Abraca-dunzo. (Craig ONeal/Creative Commons)
We’re smack dab in the middle of the summer concert season, which means there’s no better time to get out of the house, head to your local amphitheater, and pay the same amount for a beer as you would to get a 30-rack of the cheap stuff at your local liquor store. And we haven’t even got into parking or bathroom lines yet, either. But it’s definitely worth it for nostalgia purposes, though, and your favorite musical acts aren’t going to be around forever.
Some bands are on their farewell tours as age or health issues slow them down. Others have sold off their catalogs and don’t need to tour anymore. And Steve Miller? He canceled his entire upcoming tour because of the weather.
The tour, which was scheduled to kick off on August 15th and last for a month, had the plug pulled on it earlier this week without specifying one particular kind of weather, just the weather in general. “The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you, our audience, the band, and the crew unacceptable,” an Instagram post stated. “So… You can blame it on the weather…The tour is cancelled.”
I want to fly like an eagle. Unless it's raining. Or like not raining. Or flooding. Or on fire. Or… (Tim Brown/Creative Commons)
What kind of joker would do that? Well, the 81-year-old Miller himself is the likely culprit, but he didn’t take the money and run, as refunds are being offered to those who had bought tickets. Interestingly enough, none of the tour dates he canceled were in Texas or North Carolina, two of the states hit by flooding. And while there are some forest fires currently burning in California, he wasn’t scheduled to play there until October. Variety points out that ticket sales seemed pretty light, so perhaps the weather that caused the tour cancellation was actually wondering “weather” fans were going to turn up to see him or not.
And sure, we get it. It’s hot out there, like really hot. And having a show or a night at a festival being cut short due to torrential downpours or lightning is as much a summer rite of passage as paying $20 for a few sad chicken tenders and soggy fries. But hopefully Miller isn’t starting a trend where our favorite musicians turn farmers’ almanac and decide to pull the plug because of what might potentially happen. Could Men At Work call in sick? Might Styx decide they have too much time on their hands to tour? Will the B-52s peace out of their tour because they don’t want to pay roaming charges? Let’s hope not!
As far as the Steve Miller Band is concerned, hopefully they’ll reschedule the tour when the weather stops.
This story is based on fully factual news, but if we got it wrong, blame these guys, we’re just here to make it funny.
