Published Thursday, 23 August 2012
Dave Grohl, of the Foo Fighters, performs at T Vital. (© Pacemaker)
The rock band headlined the first night of the Tennent's Vital festival in Belfast but the gig was marred by angry phone calls from residents who contacted authorities to complain about sound levels at the Boucher Road playing fields.
Users of micro-blogging site Twitter reported that the concert was audible right across the greater Belfast area.
Some even said they heard the Foo Fighters as far away as parts of Comber, Ballynahinch and Carryduff - even with their windows shut.
Belfast City Council received around 120 calls on the night, while the police reportedly received 20 complaints.
However, frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates are refusing to let the controversy dampen their spirits - they posted a defiant message on the band's official Facebook page, quoting AC/DC's famous track Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution.
A wise man once said... Rock and Roll ain't noise pollution. Rock and Roll ain't gonna die.
The Foo Fighters
Climate, topography and the nature of the music are likely to have contributed to the music being heard at locations situated a considerable distance from it, a council spokesperson explained.
The two-hour set has been described as one of the main highlights of the event by organisers, with more than 29 tracks performed by the Californian band.
Promoter Justin Green, from MCD said: 'It has been a brilliant two days and with almost 60,000 people in attendance a huge success.
"The crowd were absolutely brilliant and the artists loved performing in front of them."