Britney Spears was supposed to start her concert tour here in Hartford, so the radio is all abuzz now that she’s cancelled it due to her recent knee injury. My favorite is that they’re running a promo where you have to call in every time her songs are cut off in the middle. Heh.
Anyways, these events brought to mind the ticket that I still have for Mixfest in Boston, which was scheduled for September 22, 2001 and completely and totally cancelled. Since the tickets were bought online I got to keep mine as a memento, but OTOH I had to eat at least part of the Ticketmaster fees. It was a pricey memento. Before I looked up the date, I had thought it was closer to 9/11 and I’m a bit surprised they felt the need to still cancel it. But it was easier to err on the conservative side, I suppose.
What cancelled shows have you not gone to, and why?
I bought $400 worth of 2nd row tickets for me and a couple of friends. Then Mike D messed up his shoulder and the concert was postponed till he got better. Then RAtM broke up and the concert was cancelled.
The Beasties haven’t been to town since and I’m still pissed…stupid stupid RAtM! !@#@!
NIN with Pop Will Eat Itself in January 1995. There were protests by a Christian group trying to stop the show because NIN had ties to Marilyn Manson, who was in the Church of Satan. The day of, there was the biggest blizzard in 15 years. Naturally, the Christian group said it was God stopping the show. Ironically, Marilyn Manson played the same city three months later with no protests.
Backstage passes to Jethro Tull back in the early 80s. We got to the Forum and the parking guys told us that Ian Anderson (is that right?) has laryngitis.
We had the passes from a radio station exec who was pals with my dad. I was like 16 or something and didn’t particularly know any Tull except Aqualung.
So instead dad took me down to the Sunset Strip and we spent the evening watching the nightcrawlers wake up.
A friend of mine had a ticket for XTC’s Chicago concert in what became their final, aborted American tour; Andy Partridge had a breakdown in LA, the Chicago gig (and all the rest of the gigs) went unplayed, and XTC never toured again. My friend preserved his ticket through the passing years, and when Andy Partridge came to Chicago to promote Apple Venus, he got the ticket autographed. Partridge was quite surprised, and told him, “My past is catching up with me!”.
Aerosmith, when the drummer set himself on fire by leaving his car running while filling up with gas. They never even rescheduled, and it was their hometown.
In 1986, I had tickets to see Emerson, Lake & Powell (I’d never gotten to see Emerson, Lake & Palmer)here at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center. Apparently, ticket sales were weak, and they cancelled the show.
Had tickets to see 5 of Ray Davies’ shows (the ones in London) this past spring because the venue was a 5 minute walk from where I keep my digs, but he ended up in hospital and cancelled his entire spring tour.
With luck will be going back in September as the tickets are still good for the same seats.
