Yeah Yeah Yeahs Replace Beasties in Chicago, Decider Runs Down Other ACL Options

ACL you guys suck the yeah yeah yeahs shouldnt even be considered to replace the beastie boys. Its all about the money you guys are a bunch of chodes

Tenacious D has been scheduled to replace the Beastie Boys at SF Outside Lands Music and Art Festival on August 28-30.

http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned/suggested: Neil Young.

He's playing Farm Aid in St. Louis on 10/4, so slotting him in two nights before at ACL Fest wouldn't be completely unrealistic.

I know I'm probably gonna get slammed by the indie elitists on this one, but...

...my concern is that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a handful of songs most ticketholders may know, but that's about it. (I can only think of three off the top of my head; granted, I don't read Pitchfork or anything.) That doesn't really equate to headliner status to me. That equates to "hmm, I'm sure they'll play at Stubbs sooner or later, I'll catch them then."

Beastie Boys have much more widespread appeal, with numerous songs off multiple albums that were incredibly popular. Moreover, they are a band that is NOT as likely to play a local venue because of their enormous appeal--and if they did it probably would be Verizon or Frank Erwin Center cause they're just so popular.

Looking at it from that angle, I think the only bands on Decider's List of "it could happen" bands that make that cut are Snoop (and yes, I know he's about to play Stubb's, and not a bigger venue, but he certainly has the longevity as a popular artist), Willie Nelson (but he just played 2 years ago, and is such a COMPLETE 180 from Beastie), and The Flaming Lips (also played two years ago, though it was AWESOME.)

I'd be pretty happy seeing either Snoop or The Flaming Lips. Most of the other "options" I find pretty dissapointing, and not of "headliner" material. I really hope C3 pulls something good out of their hat.

I just noticed that the ACL Fest website has already been updated to say TBD where the Beasties used to be.

When the White Stripes canceled, it was almost immediate that the schedule was updated to have everyone shifted up/back/whatever. Point being: This should be a good indicator that the C3 folks are on the ball and hopefully working for something worthwhile and not just throwing in the towel.

For what it's worth, I don't really like the YYYs but there were a lot of people hoping they'd be on the bill months ago if my recollection of blog chatter is accurate.

And, the YYYs did play 3rd to last on the final day of Coachella a few months ago, which would indicate that they are big enough in terms of a draw at some festivals to be playing at late(r) slots.

I'd much prefer the Lips.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Wasn't Titty Bingo available?

Seriously, I don't think this means they will also replace the Bee-Bees at ACL. These festivals are booked around bands' touring schedules & when they'll be in the area, in most cases. So the YYY's may not me available in early-Oct.

Also, Lollapalooza is in just a couple of weeks, so C-3 was under the gun to fill the bill. They have a lot more time to book a more suitable headliner for ACL.

Oh, and you know what night isn't sold out on single night tickets? That's right: The night the Beastie Boys were the headliner.

TLK BOUT A BIG DEMAND 4 DA BEASTIES N CHARLES ATTAL STEALIN' TEH PEOPLEZ MONIES!!!111

Sand meet Vagina. Vagina meet sand.

Ha.

Those damn millionaires. All of them, millionaires I bet you. You can bet that those millionaires with all of their money just think they're sooooo rich.

Millionaires with all of their millions.....makes me so mad.

Thank you, Elvis. I needed that.

You know how many times a headliner has canceled due to illness? 2.

You know how many times the festival has happened? 8.

Do the math (years 2-8):

2 headliners * 2nights (Friday/Saturday) + 1 headliners * 1night (Sunday) = 5 headliners/year = 35 headlining caliber bands

Toss in 2 headliners for 2002 and that's 37 possible headlining caliber bands and 2 have canceled, unfortunately this year and last year.

If you paid the max price per 3 day ticket ($175?) and skew the $$ per band towards the headliners, you're probably mentally allocating ~$20/headliner, right? (As in, man there are 100 bands playing, but I only want to see about 20 of them and I really want to see band X who is worth about $20 of the $175 of this ticket to make me pay the full price, etc)

So if your reason for not going is the 2/37 chance that a headlining band might cancel due to illness and C3 might not refund you $20, I can't imagine how you'd ever be happy.

Also: how many of the people who are going to whine about C3 not refunding them ~$20 are the same people who bitched that the festival was trotting out washed up mid-90s-and-now-irrelevant acts... and they should have booked cutting edge worthwhile bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

*yawn*

Ohhh... I must've stepped on the toes of the Charles Attal fanclub....

I stopped going years ago when I realized it's just a bunch of discomfort to put up with so you can see bands of marginal interest from 1000 feet away while paying a huge ticket price. I never claimed I wouldn't attend because of the risk a headliner might not play. I won't attend because it sucks in general.

If the Beastie Boys night isn't sold out, Attal has even a more credible claim to damages against their insurance company. Mo' Money, Mo' Money for Charlie.

The screw job that most people recognized last year, that's repeated this year, is Charles doesn't have a good fallback for this scenario. Instead of calling up a backup (ZZ Top was a rumor last year) that would be of the same caliber or better than the missing headliner, Charles just keeps the same lineup minus the headliner. That kind of sucks for the people who bought plane tickets to fly from out of state under the assumption they were going to see their favorite band plus some other bands. Instead, they end up with 'some other bands'. Charles could use the insurance money to hire another equal act. Instead, the fans receive less for their ticket price and Charles Attal makes more.

Defend Charles all you want. But your time will be better spent talking to the disappointed ticket holders. I'm certainly not one of them. And if you think it's going to just be a small group, I recommend that you bring a chair to the discussion.

Seth

a. Not a member of the C3 fanclub, nor was my reply directed more than generally at you.

b. Your second paragraph is the most legitimate reason for people to gripe and an honest assessment to your own situation. Too many people come up with a billion other reasons, rather than just admitting it's not their cup of tea.

c. Your fourth paragraph is a bit premature and where my reply came from. Last year, the White Stripes canceled with way shorter notice. This year, we're about 30 hours since the notice of the situation and C3 has already found a replacement for Lollapalooza. Before we jump all over C3 for not offering refunds, let's at least give them a week or two to try to find a replacement, no?

d. If you're a disappointed ticket holder, be happy you and your loved ones don't have cancer. It's a bitch, to say the least, and not seeing the Beastie Boys (or a suitable replacement) isn't so bad.

Man, Charles Attal keeps getting the windfalls on these ACL headliners, doesn't he? The guy signs contracts with these bands with monetary penalties for them not showing up. The bands have insurance companies back them on these tours. So the Beasties pull out of this year's ACL and their insurance company pays Charles Attal a sum of money to compensate.

Meanwhile, Charles Attal has sold all the tickets to fans who anticipated seeing the Beastie Boys. He doesn't pay back any of the ticket price to the fans, so there's no damages on his end.

Then he turns around to one of his second-string acts and offers them the headlining spot. They're young, hungry, and flattered, so they take it for probably no more money than they were already getting. The YYY's certainly aren't going to put the squeeze on Charles and ask for Beastie Boys type of money.

Charles Attal just walked down to the bank to deposit all the fans' ticket money, the money he was going to pay the Beastie Boys for performing, and the money the Beastie Boys' insurance company just paid him. Hopefully he remembered to sign the back of all those checks!

Seth

This is one (of a growing list) of the reasons why I no longer buy ACL tickets in advance. Or in the case of recent years, at all.