Foo Fighters surprised fans with the second installment of their live recording series, “Are Playing Where??? Vol. II,” released Friday, August 7. The EP features six songs recorded during special, intimate “underplay” shows in April and May, at New York’s Irving Plaza and the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey — venues far smaller than the band is used to playing.

The release includes three songs from the new album “Your Favorite Toy” — the title track, “Of All People” and “Window” — alongside older favorites “These Days” (from 2011’s “Wasting Light”), “My Hero” (from 1997’s “The Colour and the Shape”) and “Aurora” (from 1999’s “There’s Nothing Left to Lose”). Just as he did last year, Dave Grohl dedicated the performance of “Aurora” to the band’s late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died suddenly in 2022. Like the first volume in the series, released last October, the EP is a “pay what you want” release, with all proceeds going to local charities.

Before these two intimate shows were even recorded, the band had spent the entire summer touring Europe and the UK, stacking up festival dates and headline shows in front of massive crowds — part of the same “Take Cover” tour whose North American leg only just officially opened on August 4 in Toronto. The setlist on the American dates leans surprisingly heavily on older hits rather than new material, and every night includes an acoustic segment on a smaller stage, during which Grohl, on Thursday, August 6, dedicated a performance of “Marigold” to L7 bassist Jennifer Finch, who recently passed away from cancer.

The next show on the schedule is Saturday, August 8, at Soldier Field in Chicago.