Taake Fallout Continues; More Shows Cancelled
Taake’s “upcoming”* North American tour continues to be plagued by accusations of Nazism against the band and their frontman, Hoest.
We already knew that support act King Dude has dropped off the trek, while the New York City date of the tour has been cancelled following Antifa protests; now The Riot Room in Kansas City, MO has cancelled their tour date as well:
“We have decided to cancel the Taake event scheduled to be held March 31st at The Riot Room. Refunds will be processed immediately for anyone who purchased tickets. As a venue, it is our priority to provide a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable environment for all patrons, artists, and staff. This always has, and will always continue to be our primary goal.”
Although it isn’t mentioned explicitly, we can safely assume this happened as a result of the bad publicity and potential loss of income brought about by yesterday’s news that rapper Talib Kweli wouldn’t play the venue because they’d booked Taake.
As if that wasn’t enough bad news for Taake, Metal Insider says the band’s Chicago show has also been cancelled, while Brooklyn Vegan reports that “Their 3/27 show at Baltimore Soundstage is no longer on the venue’s schedule and same goes for their 3/28 show at Pittsburgh’s Rex Theatre and their 4/1 show at Denver’s Globe Hall,” while “Their 4/7 show at LA’s 1720 is now listed as ‘TBD.’” And finally, their Boston show has been moved from Middle East to the Once Ballroom; it’s not clear if this was done for security reasons (read: Antifa threats) or poor ticket sales, but the Once Ballroom has roughly half the capacity of the Middle East.
For those keeping score at home, that means that of the seventeen dates on the tour, three have definitely been cancelled, two have likely been cancelled, one has lost its venue, and one has been moved to a significantly smaller room. So the tour has basically been scaled down from seventeen shows to ten-and-a-half shows. It’s hard enough to break even on an underground metal tour under the best circumstances; with each show cancelled or relocated to a smaller venue, the odds of this trek being financially feasible for Taake lessen. Maybe the band will still make the trip as an act of defiance against those who protest them… but by the time they get here, they may not have anywhere to play.
*It’s not upcoming. It’s going to get cancelled, guys.
