One of life's most basic teachings is that shit happens. Something might just happen out of one's control to the point where they must simply throw up their arms and proclaim, "shit." It's an inevitable part of life that is a great barometer for how one manages those tough times.
Shit definitely happened to Tennessee rockers/American music letdowns Kings of Leon Friday night, and this time the band wasn't responsible. No, it seems the rafters at St. Louis' Verizon Wireless Amphitheater is quite the hangout for numerous birds -- ones with a penchant for recognizing truly shitty music. Our colleagues at A to Z, the Riverfront Times' music blog, have reported that Kings of Leon were forced to cancel their set Friday night after three songs due to being pelted by massive amounts of bird shit, one such attack coming far too close to bassist Jared Followill's mouth.
That's a lot of shit for one night. The band's official press release is after the jump.
The band had this to say in the wake of Pigeon-gate 2010:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPIGEON INFESTATION FORCES KINGS OF LEON OFFSTAGE EARLY IN ST. LOUIS
An infestation of pigeons living in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre in St. Louis, MO, forced the Kings of Leon to walk offstage after three songs last night. Even though opening bands The Postelles and The Stills came offstage complaining of getting riddled with large amounts of pigeon excrement, the Kings of Leon decided to carry on regardless. The band felt it would be unfair to the fans to cancel the show at that late moment.
"I'm surprised they stayed on for as many songs as they did," said Andy Mendelsohn of Vector Management. "Jared was hit several times during the first two songs. On the third song, when he was hit in the cheek and some of it landed near his mouth, they couldn't deal any longer. It's not only disgusting -- it's a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there. We want to apologize to our fans in St. Louis and will come back as soon as we can."
When the band arrived earlier in the day, the venue warned management that there had been a significant pigeon infestation problem with summer shows over the years, but they were doing all they could to fix it.
"We couldn't believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets," said Jared Followill. "We didn't want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play. It was ridiculous."
Kings of Leon are headed to Chicago tonight to perform at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre as scheduled.
Refunds were offered by LiveNation, although that was well after the angry crowd -- shocked at the sudden cancellation of the show -- started up chants of "refund!" It should be worth noting that openers The Postelles and The Stills still managed to finished their sets amid the falling torrents of bird shit.
This quote from concertgoer Justin Burnett of Manchester, Missouri sums it all up, "I really wish they would've found a way to keep on playing, because they disappointed everyone there."
This has to be the first time in history that Kings of Leon have disappointed anyone by not playing their music. These Verizon Amphitheater rafter birds have rather eloquently said what many have tried to in previous attempts -- that Kings of Leon are shitty, plain and simple.
