OT: Harassment and deportation of Stream of Passion?!

[Rose Immortal]

Anyone who is a fan of Arjen Lucassen, especially if British, should read this.

http://lorinator.feminoise.com/my-take-on-the-stream-of-passion-uk-immigration-nonsense/

The level of idiocy these officials showed, not to mention the complete discourtesy to the band (and its fans) is just galling.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Absolutely unbelievable. It's amazing what some people will do when you put them in a position of authority.

 

[Rose Immortal]

Absolutely unbelievable. It's amazing what some people will do when you put them in a position of authority.

Yeah. I hope at some point Britain's Home Office will formally apologize for these idiots' power trip.

 

[Anonymous]

That's absolutely ridiculous. I hate countries.

 

[noble savage]

I heard about that. It made my stomach flip a few times.

 

[Lee_B]

Actually, they didn't have work permits which were unfortunately necessary due to the band having members who are Mexican nationals. They should have tried to sneak in as tourists, but I guess that's not so easy when travelling on a tour bus with all the musical equipment on board, etc.

It's a shame as I was actually going to go to the London show, but it was a fairly large oversight on the part of the organisers. A couple of years ago I'm sure the customs guys would have turned a blind eye, but the world isn't that way anymore. Similar situations have happened to members of Marduk and Emperor when trying to get into the US recently. Officialdom does indeed suck, but it's never a good idea to leave such things to chance.

 

[SilentRealm]

that was a real shame, and sounds like a terrible experience for them..

 

[Taliwakker]

They should have come to Australia instead...that'll teach em

 

[J-Dubya 777]

AT least it wasn't the US this time, but still, this sucks.......

J-Dubya

 

[Lee_B]

They should have come to Australia instead...that'll teach em

You think it'd be easier for a Mexican to get into Australia?

 

[Taliwakker]

You think it'd be easier for a Mexican to get into Australia?

Probably not but they should at least try....or Mexico should join the Commonwealth.

 

[Horus]

Anyone who is a fan of Arjen Lucassen, especially if British, should read this.

http://lorinator.feminoise.com/my-take-on-the-stream-of-passion-uk-immigration-nonsense/

The level of idiocy these officials showed, not to mention the complete discourtesy to the band (and its fans) is just galling.

$10 says that whoever decided to deport SoP just plain didn't like them.

 

[Rose Immortal]

Actually, they didn't have work permits which were unfortunately necessary due to the band having members who are Mexican nationals. They should have tried to sneak in as tourists, but I guess that's not so easy when travelling on a tour bus with all the musical equipment on board, etc.

It's a shame as I was actually going to go to the London show, but it was a fairly large oversight on the part of the organisers. A couple of years ago I'm sure the customs guys would have turned a blind eye, but the world isn't that way anymore. Similar situations have happened to members of Marduk and Emperor when trying to get into the US recently. Officialdom does indeed suck, but it's never a good idea to leave such things to chance.

Obviously somebody fucked up and failed to tell them exactly what they would and would not need beforehand, if that is indeed the case. I wonder why...a lot of not-so-nice motives are coming to mind. Especially since a lot of people don't seem to like Mexicans these days (damn shame, if you ask me).

But even if there was a paperwork problem, why the extreme rudeness described? That's out of line regardless of what the situation was--people ought to be treated with human decency. I'm sure there would have been much more polite ways to say, "There's something wrong with your papers" than speaking so rudely, giving them the third degree for five hours straight, AND then trying to keep them from meeting up with their friends on the way out. Britain's "Home Office" ought to be ashamed of that.

 

[Kenneth R.]

this world blows a donkey

 

[Fossil Records]

this world blows a donkey

Ironically, to see that, you have to go to Mexico...

 

[crapola]

maybe the tour organisers should have checked out visa requirements first, then that wouldnt have happened. yes, going through customs and immigrations sux, no matter the country, but one must have the correct visa's to visit foreign countries, even musicians!!!

 

[Horus]

Ironically, to see that, you have to go to Mexico...

You just gave me an idea for a Conspiracy theory, but I gotta make it work first.

 

[Rose Immortal]

maybe the tour organisers should have checked out visa requirements first, then that wouldnt have happened. yes, going through customs and immigrations sux, no matter the country, but one must have the correct visa's to visit foreign countries, even musicians!!!

And how do we know exactly what the tour organizers did or didn't do beforehand? Did it ever occur to anybody that somebody might've told them wrong?

The same crap happens with the IRS. Did you know that if you call them asking for help on your taxes and the IRS agent tells you the wrong thing, they can still throw you in jail for following their own agent's advice? I know firsthand from someone who went through an audit that the IRS types don't all know their stuff. In his case, he was lucky that the agent's supervisor DID know, but I'm just saying, there's a LOT of incompetence that can screw over even people with the best of intentions who try to do everything right.

But again--the people trying to cast the band as the bad guys here are consistently failing to answer my main question: what justifies the nasty treatment from the immigration officials? I would be nowhere near as pissed about this if there'd just been a polite, "Oops, you have the wrong papers--how about you reapply using the following forms and come back later when everything's straightened out?" Instead they had to harass them and treat them with no dignity whatsoever.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Well, how about a little reality check then eh?

Immigration officials probably don't have a super sweet job. Let's face it, deal with people who are pissed off all the time because they're being told either A) they can't enter said country or B) someone is taking their valuable time double checking this and that and the other thing. They probably don't get paid a large salary, and it probably is a high stress job. What jusitfies nasty behavior? Nothing, but again you have to be in touch with reality. Not everything is really as bright and happy as Jolly Farm Revue.

Second, there is no excuse for any band to not have their paperwork in order, especially when traveling to another country. I mean, do some damn research, especially if you are in an international touring band. If nothing else, ask other bands from the area that have done similar things as far as touring goes.

Hate to say it, and yes, the band had shitty things happen to them, but just because they're in a band that is respected by 15 people on some random prog board doesn't mean that they mean shit to the real world. And no, i'm not picking on Stream of Passion, i have no dillusions that the metal i chose to listen to garners anymore respect. They should have done their research, hell, they should have probably done more than was required just to make sure they got everything in case something like this happens.

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Ironically, to see that, you have to go to Mexico...

BWAHAHAHAHAA! Sweet! I'm mad at me for not thinking of that....

J-Dubya