US singer Macy Gray's visit to Australia has been marred by an ignominious appearance in Perth that has resulted in outrage from fans and an apology from the show's promoter, TnT Presents.
As WA Today reports, Gray's live DJ performance at the Astor Theatre on Wednesday night got off to the worst possible start after the musician arrived late, mistook the city for Sydney, "sung two songs and DJed for half an hour" before calling it a night.
Fans were quick to voice their disappointment about the quality of the show on social media, but TnT Presents told The Music, "Our first concern is Macy's wellbeing," but that "the event was advertised as a live DJ set and it seems some attendees were not clear on what to expect".
While that's not untrue — the advertisement for the gig on the Astor Theatre's website expressly refer to the show as a live DJ set — some fans pointed to additional promotional material that read, "Macy Gray will be performing in the intimate surroundings of the Astor Theatre."
"Macy will perform her favourite tunes and then her favourite R&B tunes in a DJ set," it said.
In a separate statement, TnT Presents addressed "everyone who wasn't clear on what to expect from Macy Gray", apologising "to those who expected something different".
Also of contention is the reported fact that Gray turned up for the show two hours late, which TnT Presents director Tim Bradsmith says is not the case.
"Macy was 15 mins late, it happens most shows," he replied to an attendee on social media. "She was meant to be on at 9pm."
Bradsmith went on to say that Gray's manager had resigned following the gig, and reiterated that the two-hour delay was "a false report".
As some fans pointed out, however, the same Astor advertisement that the promoters pointed to in evidencing the "live DJ set" aspect of the show lists doors at 7pm, with a start time of 8pm.
The debacle in Perth followed a similarly poorly received show in Bali last weekend, which Gray had previously addressed in a statement.
"I apologise that so many of you were disappointed," she said. "Of course, that was not my intention. I won't bore you with explanations or excuses because they don't matter any more."
Gray consequently cancelled a planned appearance at Byron Bay's Beach Hotel due to take place last night because, according to The West Australian, she didn't "want to set myself up or disappoint any more fans".
She has, however, promised to make it up to her Australian faithful, telling the paper, "Please let the fans know that if they save their ticket stub, I’ll make it up to them when I come back in April for a real show."
Comments