Sydney Fans Take Cover in the Open Air
Wednesday 11th November | 2026
Written by: Jimmy Wah
Photos by: Ashley Mar
Since their inception in 1995, FOO FIGHTERS have left a distinct impression in rock n roll history, spanning generations of music lovers young and old. They’ve created music that’s shaped all our lives, frozen in time by the moments that made it special. Last night those moments unified 60,000 fans at Accor Stadium, Sydney to create yet another memory to last a lifetime for the FOO FIGHTERS Take Cover Tour. If Dave Grohl had his way we’d all be there for the exact same reason; “… because we all fucking LOVE rock n roll!” That statement being screamed across a feverish crowd uncovered a shared truth that FOO FIGHTERS knew exactly how to reach, searching every corner of our hearts until they found the flame.
Pictured: Rami Jaffee + Dave Grohl - FOO FIGHTERS
Tuesday was a clear November night in Sydney, with perfect skies above the swelling lines that pulsated to the music already playing inside Accor Stadium. Prior to the appearance of FOO FIGHTERS were post punk/noise rock trio TEENS hailing from Hobart, Tasmania, and indie rock band THE BEL AIR LIP BOMBS from Frankston, Victoria. We arrived in time to see the Maisie Everett from THE BEL AIR LIP BOMBS screaming “Thank yooouuuuuu! Enjoy the FOO FIGHTERS!” before exiting the stage which lit up with the red FF symbol.
Pictured: Shawn Arnold - TEENS
Pictured: THE BEL AIR LIP BOMBS
When the lights finally dropped at 8pm, the anticipation that was building released like a pressure cooker with thunderous cheers from an adoring crowd. As the band exploded into ‘All My Life’, the stage returned the favour with pyro and lights to cut through the fading light of the November sky. It didn’t take long for frontman Dave Grohl to start interacting with the audience shouting “Sing it with me!” as everyone clapped in unison and seats started rocking in the stands. The band behind the frontman were equally as charasmatic without saying a word. Original members Pat Smear on guitar and Nate Mendel on bass filled the stage with the core memory tattooed into the minds of the OG crowd added to by Chris Shiflett who took the lead on guitars and backing vocals in 1999. Rami Jaffee on keyboards has also been a FOO FIGHTERS staple since 2005 and of course, behind the kit was newcomer Ilan Rubin who plays with a skill and energy that the late Taylor Hawkins would be honoured by.
Pictured: Dave Grohl + Pat Smear
Pictured: Chris Shiflett
Pictured: Nate Mendel
Pictured: Rami Jaffee, Dave Grohl + Ilan Rubin
At the bridge of the second track ‘Pretender’ is when Dave declared that “Everyone is here for the same reason… because we fucking LOVE rock ‘n’ roll!” which he wouldn’t stop repeating until everyone chanted “We love rock ‘n’ roll!” together. Then he added “… and you know what else I love? AC-fuckin-DC!” busting into AC/DC’s ‘Riff Raff’ before closing out the second track of the night. Dave’s love for his fans was already overflowing and it felt like everyone was part of the show, which was soon to become more than apparent.
‘Times Like These’ was played before the photographers left the Front of House and the haze was turned up as the lights became more vibrant. The descending darkness in the open air brought the stage into focus and the party really started to begin. For fans that weren’t injected with the spirit of the music, ‘My Hero’ certainly made it impossible not to feel. A chorus of voices from the crowd rose above the music until the band finally stopped and let it bloom, getting louder and louder with each refrain until it could be heard beyond the stadium.
Pictured: Dave Grohl + Chris Shiflett
Radio favourite ‘Learn to Fly’ was met with the loudest cheers all night, and Dave took a moment to speak intimately with the crowd. “Its nice, nice being here, it’s been 31 years. Welcome to the fucking circus! I can see your fucking faces I can see you! Australia has the youngest audience in the world, Australia loves fucking rock ‘n’ roll music! Sing this with me!” as the band launched into ‘These Days’ and sure enough, everyone sang along.
‘No Son Of Mine’ seemed to light a fire that roared with an energy that was hard to believe, with Pat Smear even hugging videographer who had infiltrated the stage for the audience to experience through the IMAG screens which reached a new level of impressiveness as cameras switched for every beat of MOTORHEAD’s ‘Ace Of Spades’ that the band seamlessly transitioned to on the back half of the song. I was so busy watching the screens that I didn’t know Dave had disappeared and re-emerged at the front of the catwalk with a new mic stand and drumkit behind him.
Pictured: FOO FIGHTERS
“We bring the stage into the crowd because when you play for three fucking hours you need to bring everything down a bit.” It was then that Dave started softly playing the forbidden tune ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to gasps from the crowd, and as he walked to the left of the stage his eyes seemed to look straight into the soul of audience members until it was apparent that he was making space in the set for an injured audience member to be tended to. After singing the first verse with keyboard pads filling the iconic woodwind backing Dave stopped and said “Now this is getting too serious and it just feels weird”.
After an acoustic rendition of ‘Wheels’, FOO FIGHTERS played a LATE! cover of ‘Marigold’ which Dave dedicated to the HARD-ONS whose members Ray Ahn and Peter Black were sitting in the front row. Dave went on to explain that the next song ‘Big Me’ was featured on a Mentos ad in 1995 and ever since then, he’s had Mentos thrown at him from the crowd whenever they played it. It was then that he spotted a guy holding a packet of Mentos destined for that exact fate but Dave flipped it and dared him to eat the entire packet before the end of the song, with a promise of beers with the band after the show. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen as we watched this guy make short work of the entire packet. To everyone’s amusement (especially Dave’s) this bearded man who turned out to be named Thomas was handed a beer which he made even shorter work of, and was brought over the barrier and taken to side of stage. Then Dave said “Hey you know that thing that happens when you put Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke? I wonder if that works with beer”.
Pictured: Dave Grohl
The last song the band played on the B-stage was ‘Window’ before leaving Dave went on to tell us the story of the Beaconsfield Miners who were trapped for 14 days after a gold mine collapse in Beaconsfield, Tasmania in 2006. On the 6th day of being trapped they made 2 requests, some beers and an iPod with FOO FIGHTERS on it. Dave spoke to the miners when they were finally rescued and promised to meet them and have some beers next time they came to Australia. Dave wrote a song called ‘The Ballad of The Beaconsfield Miners’ which he played at the next FOO FIGHTERS gig at Sydney Opera House, where he met them. Last night Dave played a noticeably emotional solo acoustic performance of the song dedicated to Todd Russell, the Beaconsfield miner that died yesterday.
Back on the main stage for some more bangers like ‘Generator’ and ‘Run’, FOO FIGHTERS once again made time for another audience member needing assistance as they made everyone feel at home. ‘Monkey Wrench’ was met with Dave demanding “Let me hear you motherfuckers scream as loud as you can!” met with a cheeky smile and moustache twisting before he shouted “Let me show you all what screaming REALLY looks like!” then shredding the microphone with his iconic screams in the post-bridge which was followed by the loudest drums and a solo by Ilan that seemed to get better and better the longer it ran.
Pictured: FOO FIGHTERS
Nearing the end of the set was the newer but highly emblematic ‘Aurora’ dedicated to Taylor Hawkins with the stage bathed in the turquoise and green and dreamy effects on the IMAG screens. This was complimented with ‘Best of You’ to close out the set but as the band left the stage, we all knew they weren’t done. There was still time left. After a longer than usual wait the band returned and Dave said “According to the clock we have seven minutes left. What can we get done in seven minutes?” before launching into the intro of ‘Everlong’ to rapturous applause as people leapt from their seats. The stadium felt lie a party with the stage lit up like a Christmas tree and the an favourite closing out the night.
With such a comprehensive set filled with so many iconic tunes, antics and memories, FOO FIGHTERS really did put the spotlight into the hearts and minds of all their fans.
All photos by: Ashley Mar
