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23rd Aug 2003:
"C
VENUES" BOTCH UP FRINGE BOOKING AT 3 HOURS NOTICE.
BOB CUBA FORCED TO CANCEL!!!
I have
had to wait until the day after our planned gig at Edinburgh Fringe,
that was cancelled by the events organisation C Venues, at 3 hours
notice, so that I could write this news piece with a calm frame of
mind. We have never, in our 15 months as an actively gigging
band, been treated the way that we have just been treated, and we
are NOT happy!
Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the people who headed to
Venue 34 in Edinburgh last night expecting to see us play.
This last minute cancellation was out of our control, as I am about
to explain, and we hope you will come to see us again
sometime. Again, we are very sorry for being forced to let you
down at the last minute.
C Venues is a London run "company", headed up by an
elusive lady called Zena Barrie. Remember that name C VENUES
WHO BOTCHED UP BOB CUBA'S FRINGE
GIG!! We were booked 2 months ago to play 2 shows at the
Fringe, in Adam House (Venue 34). The first, which went ahead
on 30th July (see below) was a shambles to say the least. The
2nd show would have been last night, the 22nd August, had C Venues
not double-booked us with a "school disco theme night"
that "could not possibly incorporate a band into the
evening" - Lisa, Events organiser, C Venues.
Initially,
we were told there was a problem on Wednesday of this week, but
apparently (after several phone calls back and forward and C Venues
working out the difference between their ear and elbow) it was
"going to be fine". The school disco would run from
11pm to 1am, and we would play afterwards. I would have
thought that, since we were booked 2 months ago and this school
disco evening was dreamt up about a week ago that we may get
priority, but C Venues, obviously an extremely unprofessionally run
company, do not consider business ethics as being the least bit
important. Only beer sales matter!
To cut a
long story short, last night, AS WE WERE LEAVING GLASGOW TO TRAVEL
THROUGH TO PLAY THE GIG, I received a phone call from a certain
Lisa, who mutterred in a shy tone: "ehhmm is that
Stuart from Bob Cuba...eehhmm.. there has been a bit of an ehmmm
problem...ehhmm... we have had to cancel you for tonight's ehhmmm
gig I'm afraid....ehhmmm I'm really sorry but my colleagues ehmmm
won't allow me to put a band on after all...ehhmm...and the bar say
neighbours complain about noise anyway when bands play, or
something....ehhmm....I know you've been booked for 2 months and are
due to set up in 2 hours... ehhhmmm ... and have advertised the gig
for weeks....ehmm.....but nothing I can do....".
What a shambles! I cannot believe that a company, who's sole
purpose is to ORGANISE, BOOK AND RUN EVENTS FOR THE EDINBURGH FRINGE
clearly do not have the intelligence to even do that. Is it
that difficult??? how can they have 2 employees booking events
for the same night in the same venue, each not knowing what the
other is arranging, and then not even having the skills to work out
a solution. Finally, they don't even have the savvy or decency
to cancel us with a bit of notice, a formal apology OR an offer of
compensation!!! AARRGH!! You, and C Venues have NOT heard the
end of this! |
