Live music returned to Southern California as Foo Fighters, J Balvin and more played the venue’s first-ever concert to a crowd of first responders.
Dave Grohl might be the happiest rock star of his generation, and as the Foo Fighters played their first show in front of a live audience since the pandemic shuttered venues large and small in March 2020, the ebullient frontman was beyond joyful. “Guess what? Y’all got yourself a rock concert right now, that’s what!” Grohl shouted as the band took the stage at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to close out Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World on Sunday night in Inglewood. And between each of the half-dozen songs that followed, he expressed the same joyous sentiment in different ways — incredulous, appreciative, and super stoked among his emotions. Related: Vax Live concert at SoFi Stadium celebrates first responders with Jennifer Lopez, Prince Harry, H.E.R. and more For the more than 20,000 fans who scored tickets to the vaccine awareness and advocacy benefit on Sunday, it was equally wonderful. At long last, live music had returned to Southern California, and add to that a chance to be there at the debut of SoFi Stadium as a major new concert venue. Vax Live wasn’t a traditional show by any means. The performances at the COVID-19 vaccine awareness and advocacy show were intended first for a taped broadcast to air on Saturday, May 8, and second as a live musical event. Even so, between Foo Fighters’ terrific 40-minute set to wrap up the night and shorter one- and two-song performances by Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, J Balvin and H.E.R., the fully vaccinated and socially distanced audience had plenty to savor. Vedder played first, walking out with his band onto a stage located at what in SoFi’s day job as an NFL stadium would be midfield. After actor Sean Penn introduced his friend, Vedder and the band tore through a cover of Fugazi’s “Give Me The Cure.” “This is a feeling we haven’t had for quite some time,” Vedder said before starting his second song, Pearl Jam’s “I Am a Patriot.” “This is crazy. There’s a microphone, there’s a crowd. It feels good.” The stadium, which is home to both the Rams and Chargers, worked well for the concert.
