Last weekend proved unlucky for two Irish bands, as both Fight Like Apes and Jape had their performances cancelled at the Benicassim and Pohoda festivals, respectively. Fight Like Apes were to play the Spanish festival on Friday night, but organisers pulled the plug on a number of sets, including that of headliners Kings of Leon, because of treacherous high winds and a fire that took place just outside the festival site.
FLA singer MayKay told The Ticket: “Our stage got shut down pretty early, and at about midnight, the organisers decided to shut the whole thing down for the night. Everyone from about 10 o’clock got cut, except for Tom Tom Club, who ended up playing Kings of Leon’s slot to a mixed reaction. What a gig to get!”
Tragedy also befell the Pohoda Festival in Slovakia when a storm caused one stage to collapse, leaving one person dead and more than 90 injured. Richie Egan said that Jape were leaving for their soundcheck when news filtered through of the accident.
“The sun had been splitting the sky up until early Saturday afternoon, then the sky just turned, literally, black,” he said. “It was crazy to think that we could have been onstage if it’d been only a few hours later. Our thoughts are still with the families of the dead and injured, and the wonderful Slovak people, who had a great festival cut short by a horrible event.”
lmurphy@irishtimes.com
