Underworld Posts Statement on Hard Fest Shut Down
View more photos in the "HARD Summer: From Party to Riot Police?" slideshow.
Hard Summer 2009 headliners Underworld have posted a statement on their website regarding the events that led the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Inglewood Police to shut down the massive party.
Underworld website The Forum before last night's Hard Summer shutdown
It reads, in part:
...it all seemed really positive. The venue was sold out & there was a good buzz about the place. We went back to the dressing room, got drinks & started pre-gig chatter like always. rick & I wandered out into the arena to check the vibe & it was feeling really good. Then we noticed some people climbing down onto the dance floor from the 1st tier & this is when I started to get an uneasy felling. The was something out've sync with the goodvibes we always feel here. At any moment the flow of people coming over the barrier could've turned into a cascade & people could've been badly hurt. I watched with increasing concern as it continued unstopped. It began to give me a feeling similar to the one I had that tragic night in Athens & my concern for the safety of the audience, should anything have kicked-off or gone wrong, grew swiftly.
We returned to the dressing room, flustered by what I seen but focused on preparing the set list for the show. Then one of our team walked in & (as they had done in Greece) said, "I think you'd better get out". Given the horror we'd experience we didn't hesitate, found our transport & left. A block away we plotted up & wrote out the set list, waiting for a call from our team to say it was all under control & they were ready for us to get on stage. When that call eventually came we returned to the Venue to find all entrances blocked by the police who apologised & explained that the gig had been shut down & was in the process of being emptied. It was clear then that there was not going to be a show at all & it was with enormous sadness for everyone concerned in organising it, all the participants & all the people who had travelled to be there & have a good time that we turned around & left the area.
Note: the incident in Athens, Greece, that the band is referring to happened in 2007. Read more about that here.
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