“Dave Grohl breaks leg onstage, finishes the show anyway” is a headline you kind of expect to see, because finishing a show on a broken leg seems like the kind of thing Dave Grohl would do. You wouldn’t wish a broken leg on him, because why would you do that? Dave Grohl is such a nice guy! But, then, when it happens, you find yourself awed anyway.
Last night, in Sweden, “Dave Grohl breaks leg onstage, finishes the show anyway” became reality. Grohl and his rock and roll band Foo Fighters were playing a giant show for about 50,000 fans in Gothenburg Sweden’s Ullevi Stadium. Grohl fell off the stage during “Monkey Wrench,” the second song in the set, but continued to play. Then, after that song, there was a pause, during which Grohl was loaded onto a stretcher and addressed the crowd in dramatic, Grohlian fashion:
“Now, look, I think I just broke my leg,” Grohl said, sounding equal parts disappointed and defiant. “I think I really broke my leg, so look, you have my promise right now that the Foo Fighters, we’re gonna come back and finish this show. But right now, I’m gonna go to the hospital. I’m gonna fix my leg, but then I’m gonna come back and we’re going to play for you again. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He then vanished for a grand total of two songs, during which drummer Taylor Hawkins filled in on vocals, before coming back and playing the rest of the two-hour show with the band.
It’s a nasty-looking break, too; here’s a picture of Grohl’s x-ray that the Foos uploaded shortly after the concert:
The Foo Fighters are scheduled to play the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands on Sunday. They haven’t yet announced a cancelation, and, again–and we can’t stress this enough–yesterday, “Dave Grohl breaks leg onstage, finishes the show anyway” became a real thing. So, Dutch Foo Fighters fans, you can probably expect to see a rock show on Sunday night.
UPDATE: Turns out that that was a premature expectation. The Foo Fighters have announced that their next two shows–June 14th at the Pinkpop Festival and June 16th in Switzerland–are postponed until further notice. Doctors need more time to figure out the severity of Grohl’s injuries, which are apparently worse than they first appeared. The band’s full statement:
As witnessed by tens of thousands in attendance at Foo Fighters’ June 12 show at Ullevi Stadium, Dave Grohl took a nasty spill during the second song of the set. With the help of on-site medical staff who patched him up temporarily, Dave was able to rejoin the band to complete that performance,” read a statement. “While the full extent of Dave’s injuries are still being determined, it was confirmed at a post-show hospital visit that he sustained at least one fracture.
(Photo credits: Foo Fighters via Facebook)
