Words by Bri Skriloff – Photos by Nicole DiBendetto
The Foo Fighters walked out to a wall of noise at Starland Ballroom. Fans were already yelling before the first note, hands up, throwing rock signs. Dave Grohl looked out at the room and set the tone right away. “It’s gonna be a long night.”
They opened with “Winnebago,” a clear signal this one was for longtime fans, then went straight into “All My Life.” The place erupted. Grohl cut the band mid-song for a beat just to let the crowd take over, then smiled and said, “There’s more.” “Times Like These” followed, keeping that early momentum locked in.
Before the next song, Grohl introduced “Caught in the Echo” as a new single off their latest album, Your Favorite Toy, released April 24, 2026. It landed smoothly in the set and didn’t lose the room.
At one point, Grohl asked, “Who’s old school?” before digging deeper into the catalog. The set never felt rigid. Songs moved in and out of quick stories and loose intros that turned into full guitar blowouts.
By the time they hit “The Pretender,” he had the whole room in his hands. “This place is fucking awesome,” he said, then threw it back at the crowd. “Who likes rock and roll?”
He slowed things down for a minute after that, talking directly to the crowd. Look out for each other. If someone goes down, pick them up. If something’s off, involve security. It had that old-show mentality. He also made a point that the band values rooms like this, saying smaller shows are still their favorite.
Grohl acknowledged the effort it took to get in, the people waiting in line, and the scramble for tickets. “You paid 30 bucks? We’re gonna give you 30 bucks’ worth of songs.” He joked that these days, it barely covers a fast-food run. He asked how many people had seen them before and how many were seeing them for the first time, joking that some younger fans might have missed the last tour because they were six months old.
Band intros were loose and quick. He mentioned how deep their catalog is, around 190 songs, then pushed the crowd. “You want a short set? Or you want two hours… two fifteen… two thirty?” The answer was obvious.
From there, it just rolled. “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” kept the crowd locked in while still leaning into the band’s core catalog. At one point, he stopped and admitted he’d gotten so caught up that he’d forgotten to introduce the drummer, which fit the feel of the night.
The crowd itself was a mix of all ages. Energy stayed high, though a few people got pulled out after things got too rough. Plenty of fans were still holding onto limited posters, trying not to wreck them in the middle of everything.
“Monkey Wrench” turned into one of the loudest moments of the night. Grohl stopped everything, had the house lights brought up, and pushed the crowd to scream as loud as they could.
Near the end, you could hear it in the front row, two guys going back and forth shouting “Led Zeppelin” and “Priest,” trying to place what they were hearing in real time.
Grohl leaned into that and said they’d play one more for the aging fans, something they used to close shows with. They went into “Exhausted,” which felt right in a room like this, raw and heavy.
Without overplaying it, they rolled straight into “Everlong” to close it out. The entire room sang it back.
It’s not often a band at this level plays a room this size, and even less often that it feels this personal. Being there for it felt special. The kind of show fans will be talking about for a long time!
Foo Fighters
