Video: Volbeat Walk Off Stage Without Even Finishing One Song

Volbeat walked off stage in Belfast last night, October 3, twice attempting to play their opening song, “Pelvis on Fire,” before leaving fans staring at an empty stage for 15 minutes and eventually canceling the gig entirely. In a statement released later, the band cited a mix of technical difficulties and troubles with singer Michael Poulsen’s voice as the reason for the abrupt cancelation.

TheFestivals.UK has shared some fan-filmed footage from Twitter showing both of Volbeat’s attempts to get the show going. In one clip, Poulsen pulls out his in-ear monitors and says, “I’m sorry, this is not gonna work, I’m so sorry,” before walking off stage.

The band’s statement reads as follows:

“We in Volbeat want to extend our most heartfelt apologies for having to cancel tonight’s show in Belfast. As many of you know, Michael has been having some throat issues and we ran into multiple technical issues on stage that prevented the band from being able to hear each other play. While he has mostly recovered his voice at this point, it was decided that had he continued to play the show this way he would have risked blowing out his voice again and having to cancel even more shows. We’re gutted that we weren’t able to perform for you tonight, but we will be back to reschedule the show as soon as we possibly can.”

Volbeat previously pulled out a day in advance of their gig in Bristol on September 28, citing “illness.” Opening acts Baroness and Danko Jones performed as planned.

One fan in Belfast said on social media that the sound for the opening acts was rough, too, but that they soldiered through:

The tour is scheduled to play Dublin tonight, and presently is scheduled to go on as planned. Tickets for remaining tour dates are available here.