Tour news: Foo Fighters confirm two NZ shows

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl rocks the crowd with his band at Auckland's Vector Arena. Photo / Wayne Drought

Last time the Foo Fighters were here, Kiwi fans made the ground shake so hard it registered as a seismic event. Now, Dave Grohl says, they're "going to do it again".

As TimeOut rumoured with our exclusive cover story two weeks ago, the Foo Fighters plan to perform at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium for what they hope will be another ground-shaking concert on Saturday, February 21.

The stadium veterans will precede that with a show at Christchurch's AMI Stadium on Wednesday, February 18. Both will feature support by Chicago noise-punks Rise Against.

Ticket prices for the Auckland show range from $199 for A-Reserve, to $159.80 for General Admission and B-Reserve, $125.30 for C-Reserve, and $96.60 for D-Reserve.

Those shows will be part of the Foos' world tour in support of their new album, Sonic Highways, their eighth. It's due out on November 10 and is the subject of an eight-part HBO documentary series screening in New Zealand on The Edge TV on Sunday nights.

When TimeOut caught up with Grohl, he was looking forward to getting back to New Zealand as soon as possible.

"The New Zealand audience is the only audience in the world that has ever triggered a seismic event from the audience bouncing up and down so hard," he said.

"We played that speed stadium of yours. The next morning it was in the newspapers, I sent the link to everyone I knew. I was more proud of that than anything else the band has done. We shook the f***ing Earth, man."

It's true - GeoNet's seismic network recorded a peak osculation of 3Hz at two monitoring stations during the event, blaming the effect of 50,000 fans dancing.

The Foos next visit will be a chance for fans to top it - and they'll be hoping their new songs from Sonic Highways do the trick.

The album's concept is an American road trip featuring guest stars like Joan Jett and Rick Neilson, and lyrics written by Grohl on the fly after interviewing musicians and celebrities for his documentary. Expansive first single Something From Nothing shows the Foos haven't lost their knack of building up to a killer rock chorus.

Tickets for the shows go on sale at midday, November 13, through Ticketek and Ticketmaster. A Frontier pre-sale kicks off on November 11.

Who: The Foo Fighters
What: New album, Sonic Highways, out November 10.
Where and when: Performing at Christchurch's AMI Stadium on Wednesday, February 18, and Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday, February 21.
Also: Sonic Highways, the TV show, screening Sunday nights on The Edge TV.

- TimeOut