Angered over a rain-soaked cancellation, Christopher Langone, a self-proclaimed “lifelong fan” of the rock band Rush, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the band’s three members and Live Nation over a canceled July 7 concert at Chicago’s Charter One Pavilion.
According to Langone, the concert, which while held in an open air pavilion, was billed as a rain or shine event, meaning the band should have played despite the ever present rain storms in the area. In his suit, Langone asserts that he is entitled to a full refund of the ticket price, along with reimbursement for his travel expenses. He reportedly bought six tickets for himself and several friends to attend the concert at a price of $80 per ticket. Langone, who currently resides in New York where he is a PhD student at Cornell University, also paid for airfare to fly out to Chicago to see his favorite band perform.
Langone could not be reached for comment. Companies such as Mondial Assistance offer ticket insurance for such occurrences, but whether he had such insurance is unknown. Many fans opt not to pay for the insurance, which can drive up the cost of a ticket by several dollars.
Langone supports his class action lawsuit by noting that on July 7, while the Rush concert was being canceled, the Chicago White Sox managed to play and finish their baseball game in spite of the rain. James VanOsdol, a Chicago based writer and a fellow Rush fan, took to his blog on Chicago Now to offer his take on the canceled concert that he too attended. According to VanOsdol, after a 45 minute wait to see if the rain storms would pass, the audience was notified that the concert would be postponed to a later date, at which time their tickets would be honored.
The reason offered for the cancelation was that the weather was not predicted to improve and the safety of the audience and Rush would be best served with a postponement. VanOsdol also noted that there were noticeable puddles on the concert stage, and that the ChartOne Pavilion offered little in the way of protection to the stage area. The tentative date for the rescheduled concert could be in September, which, according to Langone, would not accommodate his school schedule.
This is not the first instance of a class action suit against a band for a canceled concert. An attorney in Hawaii successfully sued rock band Aerosmith for a canceled Hawaiian concert date. However, unlike this current suit against Rush, the Hawaiian concert was canceled apparently due to Aerosmith’s desire to play several more lucrative concerts which made travel to Maui for the show too difficult.
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Good luck with that!
Suing for the airfare/hotel is a non-starter given that the air fare/hotel was used. So no refund for out of pocket expenses. Then the concert itself was postponed due to the weather, the fact that the Chicago White Sox were able to play has little bearing. I expect the issues were the electrical equipment and the pools of water on the stage. It wasn’t a case of the band not wanting to play, more a case of it wasn’t safe to play.
Basically, this lawsuit is a waste of time. He could and should have purchased insurance.
He has every right to recoup the money he lost due to the band wimping out on performing. I hope he wins. Frankly, I am sick of these acts scheduling shows and just cancelling, and screw the fans with the attitude that we will always be there. They think nothing of the fans, only their wallets. Look at the price of tickets these days. They only want to maintain their lifestyles. The artist and promoters do not care that some of us have to travel to shows. Next time the promoter and artists, should think twice to placing on tickets, will play rain or shine.
I too, was in the same boat, flying from Seattle to see the show. I purchased ticket insurance, but because the show is being rescheduled, I cannot get a refund (fine print), and don’t feel like purchasing 2 additional plane tix to Chicago. Because of agent/broker legalese I’m out $1200 and forced to like it.
I agree that promoters and artists shouldn’t say they’ll play “rain or shine” on a ticket unless they really intend to. But I suppose a baseball ticket could say “rain or shine”. And the game will be played “rain or shine”, unless the rain gets to the point with thunder and lightning and such, that it becomes too dangerous to continue. So in the end, “rain or shine” has lots of gray area to be considered. Play can continue in SOME rain, but not all.
In terms of lawsuits . . . give me a break. As a consumer, one takes a risk buying a ticket for any event, indoors or out. It’s not the promoters fault when someone travels across the country or has airfare and hotel costs — that’s the fan’s choice and free will. And if they can’t make it back for the rescheduled date . . . . too bad. As long as refunds are offered for a cancellation and tickets honored for a postponement, the artist and promoters have done their duty.
The world doesn’t owe you a perfect night out. Realize the risk, get over expecting everything be handed to you on a silver platter, and go on the make up date.
as a long time rush fan i have read many articles as well seen in many interviews that the most important thing is to perform the best concert for the fans.as for that guy who flew to chicago rush always stops in nyc tri-state area. a true fan would never sue the band.you go thru band management/promoter first.if you any anything about live music and specially RUSH you know that there is a tremendous amount of electrical instrumentation throughout the stage & backstage,not to mention all of the electrical cables that run thru the stage,speakers,keyboards,etc……i am a true fan RUSH fan for over 30 years…you just sound bitter,get over it….met QUEENSRYCHE many times great people very down to earth,i get the same vibe from RUSH…
Yeah every band should be willing to die for me! What’s a few thousand volts?
PS This capthca program is ridiculous. Try #3.
“rain or shine” has lots of gray area… that is a great line!
Come now, they are using wireless guitar/bass rigs so the chance of electricution is nil. If the ticket says rain or shine, then the promoter should make the stage safe for a rainy show. I would say the baseball team playing is more that it is not lightning issue.