Eric Church is a Mountaineer from Appalachian State!  I had no dog in this fight until now...

Go Blue Devils !!    LOL

There's a legendary story about Alice Cooper in 1971 leaving the audience waiting for 3 hours because he was watching a hockey game lol.  I think postponing would be better than that lol.

I'm not a Church fan, but don't really have anything against him, but that's a pretty douchey move. If it was Ball State, maybe I'd understand, but UNC regularly goes deep into the Tourney. Just take March off if amateur basketball conflicts with your work schedule.

@porkchopbob:  Agree 100%.  They know the Final Four dates when the season begins!  Pitiful.  I don't pay ANY attention to him but if I were a fan this would be it for me.

@robslob Wonder if this have an effect on his relationship with booking agents and the operators of venues? 

George Jones developed a habit of not showing up but it apparently was related to alcohol problems. 

I only remember one show the band or group in this case didn't make it and that was the Four Tops in the late 1960's. 

About five minutes before they were to take the stage a local DJ took the stage and announced the Four Tops manager just called and they can't make it tonight. I never knew the reason. 

But Eric Church isn't a no show. I don't think I've ever heard of this happening. He decided he would rather watch a ballgame with his family than make one of his scheduled dates on a tour. 

Sounds as if his career isn't that important to him. 

What BS.  As somebody who occasionally will travel (long drive/airfare, hotel) to a show for one reason or another and the travel costs and planning that goes into that, to think a performer would just say screw it as the date approaches because he wants to do something else instead!  The commitment the fans made to support him and attend the show matters not.  What a jerk.  He should just retire and do something else with his life if that is the respect he has for his fans.

Posted by: @porkchopbob

I'm not a Church fan, but don't really have anything against him, but that's a pretty douchey move. If it was Ball State, maybe I'd understand, but UNC regularly goes deep into the Tourney. Just take March off if amateur basketball conflicts with your work schedule.

Easy on the BSU Cardinals, alumni here. 😋 😋 😋 

The just hired a new head coach. Ex IU player Michael Lewis. Hopefully he will turn things around.

Posted by: @jszfunk

Easy on the BSU Cardinals, alumni here. 😋 😋 😋 

Apologies to you and David Letterman. I'll change it to the St Pete Peacocks 😉

 So he is cancelling the concert?! Why in the f--k would he just not

reschedule? That's ridiculous.

Wow, you folks are harsh.  I'm not a fan of Eric, nor basketball, but I lived in Chapel Hill and have many old friends who are rabid fans (and music fans).  Eric is a fan of UNC and wants to watch the game in person.  I get it, even if I disagree with it.  I traveled hundreds and thousands of miles following the Dead and it's one show and he gave plenty of notice.  And you don't know at the beginning of the season whether your team will make the final four.  I'd cut him some slack.  

@jarwolfs 

Following the Dead 25 years ago is different. Tickets were cheap and if you miss a night, on to the next town. Today tickets are more expensive, and odds are this was going to be some fans’ first and only Eric Church show. People book hotels, flights, etc. I like sports too but it seems pretty weak to bail on a commitment to so many people - fans, concessions, security, etc - that’s what SportsCenter is for. Even he admitted it was selfish of him.

@porkchopbob Yep I read his words. Church said it was selfish of him to bail on that particular stop on his tour but seeing this team play is more important to him than performing a show. He offered no apologies to anyone who didn't like it. 

In 1970 and 1971 when all I wanted to do is attend an Allman Brothers Band show, I think even how exciting and satisfying those shows were, I would think twice before I drove 5 hours to Cincinnati or someplace again. Of course that never happened. Apparently it is safe to say playing a show meant more to Duane, Gregg, Dickey, Berry, Butch and Jaimoe than skipping out so they could watch the Georgia Bulldogs. 

Man the more I think about Eric Church and what Will Smith did, nobody probably should show up for anything they do for a long, long time. 

Posted by: @jarwolfs

Wow, you folks are harsh.  I'm not a fan of Eric, nor basketball, but I lived in Chapel Hill and have many old friends who are rabid fans (and music fans).  Eric is a fan of UNC and wants to watch the game in person.  I get it, even if I disagree with it.  I traveled hundreds and thousands of miles following the Dead and it's one show and he gave plenty of notice.  And you don't know at the beginning of the season whether your team will make the final four.  I'd cut him some slack.  

No disrespect to you but he just cancelled earlier this week when UNC was going to The Final Four. There was no advanced notice. People had hotels and flights booked to get there. I suppose you can cancel your room but good luck with a flight. 

And as someone said, where is the new date instead? Sorry, BS.

Posted by: @porkchopbob

@jarwolfs 

Following the Dead 25 years ago is different. Tickets were cheap and if you miss a night, on to the next town. Today tickets are more expensive, and odds are this was going to be some fans’ first and only Eric Church show. People book hotels, flights, etc. I like sports too but it seems pretty weak to bail on a commitment to so many people - fans, concessions, security, etc - that’s what SportsCenter is for. Even he admitted it was selfish of him.

Bob, you bring up a great point about the ancillary people that work events to make a living. I used to work the cash room at Northwestern football and basketball games. My buddy worked for the university and he asked if I would do it so I did. It was kind of fun.

But I really didn't care if I worked there or not, I didn't make much. But there were a LOT of people that were there every event and I think it was a very big source of income for them. To have the rug pulled out from under you when you might make over $100 in a night is a big deal. Did he think of that?

Lee et al,

No disrespect taken.  I understand your arguments.  And I respectfully disagree with them. 

What I meant by "advanced notice" is that the game is Saturday and he cancelled Tuesday.  That's not "last second" in my mind.

I traveled all over the world to see bands...and the majority of people DON'T do that.  We followed the ABB and The Dead but people may not do that for EC? I honestly don't know, but I know few people other than our community who do that at all--they go see the local shows. But I know tons of rabid sports fans...and I would guess they could understand why he wanted to see Duke/UNC play in the final four.  Not sure why you surmise that someone likely traveled a long distance to see this and it could be there one-and-only time to see him?  It makes no sense?  If you're willing to travel, then you can see him anywhere?  I don't follow your logic...

And tickets weren't cheap for Dead back then as we made less money?  $20-35 in the '80's for a ticket is equivalent to $80-100 today.  

Just my two cents (pun intended)...

@lee Yep. Eric Church didn't know his team would advance to the final four before he approved this tour. Don't schedule anything around the final four, super bowl, world series etc if you are that much of a fan of a team just in case. 

What Church did, I think, sucks. No concern about anyone else. 

Maybe the game will be cancelled because 3 or 4 of the key players will cancel because they find out Kid Rock is going to do a show in town and they were rather see that!! 

@jarwolfs

I see where you're coming from, but I think you're seeing this from the perspective of someone who goes to a lot of shows. There are a lot of people out there who will only go to 1 show a year, maybe even every 5 years. Every ABB Beacon show I went to was someone's only ABB Beacon show ever - can you imagine they canceled it to watch a basketball game?

Let's say I live in El Paso and my favorite singer Eric Church is coming to San Antonio? Well, that person has 4 days notice to change their hotel and travel plans, which aren't always refundable. Never mind the staff that isn't working a major gig that night is out a payday. Yes other bands have canceled shows for good reasons - family emergency, health, jail, etc. But he'd just rather be somewhere else. Sure some people will brush it off and see him next tour, but shit rolls down hill and he laid a big one.

@porkchopbob:  Could not possibly have said it better and I agree with everything you said.  EXTREMELY selfish move.  I'm not even familiar with his music and now I likely never will bother.  In my mind CHURCH = D*CK.

@robertdee:  

"Maybe the game will be cancelled because 3 or 4 of the key players will cancel because they find out Kid Rock is going to do a show in town and they were rather see that!! "

You really said it dude.  WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Posted by: @robslob

@robertdee:  

"Maybe the game will be cancelled because 3 or 4 of the key players will cancel because they find out Kid Rock is going to do a show in town and they were rather see that!! "

You really said it dude.  WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

 

You really don't see the difference between one concert on a whole tour and a once-in-a-lifetime final four matchup between Duke and Carolina?  Let me help you:  I don't like basketball.  But I moved from NY to NC in Jr. high.  In NY, we played whatever sport was in season and I was a pretty good athlete.  When I moved to NC, they only played one sport:  Basketball.  Even the dweebs were better than I was, because it was what everyone played.  And the rivalry was between Duke and Carolina.  People there lived and breathed according to who won and lost. I was an outsider, because I could care less, and I was ostracized for it.  I was all about pro sports in NY, and there was no pro sport in NC.  College ruled.  I met James Worthy when he was in college.  And some guy named Michael Jordan.  It's a big deal down there and if you grew up anywhere near there, it is all-encompassing.  I get that you don't understand it, so I'm trying my best to convey the importance.  And the funny part is, I agree, he shouldn't have canceled and he should play the gig.  But I UNDERSTAND where he is coming from.  Think maybe others should, too.

@amyjared:  No, I GET IT.  I have never been in the state of North Carolina.  But I played high school basketball in Simi Valley, California.  Back then it was  a town of only 50,000 and during basketball season we were the only game in town and used to regularly fill the 2,000 seat gym.  I wasn't blessed with a ton of natural talent but by virtue of a LOT of sweat and blood by the time I was a senior I was the starting 6'4" power forward on a Varsity squad that finished 13-10 and 9-5 in the Marmonte League.  We had two guys who played pro ball in Europe and if it were not for an idiot of a Coach who blew some of our biggest games we could have done something in the post-season.  I was certainly not a great player but I could have easily played college ball at a small (NON-powerhouse) 4 year school or a JC.  The only reason I did not pursue that was that I also had a 3.74 GPA and I knew that putting all that sweat and blood into a college sport would not be a wise decision because I was not good enough at basketball to convince somebody to pay for my education with a scholarship. So I opted not to play anymore and concentrate on my education instead.   I had an A.A. degree from the local JC by the time I was 20 years old.  That helped me enormously when I went back to school at age 37.  ALL the credits transferred.

Basketball was the only game I played in high school.  It's in my BLOOD and I'm a lifelong hoops FREAK.  

But the fact that basketball is King in NC does not phase me in the least.  Eric Church is a complete A-Hole.

@amyjared 

I don't know a bigger hoops fan here on HTN than @robslob - no need to explain where NC-Duke basketball sits in the universe

Everyone here understands the pedigree of the rivalry and gets why he is canceling. I just think it's not a legit reason to cancel a show on thousands of people. You set a date, you show up.

I'm looking at it from a ticket-buying Eric Church fans' perspective in Texas. If he had canceled a show in Charlotte, probably more people would understand since a lot of them would also want to watch the game.

Warren Haynes is also from NC and it took a broken scapula for him to cancel concerts. Any musician should be thankful to the people who pay to see them, and not take that for granted. They might not show up next time.

Stories from the Old Century. So I was working as a production runner at Vanderbilt for a Drivin' And Cryin' show back in 199?. The baseball playoffs were in full swing, the band are all Braves fans and Atlanta was playing in the 7th game of the World Series (they would lose). That's all the band and crew talked about all day. I got sent out to buy bats, gloves and a batting helmet. There was talk about cancelling the show, but there were a lot of tickets sold and Pace was the promoter (and had a lot of dates scheduled with them). So the band solved the problem by playing the show while watching the game. We rounded up a 25" color TV from the coaches lounge and put it on stage, got some fuzzy reception of the game, found play by play on a radio and put a mic on it, and off they went. Occasional updates between tunes, from the band and the radio. The crowd got in to both things. They did the show until the late innings. They gave the crowd play by play commentary along with the radio, riffed on the swings and misses and a good time was had by all. The Braves lost, the band played a slow blues for the encore. But with all of today's technology I guess it would be too difficult to attempt something like that now. 

@mikewest:  GREAT POST!!!!

@mikewest that’s awesome. I was even going to suggest Church put the game on the Jumbotron. Apparently it’s on TBS (what’s with that?) so maybe the venue doesn’t get cable.

@porkchopbob The venue may not have cable, but all of Church's trucks and busses do. They also set up their own wi-fi and streaming video system for all production departments. It coulda, woulda been great. It's like none of those folks ever had to use a bus generator to power enough PA and lights to get you through a fair date and it shows.

I have a rooting dilemma for the for the Duke/NC game. I want Duke to lose because I have money on them losing. On the other hand, since I now dislike that Eric Church guy, I want Carolina to lose.

Wait, hold the phone:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/eric-church-cancels-concert-refunds-034445581.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall...

Okay, that was totally the right thing to do. So I imagine they are going to have to issue refunds to all of the people that already paid for tix. That could be a logistical problem I guess. But concerts refund money all the time.

Some people are still screwed though for travel. At least he did something.

A professional does not do something like this. An immature pampered child does this. Therefore, Eric Church is not a professional.  

He has since announced a free concert in Braunfels, TX. No mention if he plans to reimburse any travel expenses his fans lost due to his selfish decision on the San Antonio show. 

Go Duke - crush UNC. The last time I cared about a college basketball game was some time in the 1990s. But I care about this one. Hope Duke is up by 20 at halftime and wins by 40.