Here’s a story that kicks ass: During their December 13th gig at Auckland, New Zealand’s Western Springs Stadium, Foo Fighters actually rocked the place to the core. That is, there is now geoscientific evidence that insists our Band of the Year generated detectable geological tremors.

As GeoNet reports:

The concert vibrations were recorded as a semi continuous harmonic signal with a peak osculation of 3Hz,  ie 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 cause of the shaking is most likely the weight of the 50,000 fans dancing, as 50,000 fans is equal to around 5,000 tonnes of mass moving(or moshing)on the ground for the duration of the concert.  This set up a nice harmonic vibration in the ground which was recorded in our nearby borehole seismometers.

Coincidentally, the concert had been the conclusion of the band’s Wasting Light tour for 2011. Talk about going out with a bang, huh?