Foo Fighters Concert Registers Earthquake-Level Geological Tremors

10:08 PM PST 12/14/2011 by Sophie A. Schillaci

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During a Dec. 13 show in Auckland, New Zealand, the Foos and some 50,000 fans caused tremors similar to a volcanic event.

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Any doubts that the Dave Grohl-fronted band is the hardest rocking group in the business have been quelled thanks to new data from New Zealand’s GeoNet blog, which claims to have recorded geological tremors caused by the Foos’ Dec. 13 show in Auckland, New Zealand.

According to two seismic stations outside the Western Springs stadium -- 1.5 and 2 kilometers from the locale respectively – a strong low frequency of tremors were detected at the time of the show, correlating specifically with the highs and lows of the performance. The levels recorded were consistent with that of volcanic activity.

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“The first vibrations were recorded around 7:30pm, part way through the Tenacious D set, but the biggest shakes started at 8:20pm when the Foo Fighters took the stage, and then it all went quiet at 11pm when the gig ended,” Geonet states.
“The concert vibrations were recorded as a semi continuous harmonic signal with a peak osculation of 3Hz, i.e. the ground was shaking 3 times per second in a nice rhythmic motion. There are lulls in the signal between the songs and peaks in signal intensity during the songs.”

The show, attended by some 50,000 fans, marked a temporary hiatus for the Foos’ Wasting Light worldwide tour, which will pick back up in March for performances in Japan, Latin America and North America. The band is up for six Grammy Awards during the Feb. 12 ceremony, including album of the year for Wasting Light, as well as best rock performance and best rock song for “Walk.”