From a Coldplay kiss cam to Steve Miller's cancelled tour (and more), it's a cruel summer for concerts
Now, not so much. We've gone soft. Jet Airliner singer Steve Miller just cancelled his band's tour before it even got off the ground. He blamed it on 'the weather,' presumably while gesturing vaguely toward the sky.
'The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires makes these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable,' the 81-year-old rockstar said on his website.
Steve, my dude, whatever happened to 'keep on rock'n me, baby'?
It's been a tough week for touring all around, smack dab in the middle of the industry's busiest season. Let's start with the pre-sale for three Paul McCartney concerts in Canada that caused long waits online and predictably triggered complaints about the sky-high ticket prices. Paul used to be the cute one, now he's the rich one (and one of the only ones).
Also this week, members of Jane's Addiction filed lawsuits against each other in a dispute that stems from a 2024 onstage altercation between singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro. It's a real he says/Jane Says situation.
In a 30-page complaint, Farrell accuses former bandmates Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins and Navarro of allegedly bullying, harassing and otherwise conspiring against him for years. He also claims his fight with Navarro was a result of his frustration over the band 'playing their instruments at a high volume so that he could not hear himself sing without blasting his own in-ear monitors at an unsafe level.'
Loud music? Lock them up.
In their own lawsuit, the other three musicians are seeking US$10-million from Farrell, alleging the singer caused the cancellation of last year's reunion tour. Navarro also filed his own action against Farrell for alleged assault and battery stemming from the scuffle at Boston's Leader Bank Pavilion last September.
What with onstage punching and climate-change concerns, summer concerts are no longer safe. For further proof, just ask Andy Byron. The CEO of AI software company Astronomer was caught on a kiss cam getting all Viva la Vida with a woman apparently not his wife at a Coldplay concert this week at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
'Oh, look at these two,' Coldplay's affable frontman Chris Martin said upon spotting what he assumed was a proper couple. 'All right, come on, you're okay. Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.'
Martin, of course, missed the third option: Perhaps the pair was horrified at being outed as fans of Coldplay, the bland purveyor of melodically emotive piano ballads.
Besides, who takes their paramour to see a middle-of-the-road band such as Coldplay? Extramarital concert-going calls for something edgier and dangerous − Air Supply or, apparently, Jane's Addiction would be more appropriate.
Coldplay gets credit for its commitment to climate change initiatives. The British band's current Music of the Spheres tour reduces carbon emissions by using sustainable aviation fuel and renewable energy sources where possible, while practicing a zero-plastic policy at their shows.
Unfortunately, Coldplay's environmental impact can't come quickly enough for Miller, whose worry over volatile atmospheric conditions is too much to bear. He might be part of the problem, though. This is the rocker who in the 1970s famously sang about going from 'Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.'
It was that kind of inefficient tour routing that left an excessive carbon footprint that got us where to we are today. I don't have any evidence, but I feel like mile-high shag carpeting was involved as well. Fly like an eagle, indeed.
This weekend, I'm taking in a Beck show at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. I haven't seen him since 2002, when the Flaming Lips opened up for him and served as his backing band at Massey Hall.
An equipment snafu cut the Flaming Lips set in half. Beck came on and hit himself on the head with his guitar. He left the stage for a bit, only to come back and curl up on the floor to sadly play a harmonium.
Be careful out there, music lovers.
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