What really happened at the Kings of Leon concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Friday night?
What we know is that Kings of Leon left the stage abruptly after three songs, and the concert was canceled. Safety concerns were cited.
It’s the why where things get crazy.
The most popular explanation involves, of all things, bird feces. The Web and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are abuzz with the idea that bird feces fell onto a band member, which doesn’t seem entirely preposterous.
A Tweet attributed to the band’s drummer, Nate Followill, said that a pigeon had defecated on bassist Jared Followill.
“So sorry St. Louis. We had to bail, pigeons (expletive) in jareds mouth. Too unsanitary to continue,” reads @doctorfollowill’s Tweet.
After an explosion of online derision came another Tweet: ” Don’t take it out on Jared, it’s the (expletive) venues fault. You may enjoy being (expletive) on but we don’t. Sorry for all who traveled many miles.”
Steve Pick, a freelance reviewer for the Post-Dispatch, said that the bassist for one of the two opening bands, The Stills, may have been hit by bird feces earlier in the night.
Bassist Oliver Corbeil had been standing a few feet back from where Jared Followill would later stand, Pick said. After he moved, singer Tim Fletcher “kind of laughed,” and said that Corbeil was standing in a “(expletive) spot,” and that something had come down from above, Pick said.
The Stills then finished their set, Pick said.
The other opening band, The Postelles, reported no problems, at least on their Twitter feed.
Verizon representatives did not return emails and calls seeking an explanation of the cancellation Saturday morning.
There were also rumors that the band received a death threat, and that extreme heat, which overtook Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell earlier this week at Verizon, was the real culprit.
Pick said that after the third Kings of Leon song, the band members handed their guitars to roadies and sprinted off stage.
Pick said that he and fellow concert-goers wondered, “Is this a joke? Is this a weird piece of performance art?”
After the concert was canceled, concert-goers began chanting an expletive and calling for a refund, Pick said. There was a moment when it seemed like “things could turn ugly,” he said, but Verizon security had quickly lined the stage.
A statement from the concert’s promoter, Live Nation, didn’t give a reason for the abrupt end of the show. But the company was quick to let fans know they have a refund coming.
Here’s the Live Nation statement:
Due to the unexpected abbreviated Kings of Leon performance at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Live Nation is issuing refunds on all tickets.
