NEWS
(L-R) Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear and Taylor Hawkins pose onstage as The Foo Fighters reopen Madison Square Garden on June 20, 2021 in New York City.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for FFIt’s here! It happened! After 15 months (and a week or so) of near total darkness for most indoor American concert venues, the lights are back on. Last weekend, the Foo Fighters sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden at full capacity, indoors, in person.
The band sold 15,371 tickets, grossing over $1.4 million on their June 20 comeback performance, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. “Full capacity” can deceptively vary from arena to arena and from show to show, but there is no debating the Foo Fighters’ status. Across 662 shows reported since 2015, MSG’s average cap is 15,140, a couple hundred seats less than Saturday’s show.
While it may feel shocking to have full-fledged arena shows back in action, it is no surprise that Dave Grohl & co. posted such strong numbers. Dating back to 1995, the Foo Fighters have grossed a reported $209.7 million and sold 3.38 million tickets across 300 (exactly) headline shows.
Sunday's return marked the band’s fourth trip to the Garden, and their 10th report of a New York show throughout their career. (Billboard Boxscore may only have reports for a portion of the act’s tour history.)
They started out in relatively humble fashion with an Aug. 13, 1995 performance at The Academy, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,600 fans who each spent somewhere between $10 and $12.50 for a ticket. The Academy led to Roseland Ballroom, Hammerstein Ballroom and the Beacon Theatre before the Foos took on MSG for the first time in 2008.
The Foo Fighters hit a career high with a double-header in 2018, grossing $2.7 million from 31,000 tickets sold. But on a per-show basis, the June 20, 2021 concert edges it out as the band’s biggest NYC show yet.
The last report from Madison Square Garden was a sold-out show for The Brothers on March 10, 2020. The next scheduled act at the venue is the Eagles on Aug. 22 and 24, followed by Banda MS and Dan + Shay in September.
The Foo Fighters will hit the road again with six shows from July 28 - Aug. 9. They, and many others, are just getting started.
Faith No More appear to be hinting at a return to the stage in 2027.
The influential alt-metal band have remained mostly quiet over the past decade following the release of their reunion album ‘Sol Invictus’ in 2015. After its arrival, they played what would become their most recent live performances in 2016 and later called off several touring plans in the years that followed.
Now, however, they seem to be preparing fans for something new. The group recently shared an image of a concert crowd on social media with nothing more than the text “2027” placed across it.
No additional information accompanied the post, but it quickly sparked speculation among fans, many of whom believe a full scale tour announcement could be coming next year.
After wrapping up their 2016 run of shows, the band intended to return to the road in 2020. Those plans were ultimately abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further touring plans surfaced in 2021 as venues began reopening, but those dates were also cancelled before they could begin. Frontman Mike Patton later explained that mental health struggles were behind the decision and revealed he had been diagnosed with agoraphobia during the pandemic.
Until recently, a reunion seemed unlikely. Patton spoke about Faith No More’s lengthy break and said that he did not “see it as a sad thing”.
Speaking on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast and reflecting on whether he felt a “sense of closure” after the 2016 tour, the vocalist said: “I didn’t really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe. I think that we all kind of felt it, but it was unspoken.”
“It’s funny: when you’ve been in a band or a musical situation for a period of time, you always, in the back of your head, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is it.’ And I don’t mind that feeling,” he added. “I don’t see it as a sad thing. I see it as being present and being able to really appreciate it while it’s happening.”
Faith No More have never formally announced a breakup following the cancellation of their 2021 tour, although other members have suggested in recent years that the chances of touring again were uncertain.
Last year, guitarist Roddy Bottum discussed the band's future and admitted they were in a “really weird spot”. “I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people… and I’m in the band,” he said.
Drummer Mike Bordin echoed similar thoughts last spring, saying that he and some of the other members were willing to perform again, but claimed Patton was “unwilling to do shows with us”.
In addition to leading Faith No More since 1989 after replacing original singer Chuck Mosley, Patton has also been involved with projects including Mr Bungle, Fantômas, and Tomahawk.
Tomahawk recently unveiled plans for their first tour in 13 years, with a series of US dates scheduled for this summer. The run begins in Nashville next month and will also see Patton and his bandmates reunite with longtime labelmates Melvins for the first time since 2003.
Patton has also recently launched his tour with Avett Brothers and teamed up with Jehnny Beth on the new single ‘Look At Me’.
