Foo Fighters Bring Joy, Energy Back to Chicago at Soldier Field
By Shawna O’Hara, Editor – Photo by Alina Pawl-Castanon
In their 31 years, rock giants Foo Fighters have released 12 studio albums, played Wembley Stadium four times, and embarked on more than 15 major tours. They’re the proud recipients of 15 Grammy Awards, have their own spoof horror film, and founder Dave Grohl (formerly of Nirvana; heard of them?) has 19 Grammys and the most appearances on Saturday Night Live of any musician.
But when they’re in Chicago? They’re just happy to be here.
“I won’t tell the entire story; I know most of you know it,” Grohl said at one point before launching into his recollection of spending summers in Chicago as a kid and teen. It was at the Cubby Bear where he first saw Chicago punk legends Naked Raygun in 1983. It was his first concert ever, and it changed the trajectory of his entire life.
He has told the story often: in his 2021 memoir, The Storyteller, in countless interviews, and seemingly whenever the Foo Fighters perform in Chicago. He’s made it clear: Chicago is special to him.
When Foo Fighters took the stage at Soldier Field Saturday night during their Take Cover tour, this was astonishingly clear. Though the band has been touring for over three decades, their energy has never waned.
“Hey!” Grohl screamed, running onto the stage and frantically strumming his guitar. He sprinted onstage like a wind-up toy someone had just let go. Racing down the runway extending into the audience, he flashed a signature grin to the sounds of a sold-out Soldier Field crowd screaming back at him with all of their might.
“Are you ready ?” he asked the crowd three times before launching into mega-hit “All My Life,” a perennial opener for the band. As Grohl and Co. quickly demolished their first five songs back-to-back, the crowd sang along to their familiar anthems, much to Grohl’s joy.
At one point, he stopped to point out guitarist and punk-rock legend Pat Smear, also formerly of Nirvana, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“Look at him,” he started. “Look at that smile. However much fun you think he’s having? He’s having more fun than that.”
And that fun is palpable.
Though their setlist was nearly a carbon copy of their 2024 Everything or Nothing at All Tour, their first following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters genuinely seemed to enjoy each riff, each jam, and each crash of new drummer Ilan Rubin’s cymbals.
One particularly fun moment came when Grohl announced that the band would be doing introductions, but not your average “play a chord and wave” kind. Instead, each member got a minute or two to revisit music from their pre-Foo Fighters careers. This eventually led to Grohl taking over Rubin’s drum kit while Rubin showcased some of his previous solo work.
Predictably, the crowd went wild when a giant photo of a young Grohl behind his Nirvana kit flashed across the screen. For those who were not fortunate enough to catch Grohl on drums during his Nirvana or Them Crooked Vultures days, this was a rare treat.
Eventually, acoustic instruments, a drum kit, and a much smaller keyboard for keyboardist Rami Jaffee appeared at the end of the long runway, bringing Foo Fighters closer to concertgoers who weren’t in the pit. The band ran through “Wheels,” “Under You” (for Taylor Hawkins), “Marigold”, written and sung by Grohl and released as the B-side to Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”, and the song they refused to play for decades: “Big Me.”
“Big Me,” of course, came with baggage: its famously goofy music video parodied ’90s Mentos commercials, inspiring fans to pelt the band with the candy whenever they played it live. Eventually, they retired it. This time, Grohl asked the crowd in advance if anyone had Mentos.
Someone nearby had the gum.
For the encore, Grohl brought out his double-necked guitar, which to every Foo fan means one thing: “The Teacher,” a song for his mother, Virginia. The 10-minute ode honors the woman he revered and considered his best friend, whom he lost the same year the world also lost Hawkins, one of Grohl’s closest friends.
Before “The Teacher,” though, came another ode to Chicago. Grohl thanked his mother for introducing him to the family friends they visited each year in the city. These were the people who properly introduced him to punk rock, taught him to ride the L, and helped give him the bite to continue in music.
Near the end came an old closer, “Exhausted,” off the band’s self-titled 1995 debut. But Foo Fighters don’t really say goodbye.
As Grohl put it, “We don’t say goodbye, we just say…” before introducing the first quiet chords of arguably their defining song of the last 30 years, “Everlong.”
“If everything could ever be this real forever,” he sang as fireworks shot from the Soldier Field stadium platforms. The moment was magical; the sky lit up as the crowd sang every word. Before exiting, Grohl graciously thanked the fans, and the band bowed to every corner of the stadium.
For a band that has played nearly everywhere, the gratitude never felt routine.
How could this experience possibly have been better? Well, longtime friends of the band Queens of the Stone Age opened for Foo Fighters, preceded by powerhouse Mannequin Pussy.
The pairing was especially fitting given the decades-long friendship and musical history between QOTSA frontman Josh Homme and Grohl. Grohl joined the band for a brief stint in the early 2000s as their drummer, lending his talents to their landmark record, Songs for the Deaf. Together, they later formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, along with Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and renowned musician Alain Johannes.
Homme knows how to draw in a crowd. At a towering 6 feet 5, he commands attention without trying. His unmistakable baritone can move from a croon to a snarl without warning. Perhaps most intriguing, though, is the impression that Homme could not care less what anyone else thinks of him.
His swagger is unmatched, something each member of his band also possesses.
The quintet ran through deeper cuts, opening with “Regular John” and continuing with “Time & Place” and “Domesticated Animals,” alongside hits including “Go With the Flow,” “No One Knows” and “Song for the Dead.” Homme is a wordsmith at heart, and his banter with the crowd—and his trip offstage and into it during “Make It Wit Chu”- was a highlight of the set.
Mannequin Pussy made excellent use of the early opening slot, tearing through their set for an already-rabid contingent in the pit and undoubtedly winning over new fans along the way. Their ferocious energy carried remarkably well through a stadium built for bands several times their size, making them an ideal opener for the night ahead.
Thirty-one years, 12 albums and countless cities later, one thing was unmistakable Saturday night: for Foo Fighters, Chicago is still special.
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Tour Dates:
08/13/26 – Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA, US
08/15/26 – Nissan Stadium – Nashville, TN, US
08/17/26 – Nationals Park – Washington, DC, US
08/22/26 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA, US
09/04/26 – Rock in Rio – Rio de Janeiro, BR
09/12/26 – Fargodome – Fargo, ND, US
09/15/26 – Mosaic Stadium – Regina, SK, CA
09/17/26 – Commonwealth Stadium – Edmonton, AB, CA
09/20/26 – BC Place – Vancouver, BC, CA
09/24/26 – Bourbon & Beyond – Louisville, KY, US
09/26/26 – Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, NV, US
10/03/26 – Columbia, MD, US
10/04/26 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT, US
11/05/26 – Suncorp Stadium – Brisbane, QLD, AUS
11/07/26 – QLD Country Bank Stadium – Townsville, QLD, AUS
11/10/26 – Accor Stadium – Sydney, NSW, AUS
11/12/26 – McDonald Jones Stadium – Newcastle, NSW, AUS
11/14/26 – Marvel Stadium – Melbourne, VIC, AUS
11/17/26 – Coopers Stadium – Adelaide, SA, AUS
01/19/27 – One New Zealand Stadium – Christchurch, NZ
01/22/27 – Western Springs Stadium – Auckland, NZ
01/25/27 – HBF Park – Perth, WA, AUS
01/29/27 – Bengaluru LIVE – Bangalore, IN
01/31/27 – Mahalaxmi Racecourse – Mumbai, IN
02/23/27 – Estadio Centenario – Montevideo, UY
02/25/27 – Estadio River Plate – Buenos Aires, AR
02/28/27 – Parque Estadio Nacional – Santiago, CL
03/03/27 – Estadio San Marcos – Lima, PE Cometa a la Deriva, Lucy Perez
Links:
Official: https://foofighters.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foofighters/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foofighters/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@foofightersofficial