Controversy Surrounds Cancelled Crystal Castles Dallas Gig • There's a lot of he said/she said surrounding Crystal Castle's canceled show at the Granada in Dallas last night. Why did CC kick VEGA off the bill? Was it the venue or CC who claimed the sound system wasn't strong enough to handle those 8-bit sounds? What will Carles think? GvsB tries sorting it out. (UPDATE: VEGA release a statement.)
Posted at 6:11 PM
Tags: Crystal Castles | VEGA
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is there any question that this is cc's fault? and it's really lame of them to accuse this random band of stealing their equipment when that clearly makes no sense whatsoever.
Score = 4
I was supposed to see them last night...damn
Score = -2
Crystal Castles are boring live and only slightly less so on record
Score = 3
i saw them in atx the night before and was very dissapointed.
Score = 0
I'm very disappointed in Crystal Castles. By the way it sounds, this was probably their fault. Well as long as they play their set at Coachella, I could care less about their personal drama.
Score = 1
seriously. im sad to say i bought their album. why the fuck would i do that? courtship dating, thats why. its called elbo.ws donny, get it through your head.
feeling pathetic.
Score = 2
crystal cancels
Score = 36
I looked up vega (http://www.myspace.com/vegavisions) and they're just like a "gettin' started" band in Austin, why exactly would they go stealing pedals from CC? I guess it gets them press like this, but I DOUBT that was their motive. Are we kidding? I mean, my opinion is:
Percent chance of random band in Austin intentionally stealing CC pedals - .1%
Percent chance of CC being huge assholes - 99.9%
But whatever.
Score = 6
crystal castles are so 3 crystal bands ago ......
Score = 21
Like many commenters on the GvB post, I can vouch for the Granada Theater in Dallas being a class act. Figure that's worth mentioning here... CC look like idiots accusing the Granada of not knowing their shit.
Score = 5
Official statement from VEGA regarding the Dallas Crystal Castles snafu
Untrust Us (CC/Dallas Snafu)
Current mood: determined
Our deepest apologies to anyone who was expecting (respectively) to enjoy themselves at a dance show last night and instead felt the cold sting of a series of bullshit moves. The situation was unfortunately out of our hands but we greatly appreciate everyone who was looking forward to seeing us and especially to the people at Granada & C3 entertainment who worked with us empathetically amidst the long winded accusations. Though we can't change what CC apparently thinks of us and Granada, we at-least deserve an opportunity to defend our side of the story. Our explanation goes as follows:
Shortly after playing our set in Austin, Crystal Castles asked if they could use our guitar which we gladly agreed too. Shortly after the set the crew packed our gear and helped us load out. An FX pedal they used during their set was packed into our guitar cab (unbeknownst to us). Upon arriving back at my apartment we found it and immediately got ahold of their sound engineer offering to return it promptly. We were told to bring it to Dallas. The next day we arrive at the Granada in Dallas only to be asked to leave the premises by personal request of Crystal Castles via Tom Windish of Windish Agency. We handed the pedal to a sound guy and packed our shit without so much as an explanation for CC Party. Considering we were thrown out of the press pit during the show by their management, accused of mindfully drinking their booze, botching our guest list, and contentiously commenting this to our manager, the fact that they still have the nerve to accuse us of theft is flat out insulting. Do they truly think we'd stupid enough to compromise our reputation as a band, and ruin a rapport with a band we were initially honored to play with for a goofy FX pedal? Treating gigs like these flippantly is just something we don't do. That would be flat out moronic. We still have great admiration for Crystal Castles as artists and in all honesty they seemed very nice in Austin. But the lack of intervention to the arrogance of their management leaves me somewhat disappointed. Granada has already begun working out refunds and compensation. I commend their compassion for the fanbase they've built in Dallas. It's unfortunate that can't be said about the other party involved. I did a radio interview today explaining this shit storm (if things haven't already been made Crystal Clear).
http://www.indie-verse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/vegavscc-alanp.mp3
-Alan
--
Daniel Carissimi
VCR
Score = 10
VEGA is probably loving the free publicity they're getting from this
Score = -11
i think VEGA sound like genuinely good guys, and its really unfortunate that this happened to them
Score = 5
Alan from Vega =/= Alan Vega?
Score = 3
please, please stop making references to hipsterrunoff.
Score = 2
crystal castles are for altbros trying 2 be authentic.
Score = 2
crystal castles seem like the worst humans ever
Score = 4
Yeah. Crystal Castles seem like major assholes. I feel like this is like the 5th story I've read in the last year of someone accusing them of being jerks or doing something wrong.
Like there was that thing with Trevor Brown:
http://pitchfork.com/news/33548-crystal-castles-artist-settle-madonna-image-dispute/
And then there was that thing where they sampled LO-Bat without permission or something.
I think they need to work on thier PR. Cuz they're coming off like jerks.
Score = 5
Stupid $#!*….there is some BS both ways – The sound system actually probably would have blown if they had continued to blast the decimated 8bit square wave kick drum coming off the outputs of commodore 64 or whatever archaic doo-dad of the week the band had chosen to exploit …
I’ve been present when this has happened on more than one occasion and it is usually the fault of both the artist for not knowing what they are actually doing in regards to creating proper gain structure in their own music – and then in the case of the venue or for not having an engineer who is versed in the art of electronic music - music that is capable of pushing traditionally calibrated systems to their maximum.
However, the Grenada has fairly decent vertical line array system that should have been able to handle whatever was thrown at it - at the appropriate volume levels.
If the mix is happening by the guy on the stage before it gets to Front of House – the only thing the venue’s engineer can do is compress and attenuate the incoming signal. It makes sense that this venue’s engineer would be conservative on the levels and little more authoritative when he hears a bunch of lo-fi unpredictable squelches coming out of the mains and someone bouncing around yipping like a Chihuahua.
In the case of CC – these kids walk into a place they’ve never been before and all of a sudden become acoustical consultants - because their music doesn’t sound like they are used to hearing it…hmmm…
If you’ve ever smelled burnt speaker on a large scale before – and you happen to be in the sound biz and on the wrong side of that situation– you know EXACTLY what happened.
Score = -4
I was at the Austin show, it was a bit short but still kicked ass...crystal castles that is. Vega are fucking awful! So... no matter how bad CC come out looking on this, rest assured, they did us all a favor by getting rid of that shit that was opening! Im talking they suck bad!!
Score = -6
These two are big time assholes in person. Noses in the air and all that. Trust fund brats. Entitled to everything. Sorry girl, you might look good, but looks fade, and another hot 18 yr old girl will take your place in a year or two. Do some more blow, assholes.
Score = 8
That girl is gross.
Score = 5
I met Crystal Castles in Austin before and after the show. They were very nice and polite. I got autographs and even pictures.
HOWEVER, their manager/management are fuckin assholes. They were being rude. It is not Crystal Castles but their management.
Score = 1
i agree with hey you.
i was also there waiting for pictures and autographs.
alice glass was so happy to take pictures and sign shit.
the management was beyond annoying.
they were rude, snarling and cussing at fans.
and vega was wonderful, they might not have fit the cc shows too much, but the sound is very good.
i talked to ronnie and he was such a sweetie! he took pictures and talked about the band and how the show was for him.
and cc seem like nice people, but the management can get bent.
alice and ethan need to fire that stick up her british tart ass manager and the ugly caveman as well and get better human beings to be their management.
i'm sorry vega that they did that to you.
and things like that are gonna bite crystal castles in the ass.
cc better watch what they are doing because who knows,
they are famous today, and will probly be gone tomorrow because of how they treat the fan base.
Score = 4
CC=amazing debut album, horrible live shows
Score = 0
ALICE GLASS IS HOT
Score = -4
I will also vouch for Granada. Great venue, great people who know their stuff. The Granada is one of the few things about Dallas I'd actually bother to defend.
Score = 1
Yeah, the Granada is great. I've seen several shows there over the years and it's definitely the best venue in Dallas (the Palladium, on the otherhand, sucks shit, and I hate that that's where MBV are playing this week). I saw CC in Denton right before their album came out and it sounded like they just put the CD on and turned the volume all the way up. Definitely not impressed with them live. Plus the crowd was comprised of the most laughably dressed hipster kids I've ever seen.
Score = -1
How bummed are you that you have to be stand around the Palladium tonight? If I had a bum-o-meter it would be off the scales right now.
Score = 0
CC performed in Bowling Green two weeks ago and it was one of the worst shows I've ever paid to see. They cut the two opening bands, sauntered in high out of their fucking minds, Alice screamed into her microphone for 25 minutes and doused the front row with vodka, and then they left.
The sad part is, the phalanx of 16-year-old scene kids who made up the first five rows were so into it. I couldn't believe it. Awful awful awful show.
Score = 1
tell me what to swallow
Score = 1
wait how old is alice glass?
Score = 0
Don't blame the venue for this mess. It's called the music" business" and CC didn't handle their business that night. Lost your gear before a gig?Get your Ass on the phone and GET MORE! I live in Houston and drive four hours to see shows in Dallas all the time. The Grenada ROCKS! It was a bit warm for the Cut Copy show but, the sound was NEVER a problem.
Score = 3
Why are some of you upset that so called "Hipster Kids" go to shows like this? Better this than some Country Kicker Klan rally. Give the kids a break...they want to be as "COOL" as you kidacomputerok! Don't Hate..Educate!
Score = 1
Crystal Castles is a total dissapointment live, they played a factory gig in Los Angeles last year. they came on an hour late, didn't even speak, a beat started and alice just screamed in the microphone, stopped playing after 2 songs..some issues with crowd control I think, and they didn't come back on for another hour which by then we left. stick to the cd
Score = 0
we were ALL those "hipster" kids that were "laughably dressed" at one point. we wern't born listening to MBV or Radiohead, or (insert indie band here) or ( insert a band nobody but me has ever heard of before) I love talking to people at the shows I go to because I remember when I thought Incubus and Weezer were Indie and this cool record store worker made me a mixtape with MBV, Magnetic Fields, Stone Roses, Trembling Blue Stars, Ocean Color Scene, Ride, Slowdive, Libertines, and Inspiral Carpets and it opened up all these doors to me, Nobody is the best Music fan, we're all learning of new bands constantly, let the kids dress how they wanna dress
Score = 4
Alice Glass needs to stop rollin' bills
Score = 1
apparently they have issues with stuff like this quite often:
http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid2=844&fid1=32870&csid1=0
Score = 0
cool interview i did on video with VEGA last night after the show
http://www.helloooooo.com/2009/05/06/flight-of-the-conchords-vega-hangover/
Score = 0