Crapfest 2009 - Epic Fail Part III
I honestly think the moral of the story is that you should never put the word "Zero" in the name of a music festival, or any creative product for that matter, because it clearly attracts bad luck. Since its announcement in January, Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009, brought to South Africa by Big Concerts, Coke and 5FM, has been plagued with scandal and disaster.
It started with large scale complaints about the band line-up, which was far more lightweight and pop-rocky than in previous years. It escalated when Coke demanded that an unofficial festival site, where people had been most vociferous about their disappointment, be taken offline. And now, in the latest chapter of the Crapfest saga, just 2 days before the first concert in Johannesburg, 2 high profile international acts have pulled out of the event.
The official press release:
CANCELLATION OF BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE & RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
BIG Concerts, the organisers of Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009, regrettably announce the cancellation of Bullet For My Valentine and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, who were scheduled to perform.
Both bands, who have concluded performance agreements with the promoter and have received payment in lieu of their performance, decided at the last minute to withdraw on their commitments to Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus cited personnel changes, which impacted on their ability to perform at the fest, while Bullet For My Valentine cited studio commitments, as they complete their new studio album.
BIG Concerts CEO, Attie Van Wyk said, “We are absolutely devastated by the cancellation of these two bands. Not only have they not fulfilled their agreements with us, but they have let their South African fans down in the biggest possible manner. And all at the last minute, leaving us in an unfortunate position of not being able to find suitable replacements at such short notice.”
Zayd Abrahams, Coca-Cola Strategic Marketing Manager, said: “Coca-Cola Zero is disappointed by the withdrawal of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Bullet For My Valentine; we are however looking forward to the awesome performances from Oasis, Snow Patrol, and Panic! At the Disco and some of the best home-brewed talent. All concert experiences that have been planned are going ahead and consumers can still expect a world-class production.“
Bullet For My Valentine have apologised to their fans in South Africa. Matt Tuck says: “We’re absolutely gutted to have to cancel these shows, we were proper looking forward to it, but we are really getting stuck in with writing new songs and we have a busy schedule to get everything prepared for recording the new album ‐ which we are all really excited about!”
Festivalgoers who have already purchased tickets and no longer wish to attend due to the withdrawal of Bullet For My Valentine and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have until Friday, 17 April 2009 to get a refund by presenting their ticket at any Computicket outlet. Please note that the ticket needs to be in its original state with the ticket stub intact. No damaged, torn or altered tickets will be accepted, therefore festivalgoers who attend the festival will not be eligible for a refund.
OASIS, SNOW PATROL and PANIC AT THE DISCO will each now extend their performances at Coca-Cola Zero Fest. The Fest has loads to offer this weekend - big sound, bold artists, Zero Heroes, Mist Angels. Chill Zones, Guitar Heroes and Zero Zones.
So, yes, fuck ups and disappointments all around. I don't buy the bands' excuses for 1 second - especially Bullet for My Valentine. "We're contractually obliged to work on our new album." When I know I'm going to miss a big deadline I can see it coming for quite a while; not just 48 hours before. Bullet clearly had no intention of trekking all the way down here. In the grand scheme of things, Southern Hemisphere nations mean little to nothing to American and European bands - they're always bailing on performing in SA, Australia, New Zealand and South America and typically use the lamest excuses.
Of course I'm not excusing the SA concert organisers in relation to this latest screw up. The following comment that appeared after a News24 article on the bands' cancellation made a lot of sense to me.
The Writing was on The Wall -08/04/2009 11:57
C'mom People, Didnt it seem a Little odd 2 weeks ago when all of a Sudden tickets were reduced by 20% with 5 or more Bought, Then Suddenly the Venues BOTH changed to smaller venues.... This SCREAMED that a Cancellation had ALREADY occurred from 1 of the international bands... No Band will give 2 days Notice, BIG Concerts HID this info to try and keep the Ticket sales Flowing... Poor Form if you ask me.... - Daniel
Big Concerts could easily have been covering up the cancellation for a while now. Alternatively, the news that the festival was moving to smaller venues (because of poor ticket sales, no doubt) could have been a blow to the bands' swollen egos. I would expect temperamental performers to pull out if audience sizes were not meeting their expectations. Then again, perhaps they were sick of being messed around by Big Concerts at the last minute.
Also, I have to say that the refund conditions are so stringent that they're pathetic. Big Concerts and the other organisers should be falling over themselves to make up for their massive blunders, not treating paying festival goers like untrustworthy criminals. Patrons should be receiving partial refunds anyway considering fewer bands are performing, or at least get given discount vouchers for food and drink as an attempt at an apology.
I'll say again, if I haven't said it before, if the Zero Fest organisers couldn't get a quality line-up they should have postponed the event until later in the year, when there are other public holidays and long weekends. Good, high profile bands don't tour in April. They tour in the Northern Hemisphere Summer.
Frankly, I hope heads roll over Crapfest 2009, particularly at Big Concerts, who "organised" the event. This year has been a huge let-down and I wouldn't be surprised if there are no more Coke Fests after this. Well done, guys, well done.
And for the record, THIS is how you do a rock music festival! Big Concerts, Coke and 5FM take note.
-----------------------
On a completely unrelated note, tomorrow and Monday are public holidays in South Africa, so I'll be taking a break from blogging (although I'm sure I'll be around on Twitter). Have a great Easter weekend, everyone. See you on the flipside.
It started with large scale complaints about the band line-up, which was far more lightweight and pop-rocky than in previous years. It escalated when Coke demanded that an unofficial festival site, where people had been most vociferous about their disappointment, be taken offline. And now, in the latest chapter of the Crapfest saga, just 2 days before the first concert in Johannesburg, 2 high profile international acts have pulled out of the event.
The official press release:
CANCELLATION OF BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE & RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
BIG Concerts, the organisers of Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009, regrettably announce the cancellation of Bullet For My Valentine and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, who were scheduled to perform.
Both bands, who have concluded performance agreements with the promoter and have received payment in lieu of their performance, decided at the last minute to withdraw on their commitments to Coca-Cola Zero Fest 2009.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus cited personnel changes, which impacted on their ability to perform at the fest, while Bullet For My Valentine cited studio commitments, as they complete their new studio album.
BIG Concerts CEO, Attie Van Wyk said, “We are absolutely devastated by the cancellation of these two bands. Not only have they not fulfilled their agreements with us, but they have let their South African fans down in the biggest possible manner. And all at the last minute, leaving us in an unfortunate position of not being able to find suitable replacements at such short notice.”
Zayd Abrahams, Coca-Cola Strategic Marketing Manager, said: “Coca-Cola Zero is disappointed by the withdrawal of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Bullet For My Valentine; we are however looking forward to the awesome performances from Oasis, Snow Patrol, and Panic! At the Disco and some of the best home-brewed talent. All concert experiences that have been planned are going ahead and consumers can still expect a world-class production.“
Bullet For My Valentine have apologised to their fans in South Africa. Matt Tuck says: “We’re absolutely gutted to have to cancel these shows, we were proper looking forward to it, but we are really getting stuck in with writing new songs and we have a busy schedule to get everything prepared for recording the new album ‐ which we are all really excited about!”
Festivalgoers who have already purchased tickets and no longer wish to attend due to the withdrawal of Bullet For My Valentine and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have until Friday, 17 April 2009 to get a refund by presenting their ticket at any Computicket outlet. Please note that the ticket needs to be in its original state with the ticket stub intact. No damaged, torn or altered tickets will be accepted, therefore festivalgoers who attend the festival will not be eligible for a refund.
OASIS, SNOW PATROL and PANIC AT THE DISCO will each now extend their performances at Coca-Cola Zero Fest. The Fest has loads to offer this weekend - big sound, bold artists, Zero Heroes, Mist Angels. Chill Zones, Guitar Heroes and Zero Zones.
So, yes, fuck ups and disappointments all around. I don't buy the bands' excuses for 1 second - especially Bullet for My Valentine. "We're contractually obliged to work on our new album." When I know I'm going to miss a big deadline I can see it coming for quite a while; not just 48 hours before. Bullet clearly had no intention of trekking all the way down here. In the grand scheme of things, Southern Hemisphere nations mean little to nothing to American and European bands - they're always bailing on performing in SA, Australia, New Zealand and South America and typically use the lamest excuses.
Of course I'm not excusing the SA concert organisers in relation to this latest screw up. The following comment that appeared after a News24 article on the bands' cancellation made a lot of sense to me.
The Writing was on The Wall -08/04/2009 11:57
C'mom People, Didnt it seem a Little odd 2 weeks ago when all of a Sudden tickets were reduced by 20% with 5 or more Bought, Then Suddenly the Venues BOTH changed to smaller venues.... This SCREAMED that a Cancellation had ALREADY occurred from 1 of the international bands... No Band will give 2 days Notice, BIG Concerts HID this info to try and keep the Ticket sales Flowing... Poor Form if you ask me.... - Daniel
Big Concerts could easily have been covering up the cancellation for a while now. Alternatively, the news that the festival was moving to smaller venues (because of poor ticket sales, no doubt) could have been a blow to the bands' swollen egos. I would expect temperamental performers to pull out if audience sizes were not meeting their expectations. Then again, perhaps they were sick of being messed around by Big Concerts at the last minute.
Also, I have to say that the refund conditions are so stringent that they're pathetic. Big Concerts and the other organisers should be falling over themselves to make up for their massive blunders, not treating paying festival goers like untrustworthy criminals. Patrons should be receiving partial refunds anyway considering fewer bands are performing, or at least get given discount vouchers for food and drink as an attempt at an apology.
I'll say again, if I haven't said it before, if the Zero Fest organisers couldn't get a quality line-up they should have postponed the event until later in the year, when there are other public holidays and long weekends. Good, high profile bands don't tour in April. They tour in the Northern Hemisphere Summer.
Frankly, I hope heads roll over Crapfest 2009, particularly at Big Concerts, who "organised" the event. This year has been a huge let-down and I wouldn't be surprised if there are no more Coke Fests after this. Well done, guys, well done.
And for the record, THIS is how you do a rock music festival! Big Concerts, Coke and 5FM take note.
-----------------------
On a completely unrelated note, tomorrow and Monday are public holidays in South Africa, so I'll be taking a break from blogging (although I'm sure I'll be around on Twitter). Have a great Easter weekend, everyone. See you on the flipside.
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