on their “25th 26th Anniversary” tour taking place later this summer.
The June 20 Foo Fighters show, along with other recently announced shows across MSG Entertainment’s venues, are part of the company’s efforts to restart New York, which also include two sold-out events this month – the closing night of Tribeca Festival featuring “Untitled: Dave Chappelle Documentary” at Radio City Music Hall on June 19 and “Two Evenings With Trey Anastasio” at the Beacon Theatre on June 22-23.
Foo Fighters – Madison Square Garden (MSG) – June 20, 2021
Setlist: Times Like These, The Pretender, Learn to Fly, No Son of Mine, The Sky Is a Neighborhood, Shame Shame, Rope, Run, My Hero, These Days, Medicine at Midnight, Walk, Somebody to Love (Queen cover with Taylor Hawkins on lead), Monkey Wrench, Arlandria, Breakout, Creep (Radiohead cover with Dave Chappelle), All My Life, Aurora, This Is A Call, Best of You
Encore: Making a Fire, You Should Be Dancing (Bee Gees cover), Everlong
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