Kings Of Leon abandon gig after pigeon ‘shits in bassist mouth’
Kings Of Leon were forced to abandon their show in St Louis, Missouri last night (July 23) after they were hit by pigeon droppings.
An infestation of birds in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre saw the band bombarded as soon as they took to the stage.
Writing on Twitter drummer Nathan Followill explained: “So sorry St Louis. We had to bail, pigeons shitting in Jared’s mouth and it was too unsanitary to continue.
“Don’t take it out on Jared, it’s the fucking venue’s fault. You may enjoy being shit on but we don’t. Sorry for all who traveled many miles.”
According to the band’s management the quartet tried to continue but such was the ferocity and direction of the bird excrement that after three songs the group felt they could only call it a night and retreat.
“Jared [Followill] was hit several times during the first two songs,” said management spokesman Andy Mendelsohn. “On the third song, when he was hit in the cheek and some of it landed near his mouth, they couldn’t deal any longer. It’s not only disgusting it’s a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there.”
The pigeons had earlier provided fair warning of their intentions. Support bands The Postelles and The Stills left the stage complaining of getting riddled with large amounts of bird droppings.
“The Kings Of Leon decided to carry on regardless,” the group added in a statement released today. “The band felt it would be unfair to the fans to cancel the show at that late moment.”
“We couldn’t believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets. We didn’t want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play. It was ridiculous.”
Venue managers told the band’s representatives earlier on Friday about “a significant pigeon infestation problem with summer shows over the years, but they were doing all they could to fix it,” the statement said.
The band are set to play tonight (July 24) at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Chicago, pigeons willing.
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