» Bomb threat cancels Noel Gallagher concert at SPAC; A Gazette music critic recounts a puzzling scene

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Live Nation concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center usually start on time. Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds was scheduled to begin its headline Saturday night at 9:40 p.m., according to an advanced schedule that Live Nation sent to reporters.

As the time approached 10 p.m., fans waited for the English singer-songwriter to appear with his band. The stage was set and covered with a large assortment of brightly colored potted flowers. The lights were dim. A preset soundtrack played on the audio system.

Gallagher is known for his role as guitarist in Oasis, the massively successful rock band from Manchester, England, which he formed in 1991 with his brother Liam, which lasted until the band’s acrimonious disbandment in 2009. Siblings Noel and Liam are known for their bitter public feuds. .

So when Gallagher took too long to appear, I wondered if this was just another personal drama? Then I looked to the right of the amphitheater and saw a policeman talking to a security guard from SPAC. A tourist bus hastily left the loading area outside the hangar. And a venue manager appeared on stage, grabbed the microphone, and announced that due to circumstances beyond our control, the show would not continue.

A message in white letters projected on a bright red background on the suspended screens invited: ATTENTION! At this time, we will have to evacuate the site. We ask that you move calmly to the nearest EXIT. Please follow the instructions of staff and police. For everyone’s safety, please do NOT rush or push. Thank you for your collaboration.

To the audience’s credit, I don’t recall hearing anyone boo, and the crowd did indeed head calmly for the exits. Perhaps the largely Gen X cohort of fans in T-shirts for rock bands like the Smithereens, Spoon and Idles were old enough to behave responsibly. Or maybe, as former key children, we’re just used to disappointment.

Outside the venue, the Hall of Springs entrance to SPAC was lined with police.

It was indeed the weirdest experience I’ve had at SPAC, in decades seeing shows there. In part, this was because so little information was known about what was going on. Was there a shooter on the field? Again, thanks to the crowd for responding so calmly, and to the police and security personnel who took the threat seriously.

Today, not much more is known about what happened, but State Park Police released a statement saying the concert was suspended due to a bomb threat and that the concert attendees had been evacuated without incident. The K9s performed a room sweep after the crowd exited, with negative results.

So far, there is no word on refunds for ticket holders. Before the abrupt cancellation, the crowd got to see two great sets from opening bands Metric and Garbage, both from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Garbage were the first band to report publicly on the incident, posting on the band’s Twitter feed half an hour after the incident: Our love and concern to all the fans at our concert in Saratoga Springs tonight. We pray that you are all safe and sound. It’s crazy.

The Garbages ensemble was driven by the provocative power of singer Shirley Manson, who wore dramatic black eye makeup and a red taffeta cape over a white dress. Manson blew fire on his band’s metal and industrial riffs (still featuring all-original members) on tracks like Supervixen and The Men Who Rule the World, the later an indictment of the men in power who put the messy world.

We lived in really hostile times, Manson said as he considered what happened next before talking about how people are targeting each other instead of tackling critical issues in the world. like climate change.

It’s a song about tolerance. You can call me awake. I’m proud to be awake, Manson said, visibly angry after someone in the audience apparently booed his message on climate change.

The Garbages version of Siouxsie and the Banshees Cities in Dust looked fantastic, as did I Think Im Paranoid, Stupid Girl, Push It and the perfect gothic feeling of Only Happy When It Rains.

Metric is an acclaimed Canadian rock quartet formed in the late 1990s who recently made Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 50 Greatest Canadian Artists of All Time. The ensemble of bands were backed by magnetic and energetic vocalist Emily Haines and the hard rock band, who shone on tracks like Help Im Alive, Now Or Never Now and Breathing Underwater.

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