Foo FightersThe Foo Fighters will be down a member when they visit Tasmania this month, with guitarist Pat Smear sitting out their Launceston gig after breaking his foot.
News of Smear’s injury was announced via a social media post this morning, with the accompanying image mocked up as the front of a tabloid newspaper.
“BREAKING NEWS!,” the caption jokingly begins. “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,” the post continues. “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.
“Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard Jason Falkner will be filling in for Pat while he’s on the mend,” the post closed.
It’s worth noting, of course, that it’s unclear whether Smear actually sustained his injury while gardening, or whether “bizarre gardening accident” is simply used in relation to the cause of death for John "Stumpy" Pepys, the fictional founding drummer of Spinal Tap.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
The shows that Smear is scheduled to miss include the band’s dates at the Feria Estatal De Leon in Guanajuato, Mexico on Saturday, January 10th; their show at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on Wednesday, January 14th; and their one-off gig at Launceston’s UTAS Stadium on Saturday, January 24th.
This isn’t the first time that a Foo Fighters member had suffered a broken bone, either. In June 2015, founder Dave Grohl broke his leg after falling off the stage at a show in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Finishing the show despite the injury, the group subsequently embarked upon the aptly-titled Broken leg Tour, with Grohl performing from a custom-built "throne".
Grohl subsequently lent the throne to musicians such as Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose and Greyhawk's Darin Wall when they suffered their own injuries, though there's no word if Smear was offered the chance to perform with it.
The Foo Fighters’ upcoming Tasmanian show marks the band’s 14th visit to Australia, having last played in the country back in November/December 2023. That show was in turn their first run of headline dates since 2018, though they had visited Australia in March 2022 for a one-off performance in Geelong, marking the first stadium-sized show in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
That show was also the last time that local fans got a chance to see drummer Taylor Hawkins behind the kit, with the longtime percussionist passing away only weeks later.
The group would return to the studio to record their 11th album, But Here We Are, with frontman and founder Dave Grohl resuming his place behind the kit. Josh Freese would adopt the role of full-time drummer in 2023, ultimately swapping roles with Nine Inch Nails' percussionist Illan Rubin last year.
Having taken a year away from touring between 2024 and 2025, September marked a full-scale return for the Foo Fighters, who released the new single Today’s Song in September, and Asking For A Friend in October. There's no word yet if these tracks will be accompanied by a full studio album in the near future.
