In 1995, Foo Fighters released their self-titled debut album. Or should I say, Dave Grohl released the self-titled debut album. The former Nirvana drummer played all the instruments himself before having a full band to back him. He named the project the Foo Fighters so that it would seem like a full band. He did this since he was famously known as the Nirvana drummer, and he didn’t want it to come off as a solo record.
The album’s fourth single, “Big Me”, saw Grohl dabble into jangle pop. By the time a music video was shot in Sydney, Australia, he had recruited real members for the band. In this music video, they parodied the famous Mentos commercials of the 1990s. Even though the music video earned the band 5 nominations at the 1996 MTV Music Awards and a win in the Best Group Video category, it soon turned disastrous. For years, every time the band performed the song live, the crowd would throw Mentos at them. Eventually, they didn’t even have to be playing “Big Me”; fans were still throwing Mentos.
On November 10, 2026, Dave Grohl was sharing this history with their audience in Sydney, the location of the music video. As he told the audience how the band was pelted with Mentos every night, he noticed an attendee in the crowd holding a roll of Mentos.
Grohl Confronts the Fan and Does the Funniest Thing
Dave Grohl was quick to confront the fan, whose name was Thomas. “Don’t you f**king dare. I’m telling you, don’t be that guy!” He then added, “How about this? I’m going to play this song, and I want to watch you eat that whole f**king pack of Mentos while I’m playing this goddamn song. Keep the camera on this motherf**ker! If you can finish that whole pack before we’re done playing this song, I’ll chug a beer with you.”
An entire roll of Mento’s mixed with a carbonated beverage, such as a can of beer, can lead to an explosive overflow. Just refer to Weezer’s music video for “Pork And Beans” from 2008. Thomas accepted the challenge and was projected on the screen chewing through the roll of Mentos. Then, they passed Thomas a beer from the stage. Later in the set, Grohl brought the fan on stage and invited him backstage to meet the band.
Grohl, who couldn’t believe Thomas actually did it, told the crowd, “You know who’s gonna go throw up in my f**king dressing room right now. I’m gonna go back to my dressing room and find Thomas in a pile of puke. He just f**king ate a whole pack of Mentos and then chugged a f**king Coors Light.”
This is truly a moment Dave Grohl will never forget, and it adds to their long history with Mentos. He hilariously added, “It’s like, Wait, hold on, isn’t that that thing if you put those in a Pepsi?” He laughs and added, “That’s f**ked up. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not even kidding. This might be the funnest show we’ve ever played in this f**king city. For real.”
Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images
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