Wolfgang Van Halen has sprained his ankle whilst exiting his Mammoth WVH tour bus, and will perform with a protective boot for the next four to six weeks.
The incident happened before the band's October 20 show at the Mars Music Hall in Huntsville, Alabama, and led Wolfgang to pull a “Dave Grohl” and perform the set sitting down.
Keeping fans updated in real time, the multi-instrumentalist posted a photo of his foot in the boot to social media with the caption: “Ate shit walking off the bus this morning and sprained the fuck outta my ankle. Now I gotta rock this boot for four to six weeks.”
“Looks like this boot's gonna get some show experience,” Wolfgang continued, determined not to let the injury hinder the band's imminent show. “We'll see you tonight Huntsville.”
Updating fans shortly afterwards on Twitter, he wrote that the band's pre-show soundcheck was “interesting”, adding: “Looks like I'm gonna be Dave Grohl-ing it tonight, folks. Be patient with me.”
In a new social media post, Wolfgang hails the show a success despite his injury: “Welp... never done that before, but we pulled it off! Thanks to Huntsville for making it such a special show!”
Wolfgang's “Dave Grohl-ing” comment is in reference to the Foo Fighters leader, who in 2015 broke his leg after falling off the stage during a show in Gothenburg, Sweden, but managed to finish the concert sitting down.
Following the accident, Grohl had fashioned a Foo Fighters-branded, Game of Thrones-style stage throne, complete with lights, smoke machines and over a dozen electric guitar necks, on which he played the band's subsequent tour dates.
Since recovering, the frontman has lent his throne to other musicians, including Greyhawk bassist Darin Wall, who stopped a mass shooting, and Axl Rose, who required a seat to perform after breaking his foot at a warm up show for Guns N' Roses' 2016 Not In This Lifetime... reunion tour.
“Axl took it out with Guns N’ Roses, then he took it out with AC/DC, and then all of a sudden I became the guy you come to if you break a limb on tour, like Thrones R Us,” Grohl told Classic Rock earlier this year.
It remains to be seen whether Wolfgang Van Halen will have a throne made, though we'd love to see one adorned with Mammoth WVH imagery and several EVH Wolfgang necks.
Mammoth WVH recently wrapped up their first tour with Guns N' Roses. The run reached a high point earlier this month when Wolfgang Van Halen joined the legendary rockers onstage in Florida for a show-stopping performance of Paradise City.
The band now continue their own tour, though fans shouldn't expect to hear any Van Halen songs at their shows. Earlier this week, Wolfgang said it was “fucking exhausting” to keep reiterating he'll never play his father's music with Mammoth WVH.
