FOO FIGHT: The Reading Festival appearance by...

FOO FIGHT: The Reading Festival appearance by the Foo Fighters was a near-disaster last weekend--not because of the quality of the band’s performance, but because of the crush of bodies it generated. The band, headlining the festival’s second stage, repeatedly had to stop playing for extended periods between songs to allow injured fans to be carried out of the pavilion housing the stage.

Threats to completely stop the show only made matters worse. After just four songs, Foo frontman Dave Grohl announced that the group was being kicked off the stage, which incited the fans even more. A festival official grabbed the former Nirvana drummer and shouted a message to him, after which Grohl hastily told the mob: “Er, I mean we’re just taking a break.” The crowd ultimately calmed some and the band returned to finally finish its set.

* A Glasgow festival on Aug. 6 proved to be the last for the Verve, just as the band seemed poised for a big breakthrough. The group’s second album, “A Northern Soul,” had garnered critical acclaim and healthy sales and the band was booked to open for Oasis, one of Britain’s hottest acts, on tour. Singer Richard Ashcroft says of the breakup only that “it no longer felt right.”