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Waiting Crowd Stunned As Band Cancels Show

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

TAMPA - Fans of Stone Temple Pilots were left wondering this weekend why the group didn't perform Friday night at the Ford Amphitheatre and whether the band plans to reschedule.

"I think most of frustration is directed at how it was handled that night," said Ryan O'Laughlin, 33, of downtown Tampa, who attended with six friends. "As soon as the bar was closed, that's when they made the announcement."

Fans celebrated through the opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, then waited more than an hour before being told the show was over.

The announcement said "inclement weather" had prevented the group from traveling to Tampa from Fort Lauderdale. The band also canceled its Thursday night performance in Orlando because of Tropical Storm Fay.

The 20,000-capacity amphitheater erupted in loud boos and shouts. Some fans gathered near the front shouted and threw plastic water bottles and cups onto the empty stage.

"It was very disappointing," said Susan Barnes of Riverside Heights, who attended with two friends from Orlando. "You don't tell people in Florida you're not going to be there because of the weather. If that's the case, it better be a hurricane."

Fans doubted the band's explanation because Tropical Storm Fay had by that point moved across the Panhandle into Alabama. There were scattered showers across Central and South Florida, but the heavy rains had passed. Some fans kicked over trash cans as they walked out of the theater.

The group's Web site didn't offer much more of an explanation for the canceled show.

Several fans said on the site's message boards that they had gotten refunds through Ticketmaster.

The site promised a new concert but didn't give a date, nor did it explain why fans were not told until 10:15 p.m. that the group had canceled.

It did offer this: "Please hold on to your tickets and listen to your favorite radio station, or go online to LiveNation.com for updates on a future scheduled performance."

Live Nation's Web site, meanwhile, had no information about a rescheduled show.

Barnes and O'Laughlin said they hadn't decided whether to get refunds or wait for a makeup performance.

"I just think the whole thing was handled poorly," O'Laughlin said. "I don't buy that weather thing. That's a total cop-out."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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