Noel Gallagher's SPAC show suffers sudden cancellation
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A three-act rock concert Saturday night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center was canceled just before the beginning of the headline set by Noah Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
Jim Shahen, who was reviewing the show for the Times Union, said that after the first two acts, Metric and Garbage, played their sets as planned, an announcement was made from the stage around 10 p.m. — roughly 20 minutes after Gallagher had been scheduled to begin — that due to "circumstances beyond our control, the show will not continue. We ask that you please move calmly, safely to the nearest main gate exit."
A message projected on the screen was even more urgent: "ATTENTION! At this time, we will need to evacuate the venue. We ask that you calmly proceed to the nearest EXIT. Please follow directions of staff and police officers. For the safety of everyone, please do NOT rush or push. Thank you for your cooperation."
The bands' tour buses could be seen departing the venue immediately, Shahen said. Another audience member, Jon Campbell of Albany, described the evacuation as low-key and orderly, though patrons were blocked by staff from using the restrooms on their way out.
Three representatives of Live Nation, the show's promoter, did not respond to texts Saturday night seeking information about the cancellation. The Saratoga Springs Police Department did not immediately respond to a query.
Garbage's official Twitter feed posted a response to the scuttling of the show about a half-hour after the announcement: "Our love and concern to all the fans at our show in Saratoga Springs tonight," it read. "We pray you are all safe and sound. This is f__ing insane."
While no official voices were explaining the disruption in the hours after the end of the show, Garbage's bassist Daniel Shulman posted on Instagram that, "We had to evacuate quickly due to a bomb threat .... Scary."
Shulman edited the post after midnight to excise the reference to a bomb threat. A subsequent Tweet from Garbage said, "We have no idea what happened tonight. We were just all evacuated and we were concerned for everyone!!! I’m sorry we have no real information. We were just told there was an emergency evacuation!!!!"
Gallagher was one of the principal members of Oasis before that British band's breakup more than a decade ago.
SPAC was slated to host a KidzBop show at 5 p.m. Sunday, and Live Nation's site indicates no change in that scheduling. On Friday and Saturday, SPAC will host one of its biggest acts of the year when the Dave Matthews Band returns for what has become an annual summer appearance.
Source: Times Union
