Foo Fighters Rocked The Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut With a Blistering Two Hour and Fifty-Minute Set to Kick Off Their ‘Take Cover Tour 2026’ On April 28, 2026

April 30, 2026
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

One can’t start a conversation about this Foo Fighters show without mentioning Jimmy Koplik. For those who don’t know, Jimmy is a lifelong concert promoter and President of Live Nation Connecticut and Upstate New York. Jimmy has a knack for bringing huge artists to much smaller venues than they usually play and this was no exception. Foo Fighters are lined up this season playing 50,000-seat stadiums and festivals. Jimmy was able to get them to kick off the tour in the sold-out 10,000-seat Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 28, 2026. Last year, he brought them into the Legendary Toad’s Place in New Haven Connecticut, an even smaller music venue with a capacity of around 1000. Ahead of this show, Live Nation and the arena did a fantastic job of getting the word out to get there early due to the high volume of traffic expected getting into the area. Opening the night for Foo Fighters was American rock band Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by local rock station 99.1 WPLR, which was playing lots of Foo Fighters songs all day. They were taking photos with fans and handing out stickers commemorating the show. Moving on towards the arena, there was a duet playing live rock cover songs, and then just past that was the merch booth. This is something we should see more often. Having the merch booth outside allows the fans to return to their car to stow their goods. There were lots of cool t-shirts and hats, but the prize of the night was a limited-edition foil poster print with the venue name and date on it. It was limited to 100 prints. Another fan told me that they will be available at each stop of the tour with that date and location on it.

As Frankie and the Witch Fingers were getting ready to take the stage at 8 pm, I was surprised how slowly the venue was filling in. I overheard another photographer saying that the merch line was “around the corner”, so I think that had something to do with it. Once they hit the stage, the Foos fans took notice, and there was a steady stream of people headed in to check them out. From start to finish, they had the energy of a cat chasing a red laser pointer. These guys are punk rock through and through. I didn’t understand a lot of their lyrics, but their stage presence and raw, yet dialed-in sound kept me wanting to see what they would come up with next. They only had a 30-minute set, but plowed through 8 original songs that kept the fans on their feet and jumping to the music.

Frankie and The Witch Fingers is:

Dylan Sizemore – Lead Vocals, rhythm guitar

Josh Menashe – Lead guitar, backing vocals, synthesizer, sax, flute, engineering

Nicole “Nikki Pickle” Smith – Bass

Nick Aguilar – Drums

Jon Modaff – Synths

Setlist:

1. Empire

2. Electricide

3. Work

4. T.V. Baby

5. Cops and Robbers

6. Cocaine Dream

7. Futurephobic

8. Tea

The Foo Fighters hit the stage at 9:05 pm and did it in a huge way. Kicking off their Take Cover 2026 Tour and a night of sweaty rock and roll with “All My Life”, ” Caught in the Echo” and “Times Like These”. Dave Grohl had the fans singing along with many songs, but especially during “My Hero”; just about every fan was singing. With an extensive catalog of 12 studio albums and the most recent being Your Favorite Toy, which was just released last Friday, I knew we were in for a rocking night of hits. What I didn’t know, Dave explained to us after a few songs. With the band playing some faint background music, he asked if the fans were ready for an hour and fifteen minutes of rock?… to which there was minimal response. He then continued up in 15-minute increments, until asking if they wanted three hours of rock, and the fans responded with a thunderous cheer. “Hold on… You want three hours of Rock and roll??? Really?, nobody wants three hours of rock and roll… Three hours?? You gotta work tomorrow?…. Me neither. Let’s play as long as we can.” They actually ended up playing for about 2 hours and fifty minutes encompassing all of their hits, “moldy oldies” as Dave said, as well as six songs off of Your Favorite Toy.

Their set was non-stop rock and roll, with the exception of a few brief interactions with the crowd as well as band introductions. He introduced Chris Shiflett on guitar, and he did a short solo after which, Dave commented, “I told you the show’s gonna be three hours long”. After introducing keyboardist Rami Jaffee, he also did a short solo that included his new toy, a Theremin. “And then there’s Pat “fuckin” Smear. That’s what I’m gonna call him from now on”. The best motherf*ckin’ drummer you’re gonna see in a long time, Ilan Ruban. That was a weird way to say he’s an effin badass.

I am going to nominate this as one of the best rock shows of the year, and you’ll be sorry if you don’t get out to see a stop on this tour. From all of their hits, the live debut of “Spit Shine”, and a nod to Lemmy with a snippet of “Ace of Spades” within “No Son of Mine”. These guys were well-rehearsed and kept the sold-out arena on their feet for the entire show. After a regular set of 24 songs, Foo Fighters continued on to thrill their fans with a 5-song encore set, ending a stellar night with “Everlong”.

Foo Fighters nailed it out of the park on the first night of their Take Cover Tour 2026, letting it all hang out with a nearly 3-hour set of rock and roll for Connecticut fans. Dave Grohl and his talented band of musicians kept the fans on their feet for the entire performance. You can catch the tour in the USA, Canada, and abroad throughout the rest of the year. And a big announcement yesterday is they will be playing tonight, April 30, in Irving Plaza, NY, and Saturday, May 2 in Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ. Both shows are in small venues, and tickets are $30.00 and extremely limited. Please check their website for ticketing details and availability.

Foo Fighters is:

Dave Grohl – Lead vocals, guitar

Nate Mendel – Bass

Pat Smear – Guitar

Chris Shiflett -Guitar, backing vocals

Rami Jaffee – Keyboards

Ilan Ruban – Drums, backing vocals