late, delayed, and/or cancelled concerts - your stories here

Kool Keith didn't show up to do a show in Champaign IL when I was in college. I'd be slightly pissed if it was announced ahead of time that he was canceling, but being at the venue and just standing around for hours before getting told at like midnight or whenever that the main act isn't gonna show up is some enraging BS.

The dad from my so called life? Did they clown on him for thinking Billie Holiday was a man?

Never watched the show - was that already a joke before "Clueless" used it(?)

I guess it did predate Clueless's release date but maybe not the date of conception

Skid Row at the London Arena in, christ, 1992/3? They were late on, Sebastian Bach got his cock out and wiped his arse with a newspaper, missed the last train, spent most of the night trying to sleep in a ball pit at Gatwick Airport. The glamour.

Dead Can Dance at Drury Lane in 1996. Walking to the venue from the tube I was disconcerted to see loads of sullen-faced goths trudging back in the opposite direction. Got to the venue to find out that Lisa Gerrard was sick and the gig was off.

I was supposed to be watching Napalm Death right now, but gigs cancelled due to covid would be a long not v interesting list.

I think the only time I can think of when I've actually gone to a gig to find it was cancelled was Radio Birdman about 10 years ago, got to the venue to find out they'd been refused entry by immigration

xpost

I was(n't) at that one too! (DCD)

Napalm Death / Extreme Noise Terror / Intense Degree (Fulham Greyhound, 1988?). Napalm's van broke down on the way down from Stourbridge or wherever they were from. Since they were sharing a drummer with ENT (Mick Harris) this was a major problem. Intense Degree came and went. Everyone sat around. Then some poor soul got up onstage to announce that the van was being towed back home, and that was our lot for the night. As I recall, we got a £2.50 refund on the £4 entry fee. I think John Peel reviewed the evening in the Times, where he had a regular column for a while.

I've never been to a gig that got cancelled last minute or a gig were the band or act came on egregiously late now that I think of it. I haven't really been a huge gig-goer the last decade or so (only really go see small shows at local places, not big touring acts) mind you but went to lots from age 12 to 25 or so

I seem to remember a Godspeed You! Black Emperor gig at the Festival Hall where they came on late because they were coming over from Dublin on the ferry and it had got delayed.

Skid Row at the London Arena in, christ, 1992/3? They were late on, Sebastian Bach got his cock out and wiped his arse with a newspaper, missed the last train, spent most of the night trying to sleep in a ball pit at Gatwick Airport. The glamour.

For a sec I read this as that was what Sebastian Bach did throughout the evening.

So did I!

xxp Wait for the Next Ferry You! Black Emperor

I'm truly not trying to be dismissive or flip but I learned a lesson young:

never waste your time going to see hip-hop acts live if you want to see them perform well, or perform certain songs.

Go to see hip-hop acts perform live to dress up and smoke tons of weed with your friends. That way, when they don't show up, show up late, or you leave before they come on, at least you were at the show and had a good time.

haha the only time I remember this happening to me is a KRS-One show, and he did eventually show up and let everyone hanging around outside get in for free

Always makes me wonder what these acts are doing when they turn up four hours late. Online gaming or something? Waiting for the coke dealer to turn up?

i was very excited as a 15-year-old to have gotten permission to attend the x96 big-ass show at the utah state fairground in salt lake city, especially since it was mormon general conference that weekend and as always i assumed i had to stay home and watch it on tv.

i don't have great memories of the line-up but i do remember being excited to see ben folds five, and also standing around the back of the crowd when cake started playing. they abruptly stopped and walked off stage, never to return. i heard later that someone threw something at the trumpet player.

I went to see Unwound and when I got to the venue it was closed. Forever. To be turned into a Hooters.

(The show had been moved to a venue across town at the last minute so I did get to see them.)

leeds university.
late 86.
killing joke/red lorry yellow lorry were booked to perform in the refectory where the who recorded their live album.

the lorries came on and did their excellent thing and were insanely brilliant with a drum machine and a single strobe.
then we waited.
and waited.
eventually, some poor soul came onto the stage to announce that KJ had got lost on the motorway system round leeds, and would be late.
after the intense boos, we waited.
and waited.
eventually, KJ came on stage.
to say the band rushed through their set at PA blasting volumes, would be an understatement.
i guess it was to beat the licence curfew and to avoid fees etc.
the worst gig by a big name band ever.

thankfully i discovered the lorries and cared not.

I went to see Unwound and when I got to the venue it was closed. Forever. To be turned into a Hooters.

lmao

never waste your time going to see hip-hop acts live if you want to see them perform well

I skipped a Wu Tang gig in 1994 (their first ever live show outside the US I think) because I had a few of those experiences.

Go to see hip-hop acts perform live to dress up and smoke tons of weed with your friends. That way, when they don't show up, show up late, or you leave before they come on, at least you were at the show and had a good time.

Two exceptions to this:

1) I saw Public Enemy twice, in 1988 and 1990, and both times they delivered a tight, professional set;

2) I saw Ice-T in 1991, post-Lollapalooza (saw him there, too), and he did a tight 45 minutes solo, then 45 minutes more with Body Count.

Mobb Deep were awful about this. the last time I saw them, the show was billed at 9, and naturally there were opening acts first, but there was something of a 2 hour gap between the last opener and Mobb, who came on the stage at 1 am. and then some of their tracks still had vocals on them. I left a half hour in and went to Mons Venus

The Legendary Pink Dots never made it to their show in Toronto in 1990. Apparently they had trouble getting through customs. They have been back 13 times since then but I have never seen them.

Arthur Lee was scheduled to play here but the show was cancelled well before the date. They knew ahead of time that he was not going to be let into Canada, so it may not count.

tbh this is why I prefer to see rappers at festivals, where the backstage fascists keep things moving.

I once saw Lupe Fiasco go on at 2am at a festival, when he was scheduled for 11, and every other stage finished before 12.

the first time I saw Nocturnus AD, it was at some bullshit bar and grill (outdoors, special stage), and the shitty opening act overplayed their set so they didn't get off the stage until about 1 am, and Nocturnus AD weren't ready to go until 1:30, giving them only 30 minutes to perform. given that I"d driven an hour, I wasn't happy, but I did see them at least 5 or 6 more times at much longer sets.

I saw Skinny Puppy in 1991 or 1992 (can't remember which now) and Godflesh were supposed to open but their US entry visas were denied. I've still never seen Godflesh.

I left a half hour in and went to Mons Venus

Within five minutes of Mons Venus, I knew I was gay.

A lot of this is venue-specific too. I mentioned festivals up above, but theaters and auditoriums are the same, they have strict load-out times and everything. Clubs otoh have every incentive to keep people there and drinking as late as they can.

Waiting to see Das Racist at the 2012 Virgin Freefest with my friend. Pretty decent crowd but after 30 minutes, they're still not on the stage. some guy near us starts loudly telling people "Das Racist broke up!" We take it with a grain of salt but soon there is an announcement saying that the group has cancelled. They never did another performance and announced their breakup soon after. Not sure if that guy knew or just got lucky

Tool did a no-show in Glasgow around 1992-ish? Instead, we got a large helping of support band 'Paw', who were shite and the singer kept ragging on Maynard who was apparently ill.

Saw Levitation break up on stage at the Tufnell Park Dome, had tickets to see them a day or two later at another venue.

not so much a concert but an Orlando Fringe festival show that had music/dancing in it. At the Orlando Fringe, Shows start on time to the minute, and latecomers aren't admitted, because of the rather militaristic nature of the schedule. As a performer, you only get into the space 30 minutes before your show starts, which gives you twenty minutes to set up your stage/do whatever warmups, and the house is opened ten minutes prior to show. so these shows tend to be minimalist set-wise, with small casts (with some exceptions).

the local paper had already written a rather awkward review of the show, saying it was very strange, didn't make a lot of sense, seemed troubled, and started late. so my friend went to see it out of morbid curiosity and told me about it later. stated that nobody was at the door to let anybody in, and that eventually somehow showed up to tell those waiting in line that they needed more time to get ready. It's five minutes to show time, five minutes after they were supposed to open house. A few minutes later, they got tired of waiting and just opened the door, walked in and sat down (after all, they'd paid for a ticket).

It was pretty clear something was wrong, as nothing was set up on stage, people were ambling around aimlessly on the production team, and one person could be heard on the phone in the background calling one of the cast members to see where they were. Turns out later, we found out the majority of the cast was so pissed off at the lack of professionalism of the production, that they quit after opening night, so they were trying to keep the show going with scraps. and much like the Cuban national football team, there would be new departures each night. So apparently, yet another person had disappeared.

Someone came out to address the crowd and said they were waiting for one of their cast members to arrive, and they apologized profusely, and said they'd do most of the show for them (as they were already ten minutes past start time in a one hour time slot, and nothing had happened). No house music either, just dead silence.

Eventually, music started, and someone came out on stage and half-assedly danced to it. Then dead silence for another five to ten minutes, presumably as they tried to figure what portions of the show they could still do with the remaining cast. Another number happens, and at this point, only polite applause is being given. Dead silence again, as they scramble to find a third routine. They do a group number, which pretty clearly is missing several people, as you can see gaps in placement on the stage where it was clear warm bodies used to be.

Another awkward silence, some audience members have left by now, and one of the producers comes out and says they're missing one of their leads, but asks if they want to see the big finale anyway. the audience half-assedly says "sure", and the group performs a final number which is clearly and obviously missing a main performer, with gaps in the singing and placement on stage.

it appeared to have been some kind of a revue show at one point that was now in pieces because of the mass defections. so my friend leaves the show, bemused, and sits down with the assistant festival director, who asks him what he just saw. My friend tells him, laughing, what production he saw, and the state of the production he was in.

Assistant director says "excuse me one moment", and gets up, and gets on his cell phone and walks several feet away, has a conversation with...someone, my friend can't tell who. Assistant director comes back and says "I just cancelled the rest of their festival - they will not be performing anymore". There were at least 3 performances left.

My friend was mortified cos he wasn't trying to get them in trouble, just telling a funny story of a troubled production.

Janes Addiction at Warfield in 2002 (before the reunion when Flea was filling in on bass)

Stood for at least 3 or 4 hours after doors opened listening to a DJ play house music. They didn’t come on stage til well after midnight, they were a total mess and would have sworn me off them for life had Mr Veg not convonced me to see them years later for the Eric Avery reunion. NIGHT AND DAY my god.

Mercy killing from the sound of it

xpost

Unperson, I don't know about Flav, but I'm pretty sure Ice-T and Chuck D don't do drugs.

Which answers the other question of what are so many of these artists doing backstage. It's drugs.

If I was tired from touring and had a room full of food, booze, and drugs, not to mention potential sexual partners, I wouldn't want to go out on stage either, tbh

For a sec I read this as that was what Sebastian Bach did throughout the evening.

So did I

Hahaha. Sebastian Bach's dangling participle.

xp OTOH surely these artists would be cognizant of the fact that they'd got this room full of food, booze, drugs, and potential sexual partners from performing live and therefore not do anything to jeopardise that by getting a reputation for being a rubbish live act?

Had tickets to see PJ Harvey in Manchester in 1998. Got to the venue and learned she'd canceled because she had laryngitis. I've always wondered what that gig would've been like.

Bubba Sparxxx delayed a show to take a mid-set dookie

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/bubba-sparxxx-astoria-london-9271783.html

PJ Harvey in Toronto in 1998 was great! The band all played in a line across the stage (including drums) instead of the typical line-up.

OTOH surely these artists would be cognizant of the fact that they'd got this room full of food, booze, drugs, and potential sexual partners from performing live and therefore not do anything to jeopardise that by getting a reputation for being a rubbish live act?

I am aware of someone who was in a lineup of the L3m0nheads at a time when they were at a level to get booked on a big touring festival, but playing in mid-afternoon, not at headline times. After a few dates this person suggested to Ev4n D4ndo that since this was a 14-and-up event, and many of the audience were teenagers who were spending saved pocket money on the only live music experience they would have all year, that if he waited until after they played to get fucked up, Ev4n would still have 12 hours to do drugs backstage with international rock star pals AND could give the paying kids a good experience for their first concert ever.

The next day, a note was slid under the musician's hotel room door informing them their services were no longer required in the band.

(NB that they had not proposed moderation or sobriety during previous touring at night in licensed venues, it was specifically because of the audience / daytime slot.)

Saw the Sugarcubes once where they announced Bjork was sick and wouldn't be performing. The rest of them played at most a half hour set and then left (no refund). It was a perfect opportunity for Einar to take command and show what he can do lead-wise, but I guess they'd have had to rehearse that for it to come off.

I went to a Belly & Catherine Wheel show where after Belly they announced that one of the CW's members' wife had had a miscarriage, and so they had to go back to the UK. They performed "Judy Staring At The Sun" with Tanya, and one or two other songs, then show over.

ad tickets to see PJ Harvey in Manchester in 1998. Got to the venue and learned she'd canceled because she had laryngitis. I've always wondered what that gig would've been like.

― jaymc, Friday, November 20, 2020

I saw U2's world tour opener in Ft Lauderdale in 2001 because PJ Harvey was opening; she had laryngitis.

I went to a local college spring festival with the sole intention of seeing Doug E. Fresh. My consolation prizes were American Hi-Fi and Our Lady Peace. I don't know if Doug E. Fresh in 2001 was anything worth seeing and I definitely didn't know he was a sci-tie. But I had been an elementary school kid named Doug during the height of his popularity. I wonder how many other disappointed Dougs were in the audience that day.

Not an exciting story but showed up to a Lower Dens show in Austin and found they’d cancelled as their gear (or van?) was stolen earlier in the day in San Antonio.

And I don’t remember why - maybe egregiously long opening bands? - but in terms of late I saw Archers Of Loaf start their set after 1am and go til 2 something in Baltimore (at a Korean karaoke, on a school night).

Saw Mayhem on the Grand Declaration Of War tour twenty years ago, but singer Maniac had carved into his arm too deep on the gig before and had ended up in the hospital - the band performed as a trio instead.

In 2012 I had a ticket to see Morrissey play the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, site of the last performance by Buddy Holly. The show was canceled.

I also had a ticket to see Morrissey in Chicago in 2014. He canceled, and I saw Silver Apples play at the Bohemian National Cemetery instead. That worked out for the best.

Got to the venue and learned she'd canceled because she had laryngitis.

Really sorry but I read this as “because she had ladybits”

I'm sad that the visual in my head is probably funnier than what actually transpired

Showed up to see Roger waters doing the wall a few hours early to the sounds of announcements over the PA saying “the Roger waters show starts promptly at 8...” it started at like 10

I've never seen a hip-hop act come out on time or give a good show. And I've tried upwards of a dozen times. Truly wasn't trying to be a racist ass, just my experience.

I saw Iron Maiden at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC in 2003 - instead of doing their usual massive arena tour, they were doing just a few small theater gigs in the US, including a scheduled four nights at Hammerstein. On the second night, the show I went to, some asshole threw a full cup of beer off the balcony...which landed on/in the soundboard. Good night, New York! (Supposedly the first and third nights went OK, but the fourth was cancelled because it had been double booked by mistake.)

I should say: I'm really glad other people haven't had my bad luck!

The Lemonheads were my first ever concert in 1992 and they were great!

The rockist in me wants to agree about live hip-hop, or at least hip-hop performed by anything other than a full band, a la the Roots or even Black Eyed Peas (who were honestly awesome the one time I saw them live), but thinking back I've seen far too many incredible hip-hop shows over the years, as recently as the final Tribe Called Quest show. Granted, I've seen more than my share of hoarse screaming over shitty backing tracks, too, and perhaps more of that with rap than with whatever the rock equivalent might be, but I wonder if that's just inexperience or technical ineptitude at work. I have a friend who did sound for Cappadonna once, and Cap kept stopping the show, pointing at his mic, and yelling "yo, turn that shit up!" Eventually my friend pointed to the board and gave him a thumbs up, he does a couple of "check, check"s, and then, satisfied, shouts "that's what I'm talking about!" Of course, nothing had really changed, but it made him happy.

Pro-tip: whenever a singer, especially an experienced one, starts blaming the mic, it's almost always the singer's fault. I once saw Motley Crue, and Vince Neil kept pointing to the mic and shaking his head, and I thought to myself, no, dude, it's you. *You* sound like shit. My friend recalls a time he saw Janet Jackson perform on the Grammy's or some big TV gig, and as she starts singing she does the "point to the mic" thing. As my friend points out, there is no way she had less than the best audio and tech and sound guys money can buy for one of these big award shows. No one else was having a problem. She probably just missed or skipped the sound check or something, because better or at least more confident singers can better deal with shit on the fly. I've seen far too many people seamlessly swap out a mic or correct a problem without ever bringing real attention to it.

My friend likes to tell me about an infamous Offspring show he saw here on some bill. Someone threw a bottle or shoe or something onto the stage, and the idiot singer goaded the crowd on with an "is that the best you can do!?!" And the crowd proceeded to belt the Offspring with everything and anything that wasn't nailed down: bottles, grass clumps, etc., until the band had to leave the stage early.

He coulda done what Cobain did with hurled shoes

http://www.alternativenation.net/dave-grohl-reveals-kurt-cobain-peed-little-girl-shoe/

At my first ever concert in 1982 the B-52's - opening for The Who - got pelted with beer cups and left the stage after about 20 min. The tour was sponsored by Schlitz so that must have been the beer the B-52's wound up stinking of. I've seen two aborted RHCP shows, one in '86 when about 30 min in the show was halted by the venue, apparently due to the frenzied-ness of the crowd; the second an outdoor show in '87 which was terminated about halfway through because of noise regulations.

Saw a (very good) local NYC band break up onstage after a squabble.

I read a review of a live Nine Inch Nails show circa Downward Spiral and the critic described it as “what your grandparents think a rock show looks like” so I’m enjoying the image conjured by that, and silent to boot.

I once saw Motley Crue, and Vince Neil kept pointing to the mic and shaking his head, and I thought to myself, no, dude, it's you. *You* sound like shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofNwO1u0mw

that's the best motley crue song i've ever heard.

Big Mac.$1.03

Atari Teenage Riot missed their flight, so we wandered around reciting Black Flag lyrics

(To clarify, ATR missed their flight as Carl Crack was arrested for trying to open a fire exit door during take off and attacking a stewardess)

I saw the Janes Addiction show at the ICA in the late 80s. They used so much dry ice they set off all the fire alarms in the venue. People had to go out into the snowy Mall for a while until they could be switched off properly. I think they did play the rest of the show though.

lol that sounds very them

mr veg said he heard from friends working Warfield show that the reason they went on so late is that Perry wouldnt go on stage because it was the jewish sabbath (bc of his whole obsession w Kabbalah)

Another for the Power Went Out edition: Stereolab/Broadcast in Kilburn, 1996, the power went out during Broadcast's set and they were frozen on stage for a short time. A real deer-in-the-headlights moment for them, they looked really lost up there. Fortunately the power wasn't outfor long.

Someone told me once they saw the same thing happen to Bon Jovi (when they were still in smaller venues). Jon Bon whipped an acoustic out and led the crowd in a singalong of Hey Jude or something to salvage the show. Easier to do that kind of thing when you're playing cheese-mongering stadium slop I suppose.

The same friend that did sound for Cappadonna also told me about an Atari Teenage Riot show blowing a fuse or something, and plunging the amped up crowd into total darkness for several minutes.

I once had tickets to some show on the night of a blizzard. The venue (same as above, come to think of it) was not answering the phone so I figured, well, I'll give it a shot. I walked 20 minutes there in the blizzard only to find the lights off and so much snow piled up against the loading bay that no band was getting in. I guess that's why they didn't answer their phone.

Have heard the story of the near miss Neubauten show where one of them was drilling into a wall in a venue not realising the power supply source was right behind it but luckily stopped in time.

My wife’s grandmother had tickets to go see Hank Williams at the Canton Palace Theater, but he died on the way to the concert.

Still no excuse for not performing

I believe Hank had his hologram perform in his stead.

If we're including shows that went on despite technical difficulties, Parliament-Funkadelic in 2015 kept the show going stage-right while stage-left a group of roadies were fixing a troublesome bass amp.

In 2013, Carl Newman of New Pornographers had some trouble with his guitar and was left dancing awkwardly and doing background vocals for a couple of songs. He compared himself to Bez of the Happy Mondays.

He compared himself to Bez of the Happy Mondays.

HERESY

I went to see Mr. Bungle in Orlando in 1999 and doors were delayed as we all stood outside until they got the sound right. After they opened doors it was too late for the opener to go on, so it was just Bungle. I don't remember caring at the time, but that band who didn't perform? Calculating Infinity era Dillinger Escape Plan

i saw metallica a few years ago at mile high stadium in denver and the show was interrupted for like an hour because of lightning. they kind of had no choice but play part of 'ride the lightning' when they came back out.

everyone on the field had to move into the covered part of the stadium and it was fucking terrifying being in a massive swarm of pissed off people moving quickly due to the very strong 'the who in cincinnatti' vibes i was having

xpost, correction, it was St. Pete, Florida

i had tickets to see james brown a few days after he died

dave berman too :(

O man. 1999 DEP put on an insane show. They're still good but that incarnation was insane. Caught them in Tallahassee

XP That reminds me, I was <this> close to buying a ticket for Soundgarden, which ended up being one of the first dates after Cornell died.

Calculating Infinity era Dillinger Escape Plan

Man, that would have been a good one.

I saw Chris 2 weeks before he died

I was in the crowd when this happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XERf28QoJRo

XP Your rave about that show was what made me want to go!

Oh really? Damn!

It was really good

A band I was in was lucky enough to play a couple of shows with Dillinger Escape Plan in 2002. So, sadly not with Dimitri or Adam but it was pretty incredible to witness them close up, they played Grateful Dead, Cure and Radiohead riffs in soundcheck.

Dimitri was the one who sold me my DEP shirt. Which doesn't fit cis I'm fat now

Yeah, however I *did* see the first Dillinger show with Greg, which was at CMJ 2001 and it was bananas.

Like this HULKING meathead-looking dude comes out and the vibe felt like “what is this shit” and iirc as soon as they started he picked up a monitor and threw it into the crowd and it was game on

Puciato is a gym membership personified