Katatonia Autograph Session in Switzerland

[MadTinus]

From Blabbermouth:

KATATONIA Explains Swiss Concert Cancellation - Oct. 31, 2007 Sweden's KATATONIA has issued the following update:

"The members of KATATONIA have now since about two weeks been struggling with everything from the flu, ear infections, pneumonia and sinusitis. Two of the members are still on penicillin antibiotics to get well.

"It's safe to say that KATATONIA never want or intend to cancel our own gigs, and it's never been a common situation in our past. Unfortunately, this time the Burgdorfer gig [on October 20] in Switzerland got suffering and had to be canceled in the last minute.

"Why so late, some might rightfully ask? Well, it's easily explained — because we still intended to play it til the last minute! Eventually it just was not possible. The band was both advised and uncapable of flying or playing — doctor's orders. If we would look for replacements for the sick members, it would be an entirely new band playing and we're sure none wants to go see that.

"With that said, we'll do our best to struggle our way through the Norwegian gig in Oslo [at Screamfest] on Saturday [November 3] and hope for your understanding if we're not in top shape yet."


http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=83895

Still weird it took so long to release a statement, no one's ever sick enough to type something like that, unless they're in a coma or whatever.

 

[Cis]

...nice. Although I kinda miss the "we apologize for inconveniences"- part, ah well, who cares about the etiquette...

BIGGEST respect and thanks to the organisers who managed to make the best of it and to all those who played/ worked for free to avoid bigger financial troubles. You rock!!!

Still weird it took so long to release a statement

Blame it on the Swedish doctors, they are really slow, it takes them 11 days to diagnose a flu...


"If we would look for replacements for the sick members, it would be a entirely new band playing and we’re sure none wants to go see that"

I disagree here. Even half- Kata would have been better than no Kata. In fact, it could have been really cool and special. Remember the Opeth- gig in Hamburg 2001 when Mikael had no voice and various people helped out and made this concert a very unique one? Or Lake of Tears who's mainman (guit./voc.) got ill and then the tourmanager and merch guy took over his job. Katatonia have a dedicated and talented crew too, right?!
Seriously, I understand it's kind of risky, but be spontaneous, consider it next time. No matter how it would turn out, I swear EVERYONE would appreciate your attitude and passion for music!

Cheers& get well soon...

 

[Lisra]

Well... when your stressed any way and then get sick too sometimes people just wanna lie down and get it over with.

Those replacement stories are really, really cool but they need an immense amout of dedication and.. well, let's call it situational awareness which is quite hard to have in those circumstances. I don't blame them really. Being ill simply sucks.

 

[ether]

Quote from katatonia.com

The members of Katatonia have now since about two weeks been struggling with everything from the flu, ear infections, pneumonia and sinusitis. .

An epidemic has broken out in the Katatonia's family!
I know Sweden is cold, but there are many ways to avoid getting ill...(vaccinations, healthy habits, vitamines, sleeping, ecc...) especially when there are important dates fixed in your calendar...
So next time take care of you when you know you are going to travel to play a concert!

It’s safe to say that Katatonia never want or intend to cancel our own gigs, and it’s never been a common situation in our past.

We remember a couple of gigs that were cancelled during the 2003 European tour due to illness, but that was understandable because they had been touring non-stop for more than a month and the band was exhausted and consequently their health was badly suffering from it since they hadn't the time to rest or to try to get better, but in this case the situation was different....

Eventually it just was not possible. The band was both adviced and uncapable of flying or playing - doctors orders.

When did the doctors order Katatonia to stay home and rest? I hope not on the night of the 19th October (after they landed in Stockholm) or before, because otherwise they should have sent this official communication before, instead of writing a two-lines e-mail on that night and then making an official statement after almost two weeks.
And if they were advised before this, how come they still managed to play on the ferry tour? Do you get seriously sick and terribly worse in a day?
Or maybe did they do something crazy on that night? But c'mon they should have known that on the next day they were going to travel to Switzerland and if they already were sick they should have taken antibiotics/aspirins or whatever and then they should have lain in bed tryin to recover for the next day...instead of thinking about "partying", jägermeister and so on.



What can I say, they weren't able to handle the situation....which shows a lack of professionality.
Hope they have learnt something from it!
My respect goes to the organisers of the festivals and all the people involved in this inconvenience.

I agree with CIS, we would have better seen a not-complete line-up or some replacement rather than not seeing Katatonia at all....

 

[Blakkheim]

An epidemic has broken out in the Katatonia's family! I know Sweden is cold, but there are many ways to avoid getting ill...(vaccinations, healthy habits, vitamines, sleeping, ecc...) especially when there are important dates fixed in your calendar...So next time take care of you when you know you are going to travel to play a concert!

thanks "mommy"! we will go to bed in time, we promise. put the vitamins on the table before you to go work and we'll take them too, we promise! is this a joke? r yer the first person that controls when u get ill or not? dya think we have a desire to get on penicllin antibotics? u should really choose yer words carefully here and get real.

We remember a couple of gigs that were cancelled during the 2003 European tour due to illness, but that was understandable because they had been touring non-stop for more than a month and the band was exhausted and consequently their health was badly suffering from it since they hadn't the time to rest or to try to get better, but in this case the situation was different....

thanks again "mommy", or should i call u manager? or band member? you certainly know more than us, u know it ALL.

When did the doctors order Katatonia to stay home and rest? I hope not on the night of the 19th October (after they landed in Stockholm) or before, because otherwise they should have sent this official communication before, instead of writing a two-lines e-mail on that night and then making an official statement after almost two weeks. And if they were advised before this, how come they still managed to play on the ferry tour? Do you get seriously sick and terribly worse in a day?Or maybe did they do something crazy on that night? But c'mon they should have known that on the next day they were going to travel to Switzerland and if they already were sick they should have taken antibiotics/aspirins or whatever and then they should have lain in bed tryin to recover for the next day...instead of thinking about "partying", jägermeister and so on.

partying and being hangover is something u do and are every fukkin night of a tour and u still play the day after over and over again - thats not something new for us, thats not a problem, so dont bring up that as a reason, it only makes u look bad. yer really good at telling us how we shall live or how we lived our lives and how things work out there. STOP IT! we're talking about sickness and health issues here. i also read in an earlier post that u dont take this issue serious. what is it that u want? one of us in hospital or dead? would that be "good enough" for u? dya think we could break into pharmacies to get what we needed? if conditions can become worse? yes not even only within a day, but within hours. if we would have cancelled the ferry too, you'd be happy then?!? stop whining. accept the situation. or dont, but its over.

What can I say, they weren't able to handle the situation....which shows a lack of professionality. Hope they have learnt something from it!

we only learned that accusations are way over the line.

I agree with CIS, we would have better seen a not-complete line-up or some replacement rather than not seeing Katatonia at all....

dya realisticly think we could find the replacements in this time and after we did also make them learn what to play on stage and get them all new flight tickets and what else? would u wanted to see the worst fiasco katatonia gig in our history?! you'd be happy then, wouldnt u.

enough's been said.

 

[Nehebkau]

;o oh dear

 

[MadTinus]

It's all just a matter of communication.

The statement on the site didn't really reveal a lot and didn't contain any apology or even the vaguest sign that you felt sorry for it. Also it's weird it took so long to come up with the real explanation. If I were sick and I would have to cancel a gig very shortly in advance that I know a lot of fans will be disappointed with, will have travelled to get there, I wouldn't know how fast I could explain and tell them we had one damn good reason to cancel and make everyone involved know why you cancelled.

You can just assume everyone will assume you have a good reason to cancel, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. When nothing's explained, rumours will appear..

 

[corvin]

I've been following the thread since the beginning to see if some new information about the cancelled gig would come up. But this discussion has really lost its point.
I don't know why a few guys here are taking their time to continue this story and turning into a big nightmare, which it's not.
Some people seem to enjoy creating rumors and accusing the band they (apparently) like of things like: lack of professionality, (that one almost makes me laugh), lying to their fans and promoters using illness as an excuse, even not visiting a doctor soon enough... Seriously guys, what the hell are you talking about?

It works this way: Shit happens, then after the concert, you probably go back home, of course you are disappointed. But is it really that necessary to tell everyone how deeply pissed off you are? Yes, everyone is, but that was 2 weeks ago so get over it. You don't let out your frustration here by telling Katatonia to be "utterly ashamed" of their illness like someone did here. That, my friend, is utter nonsense!

One guy in this thread took it so far that Anders had to reply to his silly post. Maybe that's what you wanted, eh, kids?

This is not really the kind of support and understanding a band expects. In fact, what you are doing is absolutely absurd. I'm quite surprised that people like you actually like this band. If accusing them based on no information is all you can do, then you have absolutely nothing to say here, so stop writing nonsense. Blog about it somewhere else. Pseudo-fans. Get out of here.

When I talked to a guy at the entrance of the Rocknight, he said he thought they --probably-- didn't want to play so they just cancelled the show because "they're big" and can afford to do that. Ah, yes, that's right, it's what always comes to mind when a band cancels a show. Or "they've got a hangover and are lying around in their bus." This is SO abnormally ridiculous. It's Katatonia, remember?

And why are you all so tremendously impatient? Accept 2 or 3 weeks time until official news is posted. It's easy to suppose what happened and spread rumours. But sadly, spreading rumours is just a poor way to pass time until the real news is here. And stupid rumours DO harm the bands image in a way. So why don't you turn on your brain, start thinking, stop whining and spend your free time with something else? I hate this kind of rumours, especially towards honest guys like Kata.

Besides, making an official statement either the day after or 2 weeks later makes actually no difference. The show is already over. So go to school, go to work, live your life etc. Or do you keep yourself busy thinking about this twenty four hours a day? If you do, you've got at least one serious problem.

So, to Katatonia: Hope you get well soon and see you at the next show!

Till then,
Corvin

 

[Dark Coldness]

I completely agree to corvin's post, except that I think, that the statement now, posted on the 20th october, would have made much less people 'pissed off', as I call it.
But who fuckin' cares, it's over and it doesn't matter anymore.

Thanks to Blakkheim for clearing it up a bit, kudos to that.
Rude accusations to the bands are just out of place here.

Get well, guys!

 

[Hypnos]

@corvin:

you apparently don't know 'ether' since you call her a guy. she is supporting the band for a long time so don't be so fast on calling someone a pseudo-fan

 

[Vincent J.]

@corvin:

you apparently don't know 'ether' since you call her a guy. she is supporting the band for a long time so don't be so fast on calling someone a pseudo-fan

@corvin: What hypnos said. And unless you're a close friend to the band or know them personally you have no right at all to say these things

 

[Cis]

Yeah, it's true, communication can be a tricky thing. I apologize if my statements here made certain people feel uncomfortable. But I just couldn't help it, it's in my nature to speak my mind honestly. I understand it's a bad habit and it sucks. If only everyone was a slimer, what a wonderful world this could be...

*goes and takes lessons in sliming*

 

[cliffburton615]

Anything I posted was in pure anger at not getting to see Katatonia,not a personal dig at the band. Hopefully you are all feeling much better.
I`ll see Katatonia again soon.
The death of Vitek from Decapitated has really put all this into perspective. Worse things DO happen than not getting to see a band.

 

[Deliverance6]

HOLY SHIT.....
I guess maybe I should be visiting more often than I have been.
Quite out of control...just absurd shit here. I hate having to come to the defense of Katatonia beceuse they always do their best....I guess sometimes its just not good enough for some people. When thought about in a logical rational way this situation is bound to happen once in awhile....its just gonna....would I be dissapointed?...of course....would I be angry at the band?...no...I dont think so....because I have been SHOWN over and over that Katatonia, whether sick, hungover, in a bad mood, whatever...they always do their best....REGARDLESS. I dont know how people can have such harshly made "decisions" about a situation they really dont know anything about based on a brief statement.

that is all

either way...I love those guys...and I love this forum and the people in it.

 

[ether]

thanks "mommy"! we will go to bed in time, we promise. put the vitamins on the table before you to go work and we'll take them too, we promise! is this a joke? r yer the first person that controls when u get ill or not? dya think we have a desire to get on penicllin antibotics? u should really choose yer words carefully here and get real.



thanks again "mommy", or should i call u manager? or band member? you certainly know more than us, u know it ALL.



partying and being hangover is something u do and are every fukkin night of a tour and u still play the day after over and over again - thats not something new for us, thats not a problem, so dont bring up that as a reason, it only makes u look bad. yer really good at telling us how we shall live or how we lived our lives and how things work out there. STOP IT! we're talking about sickness and health issues here. i also read in an earlier post that u dont take this issue serious. what is it that u want? one of us in hospital or dead? would that be "good enough" for u? dya think we could break into pharmacies to get what we needed? if conditions can become worse? yes not even only within a day, but within hours. if we would have cancelled the ferry too, you'd be happy then?!? stop whining. accept the situation. or dont, but its over.



we only learned that accusations are way over the line.



dya realisticly think we could find the replacements in this time and after we did also make them learn what to play on stage and get them all new flight tickets and what else? would u wanted to see the worst fiasco katatonia gig in our history?! you'd be happy then, wouldnt u.

enough's been said.

Unfortunately this board is not the best place to discuss, because it leads to misunderstandigs, etc.Morevoer things should not be taken too literally and too seriously!
I'm sorry if I offended the band, I just harshly wrote what I felt in that moment...and I know I sometimes hurt people feelings because I'm spontaneous and outspoken and I lack of diplomacy. So sorry, I exagerated! I haven't anything against you, and I'm not still whining about that day. Gigs get cancelled, we can live with it!
I didn't want you to be "dead" or be "heroes" and play with 40degrees fever, and I didn't think that you cancelled the gig because of a "hang over"( don't take literally everything I write!), of course there were deeper reasons....so I wasn't angry because some of you was ill...it was only the situation that was a little bit ambiguous, the way it happened. What I wrote was just a way to starting you off a little bit, because I didn't like the way the band settled this accident.
It's your job, so you know better than me how to handle those situations...but let me tell you my opinion......the official statement after so long time, no apologies towards the fans and only a short and cold statement on that night, the fact that you managed to play the day before, etc. leaded to different interpretations!
I'm sorry if the first things that came into my mind were "bad thoughts" about Katatonia, but I hope I'll have more trust in the band in the future. We maybe demand too much from our favourite band!
I don't want to act like your mommy and tell you how to live your lives( so sorry for my tone and judgements!), do whatever you want, as long as your attitude and habits don't interfere with your job. Your life is a thing, your professionality another. But I'm sure you have always tried to do your best and delivered the goods, even if in this situation things got over your control.
So, let's forget what happened! take care of you and get well!