“The Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard will be filling in while he’s on the mend”: Pat Smear pulls out of Foo Fighters gigs due to “bizarre gardening accident” – and his replacement has been confirmed

Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear has had to pull out of the band's upcoming live shows as he recovers from a “bizarre gardening accident” – and his temporary replacement has been announced.

In a social media post that gave a not-so-subtle nod to Spinal Tap, the band wrote, “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.

“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.”

“Smashing the shit” sounds like it could be a rather accurate medical diagnosis. A photo that accompanies the post shows the Foo Fighters guitarist strapped to a wheelchair and, what we presume, an X-Ray of his ankle.

This is Guitar World, not Medicine World, but there certainly looks to be some gnarly fractures there. If only Foo Fighters had, say, a purpose-built throne that Smear could sit on for the upcoming shows.

Oh, wait, they do. Or, at least, they did – when band leader Dave Grohl broke his leg in 2015, he famously took the stage atop a grand guitar-themed throne. That throne was later loaned to Greyhawk bassist Darin Wall.

Whatever the case, the throne is apparently M.I.A., and even if Smear did have it, there’s then the small order of having to stomp on his pedalboard. So perhaps a brief rest on the sidelines is the most sensible option.

He’ll be out for Foo Fighters’ next few shows, and the band have already hired his temporary replacement: “Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard Jason Falkner will be filling in for Pat while he’s on the mend,” the post concludes.

Falkner will step in for the band’s upcoming shows in Mexico, California and Australia on January 10, 14, and 24, respectively.

In 2024, Guitar World caught up with the journeyman session guitarist, who looked back on the moment he unexpectedly received the call to try out for St. Vincent’s band.