To be angry with the Arctic Monkeys?

[Dulra]

Last night the Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury. Three days earlier they were due to play a sold out gig in Dublin but cancelled it the day before stating the lead singer Alex Turner had laryngitis. He sounded pretty pitch perfect last night 🤔

The gig in Dublin sold out in minutes last September. My dd was due to go and was really upset and disappointed. She has just finished her state exams and had been really looking forward to it. Many people lost money in their bookings for hotel rooms, buses, trains because they cancelled so late people couldn't get refunds.

I just think it is so disrespectful to your fans but obviously the notoriety of Glastonbury is more important to them then their Irish fans. I certainly wouldn't book to see them again.

Sorry OP, but if it comes down to only being able to play a regional gig (however big) or headlining Glastonbury then no act is going to choose the latter. Their label simply wouldn't let them do anything else. I hadn't heard about the cancelled Irish gig but Glastonbury has a worldwide reach and cancelling a headline set would be much more costly in terms of reputational damage.

If you can take comfort in schadenfreude the coverage of the set this morning is pretty lukewarm. Turner didn't sound pitch perfect. He sounded pretty ropey to me.

Saw them last night thought they were dire.
my kids are fans and are there so probably loved it.
A thought- if you’ve booked hotel and travel would it be covered by travel insurance. ( probably not but worth a try)
i always use booking.com and they offer cancellation.

He definitely didn't sound pitch perfect, it was an underwhelming set where he flagged halfway through.

It's rubbish for fans, especially those who book travel and hotels, but judging by last night he was right to try to rest, and as another posters mentions above the contracts and penalties for festivals means its a logical decision to cancel a smaller gig than headlining the UKs biggest festival in terms of attendance and profit.

He was great last year at Reading/Leeds and rough yesterday, so I think he was reasonable to cancel as his voice clearly wasn’t right.

TBH last year DD went to Reading and they headlined there. DD and all her mates said they were rubbish and were so disappointed. Said AT seemed very disinterested in the fans and didn’t interact at all. Sang their set and went off.

I've started adding the insurance to concert tickets (even though they are already expensive) to try and mitigate but then there are all sorts of other expenses that are not necessarily refundable. (Travel, hotels etc)

On a similar note an open day at Brighton uni was cancelled with less than a weeks notice (no reason given) couple of weekends ago. I'd booked accommodation that was refundable up to a week ahead, so had to use it or lose it but lots of people had probably done similar as well as trains etc.

Don’t be upset. I’m at Glastonbury and watched them live. They were absolutely shit, zero atmosphere whatsoever.

Forever be one of the best bands coming out of the UK. People need to get over the tempo thing and the change of lyrics etc. I think it's hilarious and I am a fan and seen them multiple times. Alex Turner being Alex Turner.

But you could tell last night he wasn't on form (only from the performance) but I think it was still great.

Bands make more money playing festivals than they do touring. Also it’s his livelihood! Not fit to work then you rest. Everyone does. Laryngitis can be very nasty and potentially career ending if not taken seriously.

Viral laryngitis takes 3-14 days to recover from.
It's normally viral so antibiotics, etc won't help usually.
Rest and hydration is the key.
Sounds like he was already ill when last performing, so it's been a few days since, hence being ready to perform again, even if not at his best.

Performing whilst in the worst stages of laryngitis can cause longer issues and would not be recommended. These artists will normally only,cancel for medical reasons if advised to do so by their doctors.

I teach and have suffered from laryngitis in the past, as have many teaching staff I've known - a couple of days rest and I can usually get back to work, talking for several hours, albeit not at 100%. But you are advised not to do so for a couple of days usually, ime.

Sadly seems to be common artists cancelling at the drop of a hat. Lewis Capaldi did the same, but he seems to get a pass because he says it’s for mental health.

YABU to even think about wasting money going to see the overrated Arctic Monkeys.

Foo fighters are all screaming though, no Nirvana so don't think other bands have to worry about comparison.

I wish he hadn't bothered at all. Their set was so boring!

They weren't straight after - the FF were on in the afternoon but the BBC waited until the evening to replay it. But for the watching at home audience, yes, they flopped by comparison!

I thought his voice sounded really off last night, and that they adapted a lot of the songs around it. I felt a bit sorry for them as they've taken a lot of flack for it today. Trouble is with these huge stadium tours is that they play night after night and don't rest their voices enough in between.

Lousy to cancel Dublin at such short notice. I understand your daughter must have been disappointed. I do have to say ( and I go to a lot of gigs) The Arctics are absolutely the worst band I have ever seen live. Like they are bored out of their minds and just want to get through the set and get out of dodge. Glastonbury was no exception. I am not a fan of Dermot Kennedy but he will put on a great show tonight and your daughter will have a ball.

This absolutely this. Your concert is more or less your own, a festival especially one as huge as Glasto will have an airtight contract it will be very difficult to get out of. I am sure LC and AM probably wanted to/should have not played Glastonbury either but we’re tied in unless actually on their death bed.

I take two or three days to recover from Laryngitis, if I rest my voice properly.

With laryngitis your voice can go completely, so it isn’t something you can sing though. Also when the chords are inflamed it can cause permanent damage to try and push though it.

It was Royal Blood who had to follow the Foos, which was pretty funny given their twattery at the Big Weekend.

I was at their London gig and it was awful - no surprised the Dublin show didn’t go ahead.

Was surprised it was cancelled rather than postponed.

He wasn't pitch perfect by any means. They took a lot of flack for carrying on with his voice clearly struggling in London... and they were pretty honest on their Instagram Stories, and probably in other places, that they would cancel Dublin and hoped to be well enough to play Glastonbury. It wasn't a surprise that that was his intention. He didn't seem his "usual" self last night anyway, he likely did his best, but he seemed dosed up and in pain.

I mean, by all means be annoyed; but it's Ticketmaster who are the dicks here for not fully refunding.

Have fun at Dermot Kennedy!

Well, this is the question for @Dulra’s DD. Would she rather attend a disappointing gig where the lead singer is clearly unwell or get a refund or rescheduled tickets?

I took my daughter to see them last week Sunday. AT’s voice was definitely cracking during the last three songs. Even last night’s performance showed he isn’t 100%. I know it’s sad when you don’t get to see the act you’ve paid good money for, but that’s life. He would have been foolish to have not rested his voice.

YABU, the Ireland gig was earlier than Glastonbury. Maybe they pulled out to rest for Glastonbury, maybe he genuinely had laryngitis and couldn’t sing.

I don’t think he did sound pitch perfect last night. He looked and sounded strained in places and sang differently than normal as if he was trying to preserve his voice. I felt sorry for him.