Foo Fighters send New York into a frenzy with intimate, hit-heavy show

Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAYFri, May 1, 2026 at 12:12 PM UTC

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NEW YORK – Foo Fighters' lead singer Dave Grohl has embraced the band's "dad rock" reputation. But that moniker doesn't quite align with the scene at the Foo Fighters' concert at Irving Plaza on April 30. About eight songs into the set, Grohl and his bandmates broke out their 2007 hit "The Pretender." It sent the already raucous, sold-out crowd into an absolute frenzy: 1,200 people screamed every lyric as some moshed and others crowd surfed.

Even Grohl seemed to be taken aback.

"Jesus (expletive) Christ, New York," Grohl, 57, deadpanned after the song as the crowd laughed. "We appreciate the enthusiasm. Please don't hurt anyone!"

Guess you can't take the "dad" out of the "rock" after all.

The Foos, comprised of Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Ilan Rubin, played the intimate venue as a part of a pair of weekend pop-up shows that were just announced on April 29. The band will also headline Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, on May 2. Tickets were $30 to each show and had to be purchased in person at the venue box office. The Foo Fighters are back on the road promoting the band's 12th studio album, "Your Favorite Toy."

A sold-out crowd packed Irving Plaza in New York City on April 30 to watch the Foo Fighters play over two hours of familiar hits and new tracks from the band's latest album, "Your Favorite Toy."

Fans heard plenty of the new record over the two-and-a-half hour set: seven of the 10 new songs were played including the title track, the live debut of "Window" and "Spit Shine," which the band dropped a music video for earlier in the day. Grohl revealed that he asked his daughter Harper and her friends to take part in the video.

"I didn't know she had 30 friends!'" Grohl exclaimed. They were all featured in the horror-themed piece, which the frontman also wrote and directed.

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The Foo Fighters also took a trip way back into the band's discography, which has yielded 15 Grammys. In addition to all of the group's signature songs like "Everlong," "My Hero" and "Times Like These," the Foos showcased a few rarely played songs: "Exhausted" from the band's 1995 self-titled debut album and "A320," which appeared on the 1998 "Godzilla" film soundtrack.

And as if the evening couldn't get any more old school with the venue, ticket price and exclusive in-person sales, Grohl took the crowd even deeper into the '90s. To be exact, 1992, when Grohl released an album called "Pocketwatch" under the pseudonym Late!. The Foo Fighters opened Thursday night's set with a song from that cassette album, "Winnebago."

Foo Fighters will hit stadiums across North America in August and September 2026.

After the May 2 show in New Jersey, the band will headline a pair of festivals in May before a tour in Europe that starts in June and runs into July. The Foo Fighters return to North America in August for a 13-city stadium trek.

It'll be the Foo Fighters' first tour with Rubin behind the drum kit. He replaced Josh Freese in 2025. Freese had joined the band following the March 2022 death of original Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The band memorialized Hawkins at the show. Grohl reminisced about "writing set lists" upstairs at the venue with him before he dedicated "Aurora," off 1999's "There is Nothing Left to Lose," to his former bandmate.

"Thank you for hanging out with us," Grohl told the crowd at the end of the night. "And for those who had never seen us before, next time we'll try to make it feel like this."

Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Foo Fighters rock New York, and the crowd rocked back at intimate show

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