Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear will have to miss a few of the band’s upcoming shows to heal up from a broken foot, the band announced on social media Wednesday.
“In the classic tradition of rockstars having bizarre gardening accidents, Pat Smear has apparently rung in the new year by smashing the shit out of his left foot,” the band announced accompanied by a fake tabloid headline Instagram post Wednesday, apparently referencing when Queen’s Brian May also injured himself gardening back in 2020. “This means he’ll unfortunately be missing a few shows while the multiple broken bones in his foot heal. We’ll miss our beloved Pat as much as you will, but we want him fully healed and back on his feet as soon as possible.”
In his place, respected touring guitarist Jason Falkner — who plays with Beck and St. Vincent — will be filling in while Smear heals up.
Foo Fighters didn’t give a timeline for Smear’s return, though the band has three shows this month: A Jan. 10 arena show in Mexico, a charity show at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Dave Grohl’s birthday Jan. 14, and a concert at UTAS Stadium in Australia Jan. 24. The group’s next slate of shows after January begins in May at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida.
While only temporary, it’s the latest lineup shakeup after the band parted ways with former drummer Josh Freese last May. As THR first reported in July, Ilan Rubin, the former drummer for Nine Inch Nails, was named as his replacement. Freese, meanwhile, replaced Rubin as well as he returned to Nine Inch Nails.