While it is hard to imagine many Metallica fans in India, 25,000 fans turned up to watch the metal band perform on Friday night. Unfortunately, the show could not go on, as the band found the front of the stage barricade insufficient to hold the crowd back and decided to reschedule the show for the next night. This is where things went reportedly wrong, as the 25K fans were not willing to accept the decision to delay the first Metallica concert in India ever.
The Huffington Post reports that “riots ensued, with fans setting banners on fire and rushing the stage to trash instruments that had already been set up for the band.” A number of fans were injured and there are also reports of, uh, “traffic jams.”
Making matters worse is the fact that the performance that was deferred to Saturday in Delhi didn’t go down, either as “the band and promoter were unable to obtain the proper permission to hold the event the following day.” And while refunds are being offered to all paying customers, word is that four of the event’s organizers were “arrested for swindling fans, with charges including selling more tickets than the venue could seat and not telling fans about the cancellations on time.”
The concert was part of the nation’s first Formula One race series and Lady Gaga is scheduled to perform Saturday to close out the festivities. Be careful, Gaga!
