Los Angeles Rave 'Hard' Postponed By Promoter Gary Richards

Hard ravers.

A rave-like event scheduled to take place July 17 at the publicly operated Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown had been postponed, a park ranger told the Weekly.

Ranger James Valdez says he received an email from Hard promoter Gary Richards indicating that he "was postponing the event ... As far as the reasons why he chose to do that, I don't know. I'm waiting to get further information."

Valdez said that as far as he knows another Hard concert scheduled for Aug. 7 was still on.

A statement from the event's publicist indicates the July event has been "canceled" but that the August party will go on. "Due to events beyond our control, HARD LA M.I.A. July 17 has been cancelled," the statement reads.

[Update]: One artist tells the Weekly's West Coast Sound blog that slow ticket sales were to blame for the date's demise.

Promoter Richards linked to the statement on his Facebook page Monday afternoon. He also told the Weekly that one act slated for the event, Die Antwoord, has been rescheduled for Saturday at the El Rey Theater.

The postponement/cancellation comes on the heels of last month's 200,000-strong Electric Daisy Carnival event downtown that saw some unruly conditions, more than 200 medical emergencies, 60 arrests and the death of a teenager who likely took ecstasy.

Last year's Hard Summer festival was shut down before it really get off the ground after dozens of young people stormed the gates of the Forum in Inglewood.

The EDC rave prompted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to question whether raves should be held on public property. (EDC was at the state/county/city-run Coliseum).

Just last week we reported that operators of a public venue pulled the plug on an Eastside rave in the wake of EDC's problems.

The July 17 Hard lineup included MIA and NERD.

Asked whether he received pressure from officials over the hosting the rave, Valdez said he couldn't comment.