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Foo Fighters Strip Back Their New Album for a Rowdy First Tiny Desk Concert
Foo Fighters made their first Tiny Desk Concert count with stripped-back versions of new songs, classics, and a few Grohl jokes.
Foo Fighters have finally made it to NPR’s Tiny Desk, and for their first appearance they leaned into the odd contrast that has always made these sessions work: a band built for arenas turning in intimate versions of songs that still arrive with plenty of muscle.
The set arrived just after the release of Your Favorite Toy, which dropped earlier today, Wednesday May 13. In the NPR offices, the band played two tracks from the record, “Spit Shine” and “Child Actor”, the latter having only recently surfaced on SNL UK. Dave Grohl nodded to that performance while introducing the song, joking that he had accidentally inhaled a lock of his hair during the live TV appearance and, by the end of this one, celebrating that he “didn’t choke.”
They also reached back into the catalogue for “Learn To Fly,” “My Hero” and “Everlong,” a reminder that even when Foo Fighters pare things down, they are still working with material that has long outlived the moment it was first released. Grohl also took a second to point out two of his own favourite Tiny Desk Concerts, by Trouble Funk and Juvenile, a small but telling gesture that placed the band’s debut inside a broader lineage of artists who know how to make a tight room feel alive.
NME gave Your Favorite Toy three-and-a-half stars, writing: “Vocally, Grohl has rediscovered his roar, but lyricism has never been his strongest suit, and much of it here is throwaway; those looking for signs of where his head is at after his infidelity scandal two years ago will be largely disappointed.
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“Your Favorite Toy is a few more tracks of that depth away from being the most vital Foo Fighters record since 1997’s The Colour and the Shape. For now, at least, they have remembered that no-frills punk, played fast and loud, suits them much better than middle-of-the-road dad-rock.”
Since the album’s release, the band have said they were forced to rename it because of Wicked: For Good, and have also turned up on Track Star and The Late Show. The road ahead is still packed. Foo Fighters are preparing for a European stadium tour that includes two nights at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium at the end of June, along with other major European dates, a North American stadium run, and an Australian and New Zealand tour set for late 2026 and early 2027.
Any remaining tickets for all shows on the Foo Fighters’ US tour are available here and for UK and Europe shows, you can find tickets here.
