r/davegrohl

Happy 55th birthday to Chris Shiflett! One of the many, many, MANY highlights of seeing Foo Fighters at Starland Ballroom recently (May 2, 2026) was seeing Chris and Dave Grohl show love for hair metal during stage banter TWICE. The first came when Chris spotted a fan in the crowd wearing a W.A.S.P. tshirt, inspiring him to play the intro guitar riff to "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)". Then later on Grohl got the urge to sing "Signs" upon seeing fans holding signs up, leading to Grohl and Shiflett discussing wear Tesla were from (spoiler: Sacramento).

Check out the very random but awesome moment in this clip. And share your favorite random stage banter moments you've witnessed at a concert. Stay tuned for more things to come from this space (including stories from concerts like this)!

I still cannot believe I witnessed Foo Fighters playing Starland Ballroom ... I've seen Dave Grohl and co several times (ranging from massive stadiums to beach festivals), and while they always excel at creating an intimate atmosphere even on the biggest of stages, I never in my life thought I'd ever get to see them in an actual intimate venue like Starland Ballroom - getting to even stand at the side of the stage as if I was backstage (one of the many things that make Starland Ballroom such a unique venue). And the band did not disappoint - from Dave's humorous interludes ranging from random shout outs to WASP and Tesla, to sharing the surreal moment he met The Hooters' drummer backstage (who not only was Ilan Rubin's drum teacher, but also inspired Groghl to buy his first drum kit) and his genuine reaction to the NJ crowds' energy, to the incredible high-energized performance of deep cuts and classic hits, it was truly a night I will never forget. And enormous shout out to my wife for the crazy hours and efforts she put into scoring these infamous $30 tickets (which could only be purchased IN-PERSON - old school for the win!)

I plan to upload full videos I took throughout the night on the I Heard Bruce Might Show Up YouTube channel over time, and will try to post a more fleshed out review of the evening on Substack. But for now - here's a clip of Grohl revealing his "real vocal warm up" before wrapping up "Monkey Wrench" - a little taste of what this once-in-a-lifetime concert was like.

So yeah, stay tuned for more 😉

During Foo Fighters' intimate surprise show at Starland Ballroom (May 2, 2026), Dave Grohl shared that he met Ilan Rubin's drum teacher, who just so happened be the drummer of The Hooters. It's such an insane coincidence, because as Grohl would go on to share, it was seeing the yellow drum kit David Uosikkinen played in a music video on MTV that inspired him to buy a similar kit - which he had for many years and even used to record Nirvana's seminal album "Nevermind" (including "Smells Like Teen Spirit")!

Take a look at this clip of Grohl sharing this incredible chance meeting, as well as a clip of the band playing "My Hero" right into "Learn To Fly" earlier in the night. And stay tuned for more clips from this once-in-a-lifetime show, and stories from other concerts in this space.

#FooFighters #Nirvana #TheHooters #Nevermind #StarlandBallroom #Grunge #Rock #Music #LiveMusic #Concert #Concerts #ConcertMemories #ConcertLovers #DaveGrohl #NJ