Austrian Concert Promoter Accuses W.A.S.P. of Short-Changing Their Fans

June 3, 2004

An Austrian concert promoter is claiming that W.A.S.P. performed an abbreviated show in Innsbruck, Austria Wednesday night (June 2) after making an arrangement with the front-of-house man to pull the plug on the performance 45 minutes into the concert. What follows is a rough translation of the German-language message that was posted by the promoter on the company's (Hafen) web site (under the headline "W.A.S.P. Assholes":

"After exactly 45 minutes (the contracted performance length) the front-of-house man from W.A.S.P. pulled the plug [on the band's performance in] in a move that had been a pre-arranged by him and [Blackie Lawless]. He (Blackie) claimed that got hit by an electric shock via the microphone rack and left the stage outraged.

"The facts are as follows: In the afternoon everything was fine, but in the evening the well known physical and psychological problems of some of the [W.A.S.P.] musicians became apparent. After preventing the second support band (DRAGONFORCE, who were present at the venue) from taking the stage, [W.A.S.P.] spent more than one hour backstage preparing for the show (while the audience waited patiently). I (the promoter) was personally there. Then on stage there was a ridiculous playback show (my opinion) until the power was shut off and the contract terms were fulfilled.

"Once again: W.A.S.P. had their own technicians with them and were happy with the soundcheck in the afternoon!"

DRAGONFORCE, the above-mentioned support act who never got to perform in Innsbruck Wednesday night, addressed their non-appearance in the following message on their web site:

"Due to the extreme technical difficulties tonight, DRAGONFORCE was unable to perform on stage. DRAGONFORCE would like to apologise to the fans who made it to the show, unfortunately it was totally beyond the band's control."

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