It's one thing to sell out a show, but imagine it being so oversold that the fire department has to interfere? That's exactly what happened Saturday night (Nov. 5) when W.A.S.P. were getting ready for their show in Dallas, Texas, except the fire department had to shut down the show entirely.
The concert was scheduled to take place at the Amplified Live venue in Dallas. According to a statement on the band's website, the venue capacity had a capacity of almost 2,000, but an additional 1,200 tickets were sold, which would have been a hazardous situation in case of a potential emergency. Therefore, the show was canceled after Armored Saint and Michael Schenker's opening performances.
"W.A.S.P. lead singer Blackie Lawless said, 'The Dallas Police Department advised us to leave the venue immediately because they said they could not guarantee our safety,'" the site reads. "He went on to say, 'Promoters didn’t think this band could sell tickets in the U.S. anymore, well it goes to show the absolute dedication of our fan base has here in the U. S.' No return date has been set for this show, but Blackie said, 'We’ll certainly be back, you can bet on that.' All those in attendance will be issued a full and complete refund."
A prior statement noted that the Fire Marshall told the venue promoter that 600 people would have had to be removed in order for the show to take place [via BraveWords], and that the band had been on the tour bus waiting to see if the situation was able to be resolved. A fan-filmed video from inside Amplified Live shows the moment it was announced that the show had been canceled.
"I don't want to be here saying this, trust me. I want you guys to have a great night. Unfortunately, the occupancy has been deemed too high on this specific patio," someone said on behalf of the venue, which resulted in a negative reaction from the packed crowd. The announcer pleaded with the audience to leave in a peaceful manner and apologized about the situation.
Check out the clip below.
Guitarist Douglas Blair shared a post about the incident on his Facebook, writing, "So, fans wonder why US touring is risky... A beautiful venue, fire code certified for 400, sells the place out with 1700. Dallas City Fire Marshal pulls the plug: 1700 fans screwed."
W.A.S.P. 40th anniversary tour just kicked off at the end of October, and to many fans' delight, they performed "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" for the first time since 2006. Their next show is set to take place tomorrow night (Nov. 8) in Chesterfield, Mo.
W.A.S.P. Dallas Show Shut Down by Fire Marshall
