It's about halfway through Foo Fighters’ set when Dave Grohl asks a pertinent question: "What the f**k are we doing here?"
Many of the 850 audience members present may have been wondering the same thing. What is one of the biggest rock bands on the planet - a band that sells out every stadium date they have ever done in Ireland - doing playing a 'club’ gig in Dublin on a random Monday night in February?
This is no fever dream. About 30 hours before they took the stage at Dublin’s Academy venue, Foo Fighters took a leaf out of R.E.M.’s book and invited fans into their live rehearsal (with a similar gig in Dingle at the weekend, and two to follow in Manchester and London later this week), asking them to join a queue to buy tickets in Dublin the old fashioned way. The smattering of desperate fans lingering outside the Academy forlornly holding signs is confirmation of its ‘hottest ticket in town’ status.
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Listen: May Kay on Foo Fighters secret gig in Dingle
Grohl himself calls it a rehearsal, and perhaps to some degree, it is: impressive new drummer Ilan Rubin is still being bedded in with his bandmates, while indie-rock journeyman Jason Falkner is stepping in to replace guitarist Pat Smear, who reportedly broke his leg while gardening ("Not a joke," Grohl insists.) This is one hell of a practice session, however, as the six-piece come blazing out of the traps with All My Life to a rapturous welcome, fans still rubbing their eyes in disbelief: is this really happening?
It’s a loud, raucous opening twenty minutes as Times Like These, The Pretender and Stacked Actors get both band and crowd suitably fired up. There are a few new tracks from their forthcoming 12th album My Favorite Toy in the mix, too, most notably the title track and the vitriolic Of All People, but tonight is a fan-focused setlist and not merely a run-through of new songs. That includes ‘deep cuts’ from the band’s back catalogue as the effusive Grohl, a man who could teach university modules on audience interaction and between-song banter, promises a lengthy set that might involve missing the last train home. "Is there anyone here who hasn’t seen us before? C’mon, be honest," he asks. "You’re our target demographic. We’re gonna get you before the night is over."
Perhaps Foo Fighters are simply destined to be stadium headliners - and that's okay.
Perhaps it’s this quality that has driven Foo Fighters for the last thirty years. Grohl has never been content to trade off his impressive legacy: there is always another Foos fan to be won over. And although the frontman has been in the news in recent years for non-musical reasons in recent years, there’s clearly no image rehabilitation required amongst the band’s adoring fanbase: to them, his Nicest Man in Rock mantle remains secure (and dedicating Aurora to his wife Jordyn Blum, watching from the balcony alongside the partners of other band members, certainly helps on that count.)
On tonight’s evidence, he remains one of the best frontmen in the genre, too. Learn to Fly is a highlight, My Hero a huge singalong; yet Grohl is also capable of keeping the crowd suitably rapt while performing Big Me solo on guitar. Monkey Wrench remains a goofy explosion of joy, while closing track Everlong sounds as poignant and powerful as it did in 1997.
Sure, while it’s a thrill to hear these stadium-sized songs in a small club, at times it feels like the songs overpower the venue; it’s difficult to make out the intricacies of their blurry homage to Motorhead, for example (segueing into Ace of Spaces from No Son of Mine), for example, while the squally bluster of songs like White Limo and Hey, Johnny Park! sound a little swampy in parts.
Perhaps Foo Fighters are simply destined to be stadium headliners - and that’s okay. Still, as Grohl says at one point "The next time you come to one of our big shows, I want you to remember this one. Because we want to make every show feel like this." You get the feeling that it’ll be a night to remember for both band and fans alike.
Foo Fighters' new album Your Favourite Toy is released on April 24th 2026
