Foo Fighters rocked the legendary Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA to a SOLD OUT crowd on 2/21/08 !!! The Foo Fighters are currently on tour in support of their latest album, “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace”, which just won 2 Grammy awards! One Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album”. The 2nd Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance” of their smash hit song, “The Pretender”. The Foo’s gave nothing short of an incredible performance! The Wachovia Spectrum is much smaller than the Wachovia Center, which allows for a much more intimate concert. One of the coolest aspects of the show was with respect to the stage. The floor was general admission and the stage incorporated a long walkway that extended all the way to the back of the Spectrum letting all the fans get a close-up look at frontman, Dave Grohl, as he walked up and down the walkway playing his guitar and interacting with the crowd! To say that the crowd was happy about the huge walkway, which gave them the opportunity to see Dave up close and personal is an understatement! Usually seats at the rear of any venue make it hard to see the musicians, unless they look at the big screens which most bands now use as part of their stage layout. This was not the case for the Foo Fighters concert! An unorthodox walkway, as it went just about to the back of the floor, but a brilliant move by the Foo’s! The concert was just killer! The Foo’s played all their hit songs that the fans were hoping to hear like, “Monkeywrench”, “Times Like These”, “My Hero”, “Everlong”, “Best Of You” and of course, “The Pretender”!


This was also a very historic concert for the Spectrum, as it very well may be the last concert ever played at this legendary venue. There are plans to tear this beloved building down, as the Comcast-Spectacor sports complex now boasts the Wachovia Center, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park. The “plan” is to tear down the Spectrum to make room for a hotel, shops and restaurants in an effort to make the complex more lucrative and consumer friendly. Lincoln Financial Field is the new home to the Philadelphia Eagles, but also has hosted concerts from Bruce Springsteen and Kenny Chesney is playing there on 7/19/08. Citizens Bank Park, the new home for the Philadelphia Phillies, just hosted The Police Reunion concert there last year and Jimmy Buffett is scheduled to play there on 6/14/08. New homes for the Eagles and Phillies, as Veterans Stadium, which had been home to both teams, from 1971 to 2003, was demolished on 3/21/04. The Spectrum was home to the Flyers and the 76ers from 1967 to 1996. Now the Flyers and 76ers play at the Wachovia Center. The history of this landmark is staggering! The Spectrum went into operation in 1967, 9/30/67 to be exact, opening with the two-day Quaker City Jazz Festival. On 10/17/67, Joe Frazier boxed against Tony Doyle. The 20th Annual NBA All-Star Game was held on 1/20/70. The Flyers won 2 Stanley Cups in the Spectrum in 1974 and 1975. The Flyers played the Soviet Red Army on 1/11/76. The Spectrum hosted the 29th Annual NHL All-Star Game on 1/20/76 and the 26th Annual NBA All-Star Game on 2/3/76. Luciano Pavarotti sang there on 4/5/76. Elvis Presley sang there on 5/28/77. Bruce Springsteen had 8 sold out concerts there in 1981. The 76ers won the NBA Finals there, sweeping the Lakers in 1983. Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Sammy Davis Jr. had a concert there on 9/27/88. Billy Joel sold out a 6 night engagement there in January of 1991. Luther Vandross had 3 sold out concerts in October of 1991. The 43rd Annual NHL All-Star Game was played there on 1/18/92. The Grateful Dead played their 50th concert there on 10/7/92. Billy Joel sold out another 6 night set of concerts in September and October of 1993. The Philadelphia Wings (Philly’s lacrosse team in the NLL) won their 4th Championship there on 4/8/95. Mike Tyson boxed against Buster Mathis Jr. there on 12/16/95. The Philadelphia Phantoms (Philly’s minor league hockey team) won the Calder Cup there on 6/10/98.


Since 1967, the Wachovia Spectrum has held thousands of events. From NHL to NBA championships with the Flyers and 76ers, to Dorothy Hamill's first appearance with the Ice Capades and Elvis Presley’s last live performance at the Spectrum. The building has hosted just about everything. So, the Foo Fighters concert might just turn out to be a last piece of concert history for our beloved Spectrum! If everything goes as “planned”, this legendary building, which holds so many fond memories for so many people, will be gone, just like Veterans Stadium, JFK Stadium (where Live Aid was held on July 13, 1985) and Connie Mack Stadium. Many people hope that the Spectrum will not have the same fate as these other stadiums, but if it does, at least we will always have our memories of all the great events that happened at the Spectrum, including the killer concert by the Foo Fighters! For more information about the Foo Fighters visit WWW.FOOFIGHTERS.COM!