Poor, put-upon Trenton. After all, Trenton Makes and the World Takes.
Hellfest, a three-day punk music festival, was canceled at the last minute, leaving fans all dressed up with a long weekend to kill in Trenton. <img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/08/19/nyregion/19punk.583.jpg" alt=" - " />
These teenagers, from Michigan, Massachusetts and Britain, were among the fans left adrift in Trenton after a punk music festival was canceled. The arena said the promoters lacked adequate insurance. August 19, 2005
It's a Weekend in Trenton for Stranded Punk Fans
By TINA KELLEY and DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
TRENTON, Aug. 18 - With boots, tattoos, piercings and several hair colors not found in nature, they gathered Thursday in small clumps on downtown sidewalks that are normally filled with state government workers and lawmakers. But if their garb was colorful, their mood was decidedly dark.
Hellfest, a three-day punk music festival scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, had been canceled at the last minute - leaving dozens of fans all dressed up with a long weekend to kill in Trenton and no mosh pits to fling themselves into.
"It was totally devastating," said Carol Frazier, 22, who drove here from Austin, Tex., with three friends to see two of her favorite bands, Madball and Public Enemy, but learned when she arrived on Thursday morning that the Sovereign Bank Arena had called off the event, in part because of a problem with the festival's insurance.
"I spent $140 on tickets, another $200 on gas and $300 on hotels, and they can't even give us a few days notice before they kill the whole show," said Ms. Frazier, whose bleached hair matched the ivory bandanna tied around her neck. "It's just bad news."
Bad but true. It would have been the ninth consecutive year for Hellfest, a dashed milestone that led one would-be fan to call the cancellation "the Enron of hardcore." Say goodbye to the 190 bands scheduled to play on three stages, to the tattoo festival, even to the vegan meals planned by the local Marriott in honor of drug-free, alcohol-free and dairy-free punk rockers.
Almost 6,000 fans - at least 500 of them from abroad and some from as far away as Australia and Japan - had bought tickets to hear bands like Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage. Promoters said they hoped all the ticketholders would receive refunds. During the weekend, a total of 12,000 to 15,000 people were expected to attend, an arena official said.
Some, like Richard Gonzales and Carlos Rosa, from San Juan, were left with nonrefundable hotel charges and the prospect of an enforced stay in the New Jersey capital. "I saved for a year, so what am I going to do?" asked Mr. Gonzales, 20.
Shawn Van Der Poel, president of radiotakeover, a company in Mount Holly, N.J., that was handling marketing and promotions for the festival, said he expected Paper Street Music, the Mount Holly company that runs Hellfest, to file for bankruptcy.
Keith Allen, president of Paper Street, confirmed that that was a possibility.
"Hellfest is over," he said.
Mr. Van Der Poel said he received a fax from arena officials at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday saying that the show's insurance was inadequate, and that if better coverage was not purchased by 7 a.m. Wednesday, the show would be canceled. "Obviously the venue didn't want it to happen," he said.
But Eric Cuthbertson, the arena's general manager, said arena officials had warned the promoters about problems with the concert in meetings, and by phone and e-mail messages during the past two or three weeks. He said two booking agents and others supplying services for the concert had expressed concerns about their agreements with the promoters. "They were wanting to know from us, were we as nervous as they were," Mr. Cuthbertson said.
While at least one talent broker has complained that a number of performers did not receive deposits promised by the promoters, Mr. Van Der Poel said bands had been paid about $72,000 in deposits, but an additional $20,000 could not be paid because the arena never gave the promoters money from advance ticket sales.
At the Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard, fans were clamoring for refunds. "It's total chaos," said Kelly Monaghan, a front-desk employee. Concertgoers who had prepaid for rooms were angry because they could not get their money back.
Some fans and bands were trying to make the best of their time in New Jersey - arranging alternate plans for shows at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, among other events listed at
www.lambgoat.com. A Whatthehellfest is in the works for Sunday at the Hackettstown Skate Park, where organizers are asking fans to be on their best behavior. The festival's Web site pleads: "If you hit someone when you are dancing please make sure that person is all right. If you get hit, don't attack the person - chances are it wasn't intentional."
At the Marriott, three Dutch fans who had planned their tour of the United States around the concert listened politely as a hotel clerk told them about the new roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park.
"I came for a concert and end up with a roller coaster," said one, Joke Suilen, 21. "Is this supposed to be a joke? Because it's not at all funny."
