Megadeth and Peter Frampton have been embroiled in a tiff after both had their Richmond, Virginia shows at Virginia Credit Union Live! at the Richmond Raceway cancelled. Megadeth were scheduled to hit the venue on their current Destroy All Enemies tour, but cancelled it day of, writing, “Due to unexpected and unpredictable circumstances, our show TONIGHT, Sunday, September 15th, in Richmond, Virginia, has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. Refunds are available for tickets purchased via AXS online, by phone, or in person at the venue box office or other original points of purchase. We deeply regret this cancellation and hope to see you at another venue soon.”
Frampton was scheduled to perform two nights later on Tuesday, September 17, and in a since-deleted Facebook post, he wrote, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, our show tonight at Virginia Credit Union Live has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience. Refunds will be available at point of purchase.” Later that week, he also commented on the cancellation at his Philadelphia show at The Met, telling the crowd, as Blabbermouth points out, “So, we had a show canceled the other day because of 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.”
Megadeth issued a press release in response. “Based on Peter Frampton’s recent statement, MEGADETH feels it’s important to clear up some misinformation about the group’s recent show cancellation (Sunday, September 15 at Virginia Credit Union Live! at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia),” it reads. As recently reported, Frampton stated that MEGADETH’s soundcheck damaged the venue, forcing Frampton to also cancel his show there a few days later. MEGADETH did not even get a chance to sound check at all in Richmond, Virginia contrary to what Peter Frampton reports. MEGADETH’s rigger was in the venue’s steel grid system above the stage getting ready to hang the lights when he noticed there was damage to the venue’s grid. He pointed this out immediately to the promoters and the venue. It was determined that it was unsafe for MEGADETH to hang their production or put the band on stage at the risk of in-house grid failure to support the weight of the touring lighting and sound which could fall on the band, crew members, or audience, as it could cause serious injury or death. Therefore, MEGADETH, the local promoter, the venue, and booking agents had no other option than to cancel the show.”
Dave Mustaine also added his own comment, saying, “It seems Frampton was misinformed about our show being cancelled. The decision was purely based on safety. It’s disappointing when someone you admire talks out their ass about you.”
Will Frampton have a reply to that? Stay tuned.