S Poddar
In a surprising turn of events, Megadeth’s frontman, Dave Mustaine, has publicly addressed claims made by legendary rocker Peter Frampton regarding a concert cancellation in Richmond, Virginia.
On Sunday, September 15th, Megadeth issued a statement detailing how their show scheduled to appear at the Virginia Credit Union Live! at Richmond Raceway, planned for that night, had to be canceled due to “unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances.” Besides these words of explanation, nothing was mentioned as to what had led to the cancellation of this performance.
Just two days later, on September 17th, Peter Frampton followed suit, canceling his headliner show at the same venue, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” Again, like with the Megadeth cancellation, no explanation was given for the matter at hand. And once again, those fans were left in the dark until it got rather interesting at one of Frampton’s subsequent shows:.
During his show at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 19th, Frampton implied that Megadeth was behind some problems at the venue. He speaks to the audience, “So we had a show cancelled the other day due to weather. And also, Megadeth did a soundcheck, I think a couple of days before our show, and after they finished their soundcheck, there was structural damage to the stage. I’m not blaming them — could have been another band — but it looks pretty like it. So, sorry, Megadeth. I had to rat on you.”
But there lies the catch: while Frampton’s words seemed to hint that damage to the stage at the venue, due to Megadeth’s soundcheck, was the reason why both gigs had to be cancelled, he tried to play down those remarks by claiming not entirely to blame Megadeth. Words came easily and swiftly to the songbirds to fuel argument, quite particularly against the Megadeth camp:.
Just days after Frampton’s statement, Megadeth issued a strong rebuttal denying claims that the band trashed Peter Frampton’s show at Richmond, Virginia. “Megadeth never even got to soundcheck at all in Richmond, Virginia contrary to what Peter Frampton reports,” the denial said. “As they were preparing for their set, their rigger notified the venue of damage to the steel grid system above the stage.”.
According to Megadeth’s account, even before any of their equipment had been put up, the damage of their grid system was noticed. “He pointed this out right away to the promoters and the venue. It was deemed unsafe for Megadeth to hang their production or position the band on stage with the potential risk of in-house grid failure-to support the weight of touring lighting and sound which might fall on the band, crew members, or audience members at the cost of major injury or death.”
This was because the threat was deemed to be so severe. There was no other option than to cancel the event – the band, promoters, and the venue alike.
Dave Mustaine also issued a statement himself, one this time more toward the degree of claimant Frampton himself: “It seems that Frampton was mistaken about our concert’s cancellation. It is strictly on grounds of safety. It is disappointing that someone you admire and have him to speak out his arsehole about you.”
This response from Mustaine simply speaks to his frustration at not only being misquoted but also at the fact that Frampton is another artist he appears to have a great deal of admiration for, and that he’d say something like that, not having his facts straight first. The use of the term “talks out their ass” also serves to enhance bluntness and lack of filter, as one has grown accustomed to through the outspoken frontman of Megadeth.
While such lines might not have been intended to directly point fingers at Megadeth, the implication was sufficient to generate controversy between the two old veterans.
To date, however, Peter Frampton has had no further comment on Mustaine’s statement. Frampton ended his U.S. tour in Ohio on September 23rd, while Megadeth is continuing along nicely with their Destroy All Enemies tour, where its next date will be in Minneapolis.
Both artists have legacies strung out into the rock world, but their current exchange brings an added layer of unexpected tension into the fray. Whether Frampton will go on to say more on the issue or not is still yet to be seen, but for now it seems as though Mustaine has pretty well shut the door on allegations that Megadeth itself was in any way responsible for the stage damage.
This event also sheds light on how spur-of-the-moment these live concerts can sometimes be-presently, surely-not once in a while, yet secretly major tech issues could suddenly pop up, leaving songs not sung and fans and artists alike disappointed at the last minute. What was once a safety concern has now become public argumentation between two rock idols, which must be watched keenly by fans of both in the coming days.
