The show must go on

June 14, 2015 1:16 PM

Wherein Dave Grohl proves rock and roll ain't dead. Broken leg or not.

Stage falls happen to the best and brightest. Britney, Madonna, Bono etc...

Some embarrassing, some show-stoppers. Stephen Tyler's included possible malicious intent.

But when the Foo Fighters were playing a stadium in Sweden on June 11 and leader Dave Grohl fell off the stage, breaking his fibula, the show was not over. He had the band carry on and returned with cast and EMTs and crutches to finish the show. Even though they cut his favourite pair of pants.

posted by raider (73 comments total)

Until recently, I wasn't a very big fan of Grohl or the Foo Fighters, but after seeing them perform with Zac Brown, they have grown on me. Even more so after reading this article.
posted by Andrew Thewes at 1:22 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Okay, now he's a certified legend. Well done, man.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:22 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Even the EMT guy was headbanging for a few seconds this is fantastic
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:29 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Major props to the Swedish health care system for getting him out there as quickly as they did.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:39 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Andrew T, I have the reciprocal feeling wrt Zack Brown. Awesome musicianship on both sides.

Grohl's music can be deceptive -- it often sounds simple, but it ain't.
posted by raider at 1:41 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dave has always struck me as a pretty cool guy that doesn't take himself too seriously. This confirms it.
posted by Samizdata at 1:53 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

In case anyone wonders, the x ray says OKÄND which means "unknown, unrecognized". No unnecessary celebrity worship there.

(another fun detail was the idiots that left the arena when the band started playing covers, only to miss Grohl's return and the rest of the show, and then went to media to complain that the organizers hadn't immediately stated that he would come back...)

Bonus Grohl: FRESH POTS!
posted by effbot at 2:05 PM on June 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. Let's not fight about Dave Grohl's pants.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:23 PM on June 14, 2015 [12 favorites]

Let's not fight about Dave Grohl's pants

Oh I guess there are new rules on MetaFilter, so much for freedom of speech
posted by Wolfdog at 2:33 PM on June 14, 2015 [71 favorites]

Let's not fight about Dave Grohl's pants

Could we fight over them?


I'll see myself out.
posted by datawrangler at 2:42 PM on June 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

can we fight about quonsar's pants?
posted by pyramid termite at 2:54 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh sure splint the broken leg before coming back. Should've jumped back up there on one leg, sprayed the front row with arterial blood while using his own splintered bone as a guitar pick, RRRRAAAAARRRRGGGHHH next song. fuckin' poseur thot u wuz hardcore
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:55 PM on June 14, 2015 [11 favorites]

can we fight about quonsar's pants?

Wait, he wears pants now? When did that start?
posted by Floydd at 3:01 PM on June 14, 2015 [6 favorites]

Major props to the Swedish health care system for getting him out there as quickly as they did.


Wait.

Wait a fucking folkhems moment now.

Dave had his broken leg x-rayed and fixed in an hour or two - at the local hospital or vårdcentralen??

No way. No fucking way.

Sweden might be a magical land of bears in bikinis playing beach volleyball whilst on maternity leave but Dave getting in and out of the clinic in an hour or two - I just can't believe that. It requires a level of suspension of disbelief only granted to children, idiots and certain yogurt cultures.

No way. No way I'm buying into this story. Shit, I would be surprised if Dave got a voucher for a discounted Ipren pill at the gift store and a pamphlet on the challenges of menopause in Arabic.

Are we sure Dave still ain't at the vårdcentralen in total anguish and this is his fever dream?

If this act of healing actually happened - AND. IT. DID. NOT!!! - send that djäveln Janne Josefsson to investigate this miracle in the välfärdsstaten and get me the name of the clinic ASAP because I want to rent a garbage bag or bush nearby in case I ever get ill again AND NO I DONT CARE HOW EXPENSIVE THE RENT IS I AM LOOKING AT SOME LJUSA AND FRÄSCHA GARBAGE BAGS ON HEMNET RIGHT NOW
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:08 PM on June 14, 2015 [14 favorites]

I've always had a bit of a crush on Dave, this just cements my adoration. Most punk rock move, ever.
posted by dejah420 at 3:11 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dave kicks ass. (Probably with the other leg, but still.)
posted by jonmc at 3:11 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Foci - not to get you more worked up, but he was back on stage in a cast in twenty minutes.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:13 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

I got the sense that he got the EMTs to get an emergency cast on him so he could go back out right away, and then go to the hospital later for a proper cast, rather than going all the way to the hospital and that taking more time.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:27 PM on June 14, 2015 [8 favorites]

I'm pretty sure that what happened was they splinted the leg, he finished the show, they then took him to a hospital where the leg was xrayed, etc.

Looking at that break, I wouldn't be surprised if he needs surgery to get that bone fixed in place, but give that it was a simple fracture, it wouldn't have taken long for a paramedic to splint the leg. He couldn't walk on it, but he could certainly sit and play, so long as he could handle the pain, which apparently, he could.
posted by eriko at 3:29 PM on June 14, 2015

The main receptionist where I work is this cool 20-something dude who's a huge Foo Fighters fan. I'm gonna walk in tomorrow, but I'm gonna stop at his desk first and simply say "I saw the thing about the leg", and I bet he is gonna flip his shit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:45 PM on June 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

For any Youtube surfers, note how Dave holds his guitar up to protect it as he goes down.
posted by raider at 3:58 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Exceptional week for feats of concert greatness.
posted by dogwalker at 4:01 PM on June 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

So judging from the updates in the local paper's liveblog, they splinted the leg, then he performed a few songs with an EMT with him on stage, then he took another break and got a better cast (or just more painkillers?) before wrapping up the show and going to the hospital for reals.

(And yeah, the arena takes 70,000 people and afaik they had around 50,000 in the audience so there were definitely medics nearby when it happened.)
posted by effbot at 4:06 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: Let's not fight about Dave Grohl's pants.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:16 PM on June 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

See, he turned a show where the audience could have been, "Ya, what a bust - he fell off the stage early on and had to go to the hospital. The show was total shit." Instead it was, "Holy shit, you should have been there. First he fell off the stage, and was all we'll be back. I was all kinds of bummed about it, so he goes off stage, and the band all gets to taking audience requests and, ya it gets to a bit of shit, but it was fun. Then they start in on under pressure after about 20 minutes and who comes back out on stage carried by the paramedics? Dave fucking Grohl - that's who. And then he rocked it for a bit. I mean the show was a bit of shit, but damn you could tell the guy was in pain and giving it his all. Seriously, it was a rock show and a half. You should have been there."
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:36 PM on June 14, 2015 [12 favorites]

~Let's not fight about Dave Grohl's pants
~Could we fight over them?

In them?
posted by Thorzdad at 4:51 PM on June 14, 2015

I had a gig working on a project with U2 when Bono fell off his bike. Now this, just as I was supposed to start work on a sequel to a previous Foo Fighters production. Why is the universe trying to thwart me!?
posted by Ideefixe at 5:21 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

can we fight about quonsar's pants?

Wait, he wears pants now? When did that start?


Of course he wears pants. Where else is he gonna keep his fish?
posted by louche mustachio at 6:10 PM on June 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

Absolutely regardless of what really happened, dude just cemented his legacy in rock and roll history as a majorly cool dude, and serious badass. Seems like a pretty good dude for reals so, that's a nice thing.
posted by Windopaene at 6:26 PM on June 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

Ever since I read about this, I've had Ben Folds's Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head) stuck in my head.

Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline
As the concrete rose to meet my face
Maybe it was the sheer embarrassment
That kept me conscious and standing
As I crawled back up onto the stage
And started pounding out the first song
There was blood on the keyboard
--oh my god

In two weeks, I'll bet he won't be able to remember this except from the videos. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:56 PM on June 14, 2015

Of course he wears pants. Where else is he gonna keep his fish?

I always assumed they were in his smock.
posted by Rumple at 7:22 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

"Dave Grohl breaks a leg, literally!" -- said... everyone.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 7:28 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Joey Michaels: Foci - not to get you more worked up, but he was back on stage in a cast in twenty minutes.

It was the fastest socialized medicine death panel meeting on record.

Panel Member 1: Up next is an American rock singer with a fractured tibia.

PM 2: pfft, death! C'mon, if it's good enough for horses its good enough for this guy.

PM 3: This guy was in Nirvana!

PM 2: Overrated trash. Now, if it was the guy from the Melvins, I could be persuaded to give him a pass.

PM 4: Objection, Incesticide was a cool record.

PM 1: Motion carried, next case!
posted by dr_dank at 8:03 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm not a huge Foo Fighters fan, but I've always been a Dave Grohl fan. He seems to be cool and down to earth in a way that most rock-god types aren't. He obviously cares about his fans.

louche mustachio: "Of course he wears pants. Where else is he gonna keep his fish?"

Quonsar has a fish tank at the temple of foon. He can't sleep at night with his pants on -- especially when they're full of fish.
posted by double block and bleed at 8:10 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

You know all those other bands that just totally flaked and bailed on shows, or just quit during a show?

SHOVE IT, YOU MORONS, THIS IS HOW A SHOW GOES ON.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:13 PM on June 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

(another fun detail was the idiots that left the arena when the band started playing covers, only to miss Grohl's return and the rest of the show, and then went to media to complain that the organizers hadn't immediately stated that he would come back...)

They have a support page on Facebook called "Vi som gick hem när Dave Grohl bröt benet" ("We who went home when Dave Grohl broke his leg")!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 9:20 PM on June 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

Not sure if it was linked earlier, but a few years ago in NZ, Grohl fell also, which didn't lead to an injury, but did lead to a hilarious reaction on his part.

And just about a year ago, they took a break from recording their last album to play a festival, and their lead guitarist Chris Shiflett had to play on a chair due to a broken ankle.

“Its because he’s old”, Grohl mentioned. “When you get old, hair grows in weird places and your bones just break.” Groh did stress that it was Chris’s decision to attend the show despite his condition.

Their other guitarist Pat Smear must feel obliged to be extra careful now.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 11:48 PM on June 14, 2015

(Glad Pat Smear's getting paidzorz, I guess, but still. Oof.)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 12:32 AM on June 15, 2015

Dave had his broken leg x-rayed and fixed in an hour or two - at the local hospital or vårdcentralen??

No way indeed. The national target is that all patients in Sweden shall receive specialized care within 90 days (or less) of diagnosis.

According to the latest statistics, the average for Västa Götaland, where Göteborg is located, is only at 84% of meeting this goal which is average for the whole country.

The only reason EMTs were present was because there were 50.000 people at Ullevi. If Dave broke his leg during practice, he'd be taking a taxi to the A&E like the rest of us.
posted by three blind mice at 5:40 AM on June 15, 2015

Receptionist dude was actually nonplussed this morning. When I asked "you saw about the broken leg?" he just looked at me blankly, until I added "You know, Dave Grohl?"

"Oh, yeah, that," he said. "Yeah, I saw that. It's just that I've seen a lot of broken legs and had to think which one you meant."

Lemme add that Receptionist Dude has the "that is not dead which can eternal lie" quote tattooed on the inside of his right forearm. I wanna cast Receptionist Dude and Dave Grohl in some kind of buddy comedy now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:44 AM on June 15, 2015 [5 favorites]

Skeeter Thompson worked as a bike courier at the same company where I was a courier. I think he lasted a month or so.

That's my Dave Grohl story.
posted by OmieWise at 7:05 AM on June 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dave's a decent dude, for sure. I'm afraid, though, after watching some recent music documentaries, that he's on his way to being the next Bono. And the world doesn't need another Bono, showing up to every doc, telling us how there wouldn't have been a U2 without *insert subject of documentary here*.
posted by Richat at 8:34 AM on June 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

He should have popped a Mentos.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:52 AM on June 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

showing up to every doc

He's not in Montage of Heck (except for archive footage), so him being in all others is perfectly fine.
posted by effbot at 11:34 AM on June 15, 2015

I figured out while watching Montage of Heck that, really, my liking for any given Nirvana song comes down to whether Grohl gets let off the leash on that track or not.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 11:38 AM on June 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

I just want him to do another Probot record.
posted by KingEdRa at 3:44 PM on June 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think the slick, super-corporate, post-Nirvana career of Dave Grohl is awful, although I understand and respect those of you who feel differently.

This is just my opinion, but I believe that if Dave Grohl is its standard-bearer, rock should be euthanized before it rides its Lark(tm) off into the museum like jazz did.

On the bright side, I'm really glad a member of The Germs is a brazillionaire. That kinda cracks me up.

With all due respect, ymmv, my opinion and mine alone, etc.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:10 PM on June 15, 2015

Dave's a decent dude, for sure. I'm afraid, though, after watching some recent music documentaries, that he's on his way to being the next Bono. And the world doesn't need another Bono, showing up to every doc, telling us how there wouldn't have been a U2 without *insert subject of documentary here*.

Richat, are you aware that Grohl has also become a producer/director of music documentaries? Sound City and Sonic Highways are his. And very highly regarded.
posted by raider at 4:26 PM on June 15, 2015

This is ridiculous and awesome!
posted by Pronoiac at 5:51 PM on June 15, 2015

"So I looked my EMT, Johan in the eyes and said 'Well, then you’re coming up there with me right now and holding it in place until they can bring the cast here. Ready?' He stared at me wide-eyed for a second and said, 'OK, let’s go…' I don’t know who was more scared, me or Johan. 5 minutes later, I don’t know who was having more fun, me or Johan."
posted by effbot at 4:35 PM on June 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

I don't care that people (I'm looking at you, Helen Razer) think he's a corporate sellout. I love quite a few Foo Fighters songs and I think the fact that he's kept on making music and being very fucking succesful at it makes him a star. This just makes him a hardcore fucking superstar, in my eyes. And yes, hooray for adrenalin.
posted by h00py at 3:04 AM on June 17, 2015

I think the slick, super-corporate, post-Nirvana career of Dave Grohl is awful, although I understand and respect those of you who feel differently.

coming into a thread full of people talking about how awesome he is and saying something like this is a funny version of "respect".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:56 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

"Respect" doesn't mean "agree" or "keep quiet" (or both).
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:04 PM on June 17, 2015

(but I guess my one little comment, with caveats and qualifiers galore, has the power to ruin the love-in for you...)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:05 PM on June 17, 2015

Not sure what the point of your comment was, Joseph, if it wasn't basically "oh, that thing you like? I'm too cool for that! No offense!"
posted by uberchet at 9:53 AM on June 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm not remotely cool--Dave Grohl is. And that's what I take issue with--a cool rock guy gone completely corporate. If I have a point (and let's be honest, most comments don't, really), it's that I'd prefer if media consumers were more resistant to corporatization of culture, but I understand not everyone feels that way. Even so, I wanted to register my point of view, because I think it's meaningful, and this place has always tolerated (at least minor) dissent pretty well.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:36 PM on June 18, 2015

"a cool rock guy gone completely corporate"

I'm pretty sure that doesn't actually have any meaning.
posted by uberchet at 9:57 AM on June 19, 2015 [4 favorites]

Really? What I meant is that he started out playing in bands, being part of a local music community, and leveraged that community and his association with it to multinational corporations that then began commodifying his status as rock royalty, using his association with youth rebellion and youth culture to market and sell their products.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:31 PM on June 19, 2015

What products is he selling? What are you talking about?
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:18 AM on June 22, 2015 [5 favorites]

i think he's talking about how he suddenly discovered that the music business is in fact a business
posted by pyramid termite at 3:11 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dave Grohl is a back-aching, coffee-guzzling, minivan-driving classic rocker
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:53 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

i think he's talking about how he suddenly discovered that the music business is in fact a business

It's not a recent discovery, no, but it's unfortunate. On the bright side, there's plenty of music outside the music business.

What products is he selling? What are you talking about?

For example, there's this, from Johnny Wallflower's link:

Foo Fighters play a big show at a festival with a Heineken label over the stage

posted by Joseph Gurl at 10:00 PM on June 27, 2015

(There's also the small matter of AIDS/HIV denial...)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 10:06 PM on June 27, 2015

So to prove that Grohl is bad, you refer to a hypothetical example from an article about how great he is, from a paragraph that talks about how he hasn't handed over control of his creative output to anyone else, and a 15-year old article about something the band's bassist once did? Ok.
posted by effbot at 7:17 AM on June 28, 2015

If anyone is interested in another shameless mercenary move from Grohl, this documentary on the history of the music scenes in New Orleans, Chicago, and other cities was on HBO and looks cool.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:55 PM on June 28, 2015

Oh, and this is adorable - the EMT who was onstage with him is in his own band and they wrote a song for Dave as a get-well gesture.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:10 PM on June 28, 2015

>So to prove that Grohl is bad, you refer to a hypothetical example from an article about how great he is, from a paragraph that talks about how he hasn't handed over control of his creative output to anyone else, and a 15-year old article about something the band's bassist once did? Ok.

(A) I'm out to "prove" nothing. It can't be done in matters of opinion, which this is. Come on now.

(B) The fluff piece in question mentions Heineken banners. He plays tons of huge shows with tons of associated advertising. Might not bother you--that's fine!--but it bothers me.

(C) The article I linked is old, but let's be clear: it wasn't just the bassist. The entire band supported Christine Maggiore (played benefits for her, had her speak before their performance, linked her prominently on their website) and only took her organization off its website in 2008, when she died. Of AIDS. After allowing her daughter to die of AIDS because she didn't believe in anti-retrovirals.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:25 PM on June 28, 2015

The fluff piece in question mentions Heineken banners. He plays tons of huge shows with tons of associated advertising. Might not bother you--that's fine!--but it bothers me.

It might bother me in the "capitalism has colonized every part of our lives" way, but it in no way means that performers who play at festivals and shows with corporate sponsors are culpable. Is Dave Grohl also responsible for the ads that play when people are streaming his music on Pandora? Is it his fault if Youtube shows an ad before it will play the "Everlong" video that a fan actually wants to see?

Existing as a musician in a world where a constant barrage of advertising is inextricably tied to the music industry is hardly the same thing as selling out. I mean, it still pisses me off that my hard copy of the "In Your Honor" album is riddled with Sony's DRM garbage, but I don't blame the artists themselves for that.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:35 AM on June 29, 2015

....there are those who think the problem with Dave Grohl runs far deeper.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:34 PM on June 29, 2015

And if I did this right - this should be a link to a playlist with a series of videos of almost the whole concert.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:36 PM on June 29, 2015

Mod note: One comment deleted. Joseph Gurl, you've made your points repeatedly. Please let the thread breath a bit now.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Okay, fair enough. I have made my points.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 2:41 AM on June 30, 2015

Eh, one more:

In an article explaining its decision [not to send photographers], the newspaper shared a copy of the contract that was provided by the Foo Fighters: "If we signed it, we would have agreed to: the band approving the photos which run in the City Paper; only running the photos once and with only one article; and all copyrights would transfer to the band,” writes the City Paper.

"Then, here’s the fun part, the band would have ‘the right to exploit all or a part of the Photos in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, in all configurations’ without any approval or payment or consideration for the photographer."

"That is exploitation of photographers, pure and simple."

posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:01 PM on July 7, 2015