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

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”

Andy has a couple, and I will go chronologically.

The first is Dru Down sometime in the summer of 1996, a very exciting time for a hiphop fan. To have any hiphop that wasn't local in Reno at that time was unheard of, so we found out Dru Down was playing a live show (which we were not able to attend because we were only fifteen) and doing a free in-store appearance at the local Sam Goody, which we were in for as soon as we heard about it. He was supposed to arrive for the in-store at 1pm. He finally showed up around 330pm. A lot of unknown guys around asking him for money, which he would give them in twenty dollar bills two or three at a time, and all of whom were insisting that they sign any autographs alongside Dru Down's. It was an odd scene. It didn't come as much of a surprise to learn that the performance later that night at a sketchy club in a very sketchy part of town was shut down when the police were called on account of a mid-performance brandishing of a firearm by one of the performers. It was never confirmed if Dru Down was the one who had pulled the gun, but he was arrested. A quick glance at his Wikipedia indicates that he has followed a similar path in recent years, unfortunately.

The second is the Appleseed Cast in the fall of 2008. And again in the summer of 2011. Both times in Reno. A place that they played consistently and faithfully pretty much since they started touring nationally. And the same thing happened both times and, both times, it was not the band's fault. They got stuck into these loaded bills that had two local openers on the bill, in addition to the act that was touring with Appleseed Cast. And they would end up at the back end of a bill that sadly saw all of the people who come to see their local friend's band and no one else come and go before the headliners had even come on. And all of us who were there for Appleseed Cast didn't get home until near 4am because of it. It always felt like the local acts had somehow managed more of a draw than the headliner, which was confusing and upsetting.

Anyway. Fun thread, if a bit schadenfreude.

Forgot to mention: Appleseed Cast never played Reno again after that 2011 show.

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

This is bullshit. Every DC hip-hop group I saw (in DC, mind you, because the rest of the country ignored them) was on time and were consummate professionals.

Also, De La Soul was on time and on point both times I saw them live (1991, 2017)

I figured from the way the thread started that this would eventually turn into “Black people can’t be on time” but this issue is endemic across the music industry and I’m very glad that British people showed up to give stories about White people doing the exact same thing.

I have a nice one for a hiphop show that I will share here for balance, even if it is not in the spirit of the thread:

Jurassic 5, and the entire crew they brought along with them also in Reno, but in the summer of 1999. No local acts, so all of them were on time and fantastic, despite some sound issues. The other acts on the bill were: Breakestra, Dilated Peoples, and the Beat Junkies. It was great.

I saw Guns N' Roses tour with Skid Row and they were doing a couple of big shows in Indianapolis, which was kind of played up as a big homecoming show (at least locally). This was before the further crazy stuff to follow, but Skid Row played and it was like 3-4 hours until GNR played. They ran the whole movie of Evil Dead during part of the interim on the big screens.

Couple years before I had tickets to see Guns N Roses open for Iron Maiden at Market Square Arena. They dropped off that show and instead I got Waysted as the opening act. Kind of a bummer. (As I side note, I saw GNR at the FarmAid which was Steven Adler's last show. Saw all sorts of people at that gig. Carl Perkins was there. So was Iggy Pop.)

The only time I went out early and actually really good seats for a concert was like 3rd row center for Yes touring for Big Generator, then the show got cancelled. Oh well...

xxpost I've had mixed experience with rap shows, but the idea that they inherently *can't* be great is dumb.

Kendrick Lamar was one of the most incredible live shows I ever saw, and by the time he got to "Swimming Pools (Drank)", he had the entire crowd in a frenzy. took me hours to come down from that high.

Wu-Tang's Enter the Wu-Tang 25th anniversary tour was phenomenal (they were so-so the first time I saw them)

Jay-Z/Kanye "Watch the Throne" was an amazing spectacle great setlist, overall great time.

Jay-Z's solo show that I went to a few years back was great, as was his tour with Beyonce.

GZA/Killer Mike and Yelawolf put on great shows (separate nights) as well.

the only ones that sucked were Mobb Deep (second time), aforementioned Meek Mill, OFWKTA (sound was terrible).

also at OFWKTA a kid behind me saw my Wu-Tang shirt and said "wow Wu-Tang, that was all the way back in the 90s", so I was basically ready to kill anybody in their 20s already before lights went down

oh and duh, I saw ATCQ in 2006 and that was incredible

I was pretty pissed a few years ago for the Decibel tour in NYC (Irving Plaza), which I flew up to see, I was primarily there for Khemmis, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Enslaved, but was really vibing on Khemmis in the weeks prior.

The event page actually was kind enough to list the set times and Myrkur was on first. I wasn't intentionally out to miss her, but I realized the tickets weren't mobile and I needed to print them out, so I had to find a FedEx Office quickly, which meant I was running behind, but I didn't care as I was missing Myrkur's set (or so I thought) and I didn't really know her music.

so I get it done, and I'm getting to the venue, and my heart sinks when 30 minutes into what's supposed to be Myrkur's set, I hear what is obviously Khemmis. they switched slots with zero warning on the event page (really confusing as the post confirming each band's set time had been posted like...merely two hours earlier).

still haven't seen them since. oh well. Wolves and Enslaved were great.

Peter Murphy also infuriated Orlando last year when in February, fans found out only after they'd sat through two opening acts that Peter had bowed out of the show due to pain, so he scheduled a make-up show. Fans showed up, the opening act (Sine) played, and then the announcement was again made that Peter could not perform due to pain. However, David J and his backing band were there and did a Bauhaus set, but refunds were still given.

the vitriol seemed a bit premature, especially when Peter suffered a heart attack months later, insinuating maybe he wasn't faking the pain like Orlandolts thought

Lemonheads story is so brutal

yeah wtf Dando

that dude's concert was cancelled, that's for sure.

lol he's kinda made for this thread

https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/10/10/its-a-shame-about-nostalgia-the-lemonheads-leave-a-sour-taste-at-the-bowery/

(writer kinda seems nasty too though)

lol

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/mystery-surrounds-rocker-evan-dandos-new-zealand-no-show/3JMFDWXLAPET5OQJJEB2LZLWA4/

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