CLASH OF DEMIGODS: Tour Manager, Promoters Offer Conflicting Accounts Of U.K. Gig Cancellation

Joey Severance, the tour manager for the "Clash Of Demigods European Tour 2004" (featuring BEHEMOTH, KRISIUN, RAGNAROK and INCANTATION),has sent the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET regarding the cancellation of the tour's scheduled stop in Manchester, U.K. Wednesday night (Oct. 27):

"Many people are wondering why I cancelled the show in Manchester and I am here to tell you what no one else will. Simply put, touring in the U.K. sucks and here is why. With the EXCEPTION of our good friends Jon at The Underworld in London, H at Emerald Promotions in Ireland and Kelv up in Glasgow at the Cathouse, pretty much British 'promoters' dont give a shit about the bands. This is NO OFFENSE to our British friends or the British people, but the 'promoters' there have to start treating the bands like people and NOT LIKE Animals.

"We were scheduled to enter the building in Manchester at 5pm (this late entry was in order not to feed us — TYPICAL when you come to play the U.K.) Anyway, that time came and gone and we were still waiting to get inside the venue at 5:30....again, this time came and gone. Finally, AFTER 6:00 when I realized that no one was going to answer the door and let us in, I gathered my boys and we left. Now this did indeed inconvienance some people, but at the end of the day, someone has to say enough is enough. I wont even get into the trouble we had ENTERING THE UK due to the incompetence of the 'promoter' who was to handle the work visas for the bands. In a nutshell, the customs agent looked ME straight in the eyes and said 'I could deport you right now.'

"Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, when we are on tour, there are certain expectations that need to be met. We are not arrogant people and we dont expect much. What we DO expect is that when we arrive we are fed, our rider requirements are met and we have the things we need to make the show work. I can tell you that EVERY tour I have ever done in the U.K. (with the exception of the people/places I already mentioned) have been NOTHING but problems. When you tour the continent and arrive at a venue, catering is out and waiting, towels are out and waiting, stage water is out and waiting. When you tour the UK... you have to fight to get this shit. That's not the way things are done. So, for the fans in the U.K., if you wonder why a lot of your favorite bands dont tour there often, im willing to bet my very last euro that this is why.

"On behalf of BEHEMOTH, INCANTATION, KRISIUN and RAGNAROK, I would like to say that we regret that we had to end things the way we did... BUT with that said, let me be the first to tell you, if I am ever in this situation again with any other band, you can best believe I will cancel faster than a New York minute.

"P.S. One thing I left out was when I called the 'promoter' for this show to get directions to their venue, I was asked, 'Which band are you with again...?' Trust me, these are NOT the words you want to hear when you are on your way to play someone's club."

A statement issued by the show's promoters, Say it To My Face, paints a different picture about the cancellation:

"We are very sorry about the cancelled KRISIUN show today. Below is a statement regarding the events of this evening and reasons for the show being cancelled. We are aware that people would have travelled for the show. The bands have let everyone involved down and all we can do is apologise

"We do not want people to assume that we did anything to cancel this show, it was purely down to the bands.

"Here is the whole story. We got the gig offered to us 3 weeks ago, we confirmed it and started promotion. All the relevant info including loading times etc were passed on to the booking agent who then passed it to the tour manager.

"Today Emma got a call at 2:30 from the tour manager asking where we were and why wasnt the Star and Garter open. She explained that there is nobody at the venue until 6:30. The reason for this is that thats how their licence works and if anybody get injured before 6:30 there are not covered with their insurance.

"I (Marios) was doing the 3 way dance gig at Satans Hollow and Kam was running the KRISIUN gig. A couple band members saw Wayne who works at the Garter around 5ish and asked him when will they be able to get in, he said that they had to wait until 6:30.

"Kam arrived at the garter around 6:15 where he met up with other staff from the Garter who told him that the bands just drove off. At 6:20 I got a phonecall of Kam explaining what happened. I rang the booking agent who confirmed that he jsut received an email from the Tour Manager saying that they decided to leave the venue as nobody was there to let them in. The Booking agent replied saying that load in was not until 6:30 and that they should wait. He got no reply.

"The Staff at the Star and Garter put up a sign at the main door saying that the bands decided to leave and that the gig was cancelled. I arrived at the venue at 8:35 and spoke to many people who were really pissed off about the bands cancelling the show.

"Again this has nothing to do with us (Emma, Kam and Marios),it was their decision to pull out and we are really pissed off about it as people will automatically assume that we are shit promoters and we jsut cancell shows because we like it."