Recent Blackmore’s Night show at Sony Hall in New York city ended abruptly, as Ritchie Blackmore and then the rest of the band left the stage in the middle of the show and never came back.
The problems seem to have started from early on with an obvious nervous Blackmore going on stage to check something before the started and going backstage. After the band played the first song a fire alarm went off and kept ringing throughout Blackmore’s Night performance. Plus, despite the bands requests to turn the stage lights down that never happened, all of that leading to Blackmore’s exit after almost an hour.
Read an excerpt from the official Blackmore’s Night announcement: “Never in 25 years of being onstage world wide have we ever experienced the ill treatment of band and audience by the Sony Hall NYC as we did tonight. Trying to keep emotions in check, we will describe, factually, what the attendants and people “in charge” of Sony Hall put us all through that led to total disaster and forced the show to end much much earlier than we wanted.
“When we got there, it was freezing. All our band and crew were complaining about how icy the room was. Cold often wreaks havoc with not only vocals but the fingers of those playing the instruments as well as the reed instruments and any string instruments…guitars, hurdy gurdies and violin. We repeatedly requested that they shut the air conditioner so that the room warmed up enough for us to be able to put on the performance expected of us all.
“We went to get dressed, into a dressing room that had no working facilities (toilet, etc.) and when we returned to the stage we noticed that it was even colder. The stage decorations actually blowing in the direct wind current from the air con showed that the unit hadn’t been shut off at all. So band and crew stood backstage in coats hoping that the room would eventually warm up. It never did. They never shut the air conditioning off and even the fans had to keep coats on during the show. We told them we couldn’t go on until they shut the freezing air. We had to wait an additional 15 minutes after our intro tape had begun until they finally realized that we couldn’t go on until they stopped the air con. When they realized that we wouldn’t take the stage till they stopped the cold air blowing, they finally shut it off. Then we went on stage.
“From our second song, a loud beeping filled the room. It went through every song we played. It would stop for a minute or two, then continue incessantly, ruining any song we tried to play. We were informed by production that it was a fire alarm pulled by someone ‘on the third floor in the Paramount Hotel’ and, although it was unnecessary for us to evacuate the premises and everyone was safe, they refused to shut the alarm off. This beeping went on throughout many of our songs. We tried to make light of it, tried to get people to laugh and joke about it, even worked it into a song since it wouldn’t cease. But after that loud beeping throughout 1/2 of the show. we could not do anything else to overcome the constant distraction.
“Add to that the fact that the assigned lighting ‘professional,’ (which) we requested when our production team advanced the show and were assured would be provided by the venue, kept such bright migraine-inducing lights blaring into our faces, never changing, never stopping, even after we requested during soundcheck that the lighting would change and be sensitive to the song moods. Ritchie twice went on mic to tell the lighting person to shut those three bright and offending lights and was ignored each time. Candice twice told the lighting person on mic that he was putting the show in jeopardy by not lowering those lights and to please use ‘his faders, or even an on/off switch would be helpful at this point’ and was ignored. Two fans at that point came forth to offer visors or sunglasses to wear and passed them onstage, feeling the band’s plight. It was no use. The lighting person ignored everything that was told to him and kept those lights on and blaring”.
