When you hire the Foo Fighters to perform at your local amphitheater, you pretty much know what you’re going to get — and what you’re going to get is an evening of full-volume rock ‘n’ roll. But those amps were turned up a little too high for Belfast residents who reportedly heard the band’s Tuesday (Aug. 21) set from 15 miles away.

The Foos were in town to perform at the Tennent’s Vital, a two-day festival whose 2012 lineup also includds the Black Keys, the Stone Roses and Florence + the Machine. Their set — which somehow marked their Northern Ireland debut after nearly 20 years as a band — included hits like ‘Learn to Fly,’ ‘Times Like These,’ and ‘Best of You.’

For some who technically weren’t in attendance, however, the music actually hit too hard. “I just thought I was at the concert, that’s how loud it was. It was really impossible to do anything else at home,” one woman told the BBC. “It was just a really dreadful situation. I’m not against the concert, but there is an acceptable level of noise.”

“I pretty much heard every ooh and ah and beat of the drum,” added another resident. “I was actually offered a ticket for the concert, but I turned it down as I’m not a big fan of the Foo Fighters, but I still managed to hear the entire thing.”

While conceding that “the noise carried partly because it was a very still and cloudless night,” one local politician warned, “It was exceptionally loud. I welcome that we have concerts of this level … but we do have to balance it with the right of people to enjoy a quiet night at home.”

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