It felt like the 2003 Summer Festival season all over again in Toronto last night, as the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age hit the massive Rogers Stadium to kick off their 2026 North American tour.
After two cancelled tours – one (the 25th anniversary “Van Tour”) due to COVID-19, and their 2022 tour after the untimely passing of Taylor Hawkins – it was the Foo’s first show in the city in some 8 years.
Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy opened things up, immediately setting a raucous vibe with a far-too-short 30 minute set as the sun beamed down. It was my first time seeing the group, who were a hit at Meredith Music Festival in 2024, and I loved their sound and energy. In particular, the powerful and droney “I Don’t Know” stuck with me. They definitely won over more than a few Foo and Queens fans here tonight. And had a few of their own fans singing along, too.
Unlike the Foos, Queens of the Stone Age have been no strangers to these shores in recent years. Their incredible Catacombs theatre tour took them to Toronto’s historic Massey Hall, which was one of my favourite shows last summer. They also embarked on a regional Canadian tour in 2024. Nonetheless, fans poured into the venue in time for their 6.30pm set. And they did not disappoint.
Era Vulgaris’ “Misfit Love” opened things up, in what was their first performance of the song in 2026, before they ran through almost a dozen fan favourite tracks and hit singles. Lullabies to Paralyze‘s “In My Head” came second, which saw the only notable tech issue of the night – with Josh’s vocal mic not working at its start. But things pushed on and the night ran without a hitch from there.
After their special, stripped back theatre shows last year, seeing them back and rocking in the sun was a delight. And as Josh and co roasted, “My God Is The Sun” proved an appropriate inclusion.
Josh welcomed everyone to the show, with his usual swagger, and apologised for drinking tequila in the sun, as “he’s not supposed to”. Which may allude to his health problems in years past – or could have just been him being facetious. Either way, he was having a great time. The whole band seemed to be, too, with bassist Mikey Shoes fitting in plenty of high kicks along the way.
“Make It Wit Chu” and “Little Sister” were as good as ever, with all that amazing cowbell on the latter still getting everyone moving. More than half the set came from their 2013 and 2002 blockbuster records ..Like Clockwork and Songs for the Deaf, with the set closing with a trio of tracks from the latter – “Go With the Flow”, “No One Knows” and “A Song for the Dead”, which kept all the fans happy, including this one.
Setlist: Queens of the Stone Age
Misfit Love
In My Head
My God Is the Sun
I Sat by the Ocean
If I Had a Tail
Emotion Sickness
Make It Wit Chu
Little Sister
Go With the Flow
No One Knows
A Song for the Dead
I last caught the Foo Fighters in Los Angeles in 2024, so while I didn’t personally have the same wait that a lot of Torontonians had to endure, the anticipation of them hitting the stage was nonetheless palpable.
The crowd roared as red flares were let off on top of the stage, and frontman Dave Grohl teared down the catwalk, while the five fighters of Foo got into position behind him right on time.
“All My Life”, one of the band’s biggest anthems, kicked things off, before a run of singles, “The Pretender”, “Times Like These” and “Rope”. Dave then dedicated “Stacked Actors” from 1999’s There Is Nothing Left To Lose, to the “old school motherfuckers” in the audience, before jumping into 1997’s “My Hero” and 1999’s “Learn to Fly” kept that classic Foos era going.
“This is the first show of the North American tour, I fucking love this shit” he told the crowd, with a grin on his face. And he reflected on the band’s time in Toronto over the years, saying, “we’ve been coming to this place for a long time… 31 years.” Dave did try to keep banter to a minimum, however, saying, “… (you want us to play) all night long? Lionel Richie all night long? We’ll play as long as we can until they kick us off. We’ll play song after song. I won’t talk otherwise we’ll be here all night. I’ve already had a couple of beers and whiskeys and I could talk all night.”
I for one wouldn’t complain if he did, but the show that followed was a parade of their greatest hits. I do wish they played more of the new material, however. “Caught In The Echo” was the only song off their brilliant new album, and only went on to prove how good those tracks would be live. But I know I’m in the minority there. As Dave himself said on stage, after an eight year absence, “we know we gotta play songs from every album…”. And they did just that, with 11 of their 12 full length records a part of the setlist. Only Sonic Highways missed out. They even included a gem from the Skin and Bones live album, “Marigold”. Dave’s acoustic song from the Nirvana years has returned to the set this year for the first time since 2010.
“This is a Call” became the first jam session of the night, leading right into the brilliant “No Son Of Mine”, which is a favourite of their newer material. They also fit in a “Ace of Spades” interlude as they dedicated the track to Motörhead’s late great frontman Lemmy.
Later in the night, “Aurora” was dedicated to Taylor Hawkins, as they’ve been doing for some time; the There Is Nothing Left to Lose track was one of his favourites. “Under You”, meanwhile, which closed out their four song B-Stage set, was dedicated to Taylor’s son Shane, whose birthday was the same day. That track off of 2023’s But Here We Are was about processing the loss of Hawkins as well as Dave’s mother, who both passed in 2022.
The “B-Stage” was located at the end of the catwalk, giving them a chance to do some stripped back versions of the aformentioned “Marigold”, as well as their first single “Big Me”, as Dave reflected on the Mento’s commercial parody they filmed in Australia. That portion of the set opened with “Wheels”, the single from their Greatest Hits release that Dave reminded us was “only big in Germany”, but received a decent singalong here all the same. Much to Dave’s glee, telling the crowd “you guys sound as good as Germany”.
As they returned to the full electric band mode on the main stage, the stage set up had changed to look like a warehouse, and they played two tracks off of 2017’s Concrete and Gold. “La Dee Da”, which had a great Pat Smear solo, and “Run”, which saw their new drummer Ilan Rubin get a solo of his own, as Dave got the crowd jumping.
A great moment of this tour sees each member of the Foo Fighters play a song they worked on in their past lives, with archival videos and photos from those projects playing on the screen behind them.
Chris Shiflett got to play the No Use For A Name track “Invincible”, and Nate Mendel played “Seven” from his band Sunny Day Real Estate, who Dave called “the best band in Seattle”, and said the song was a treat for “you Warped Tour motherfuckers” in the crowd. Rami Jaffee played “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers, which Dave did not know the lyrics to, before Pat Smear gave us a The Germs gem in “Manimal”, as Dave reflected on the influence of that band on his own career. Ilan Rubin got the last track in this segment with his project The New Regime, and the instrumental track “Tap Dancing in a Minefield”, as Dave moved onto the drums for the only time in the set, while Ilan showed off his impressive guitar skills. And they started pulling the warehouse down ahead of the final run of the show.
“Monkey Wrench” kicked things back off, which ended in another drum solo as Dave got the whole crowd to scream and the light show got even more impressive. This stage was decked out in lights from end to end – and it was impressive from start to finish. The lights were also a standout during “The Sky Is a Neighborhood”, a single which is now almost a decade old (!!!), while “Best Of You”, another classic anthem, closed out the main set.
After a short break, their two song encore was the same as what I saw in Los Angeles two years ago. Dave dedicated “The Teacher” to his Mum, before “Everlong” closed things out – in its full rock glory – as an impressive fireworks show rung out over the stage and they brought the phenomenal three hour set to a close, barely taking room to breathe along the way.
Setlist: Foo Fighters
All My Life
The Pretender
Times Like These
Rope
Stacked Actors
My Hero
Learn to Fly
These Days
Walk
This Is a Call
No Son of Mine – with “Ace of Spades” interlude (Motörhead Cover)
B-Stage
Wheels
Marigold
Big Me
Under You
La Dee Da
Run
—
Invincible (No Use for a Name Cover)
Seven (Sunny Day Real Estate Cover)
One Headlight (The Wallflowers Cover)
Manimal (Germs Cover)
Tap Dancing in a Minefield (The New Regime Cover)
—
Monkey Wrench
Breakout
The Sky Is a Neighborhood
Aurora
Caught in the Echo
Best of You
Encore:
The Teacher
Everlong
Tonight was a true joy from start to finish, with all bands putting on incredible performances, heavy on both the rock and the roll. Foo Fighters in particular delved into parts of their entire catalogue and pleased the Toronto fans who had been waiting so long to see them again. Dave did comment on the long wait, saying “I didn’t do the math… but next year we have to come back 8 times…”.
Something tells me no one at that venue would complain about them doing just that.
Both Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age remain two of the world’s best live bands, crafting a truly unforgettable show which fans will not want to miss, while Mannequin Pussy seem poised to be your new favourite band. Not a bad lineup at all, hey? Takes me right back to Big Day Out 2003…
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
This show took place at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium on 4th August 2026. The tour heads to Detroit tomorrow, 6th August 2026.
For all upcoming tour dates through North America, and onto Australia later this year, head to https://foofighters.com/tour-dates/.
Queens of the Stone Age are also touring Australia later this year, with Primus and Tropical Fuck Storm. Details are available HERE.
Photos by Adam Davis-Powell. Follow him on Instagram.
