| Last night was the most shameful, infuriating, frustrating experience
I've had in the 17 years I've been attending concerts and heavily supporting
the underground metal scene in the US. I couldn't believe how excited I
was when I heard that The Gathering was doing a short tour of the US, and
that one of the stops was in Colorado. The show was a 3 hour drive from
where I live, but I felt it was worth it to see a great European band in
the US. I am the administrator for the Colorado Heavy Metal Email List
and a bunch of underground metal fans from the list all drove up to see
The Gathering, as well as an awesome local band called Offering74. One
friend of mine drove 5 hours. He said seeing The Gathering would be a dream
come true, and the highlight of his summer. The Gathering had called the
club saying they would be late. Apparently they got lost in Wyoming or
something. No problem, things happen. We can wait. Their van pulling the
U-Haul trailer arrived around 9:30pm. It was parked in front of the club
for a while and apparently the band went inside to check out the venue
and talk with the club manager. They looked tired,
but they were here! Then a camera flashed and the van drove off. It didn't seem too odd to take a picture of the venue and then drive off to check into a hotel while the opening bands play. The sign on the venue said "TONIGHT GATHERIN". Yep, you heard it right: GATHERIN. They were probably convinced we were a total hick town. The two opening bands played and then removed their equipment from the stage quickly to make way for the headliner. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. BUT THEY NEVER CAME BACK!*^%!^&%!^&%!!!!!!!! I waited there until nearly 1am, hoping that they forgot to change their watches or something. They didn't even have the decency and courage to call the club and tell them they were not coming back. So all us fans just had to sit there and wait. The rumor floating around the club was that if they got to a venue and their name was spelled wrong on the sign, they would take a picture and drive off and never come back. Since I was standing right in front when the picture was taken, I guess my backside will appear in their photo album sometime. I am the kind of guy that is very into bands that are not yet popular in the US. I spend a huge amount of time trying to help all these bands be successful. I helped publicize The Gathering concert out of my love for that kind of music, and they stabbed me in the back. I don't care who you are or how popular you are in other countries; behavior like this is a disgrace to the music industry. I may be just one person, but I will NEVER buy another The Gathering CD. Arrogant attitudes like they apparently possess will do nothing but hurt them in the end. Does anyone remember Axel Rose? I started hating GNR due to his attitude, and now The Gathering has become the Axel Rose of the 1990's.
 Please feel free to repost or print my letter in every magazine, message board, fanzine, email list, etc. We need to send a message to The Gathering and all other bands that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. Without your loyal fans you are nothing. As of today, I no longer am a fan of The Gathering. If anyone isn't too sickened by this to attend any of their future shows, please ask them why they blew off the Colorado show. I'd love to hear their explanation. Very pissed,
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