Ringo Starr’s Bethel Woods Show Was Canceled
June 22nd, 2008
Last night, Ringo Starr was supposed to play at Bethel Woods in upstate New York. We made the over 3 hours trip there to find out that the show got canceled. They sent out emails at 2:32 PM the day of the show, notifying us that the show was canceled:
(June, 21, 2008) BETHEL, NY – Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band have been forced to cancel tonight’s concert at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, due to a transportation and equipment breakdown at the United States border. The performance will not be rescheduled.
Tickets purchased online or by phone will be refunded automatically. Ticket holders who purchased through a Ticketmaster retail location or the Bethel Woods Box Office must request refund by returning the ticket to the point of purchase in person.
Bethel Woods, the concert promoter Live Nation and Ringo Starr apologize to ticketholders for the inconvenience.
I only checked my emails once we arrived to Bethel Woods and we saw the sign that the show got canceled.
If the reason is like they say, transportation and equipment, don’t you think that they knew about it earlier in the day? After all, they probably tried to cross the border with the equipment earlier to set up everything at Bethel Woods. Which is over 5 hours away from Niagara Falls.
Then, the people at the venue told us that 2 of the guys in the band (Colin Hay and another guy) didn’t have the right documents to cross the border. If that was the case, would they be able to cross the border for tonight’s show? Getting a visa takes time!
Another possibility is that the event didn’t sell that well and they decided it is better just to cancel it. Which also explains why it is not going to be rescheduled.
Few hours later, at 5:57 PM, I received another email:
Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event. RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL STARR BAND, scheduled at BETHEL WOODS CENTER FOR ARTS on SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2008, at 8:00 PM, has been cancelled.
Your credit card will automatically be credited the ticket price and convenience charges, and should post to your account within 7 to 10 business days. Please note, the $3.00 per order processing fee and any ticketFast or UPS delivery charges are non-refundable.
If you have any questions, please contact us online at:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/asktm.html
Thank you for using Ticketmaster. We appreciate your business!
Why do I need to pay the TicketMonster Fees? I think that whoever made the mistake and didn’t get the right documents for the equipment, or whoever didn’t make sure the band members have visas should pay for that.
What a let down it is! I was really looking forward seeing Ringo at Bethel Woods.
Reported at: 10:01 am | By: Red Meanie |
Read More: Ringo Starr |
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June 22nd, 2008 at 10:15 am
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June 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I feel like somebody died. At $255 a pop I purchased second row tickets for my 63 year old parents, my wife and myself. All of us are lifelong Beatles fans and this might have been our first and only chance to see a Beatle in concert.
We drove the 3 hours from Syracuse (not far compared to some other fans we talked to that had driven 10 hours) only to be greeted by a blinking electronic sign outside of Bethel. We received horrible treatment from the Best Western that told us our rooms couldn’t be refunded, and almost everybody working at Bethel Woods acted like their poo didn’t stink. What a horrible disappointment all the way around and I can’t help but think about the hundreds of families that feel the same way. We saw multiple generations with same sad look.
Something seems fishy with the press release. You can’t tell me this is Ringo’s first tour and he has ameteurs working for him. Where was the contingency plan? A truck breaking down on it’s way to the second tour stop? Jack up the trailer and use another truck. Improper documents? Pull a “Don’t you know who I am?!?.” If it was poor ticket sales then cancel before the day of the show.
So now I’m left with the guilt of crushing my parent’s hopes of seeing a Beatle before they died because how can I even consider putting them through this again. We all have to return to work to retell this disappointing story, and I can’t help but think of all of you with simillar stories.
Like I said, it feels like somebody died.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
That sucks that Best Western didn’t refund you.
I agree with you, they should have announce it the day before. And if a truck broke down, they should have announced it earlier in the day. After all, if they didn’t make it to Bethel by 2:30 PM (when they sent the cancellation email) they would have not had chance in finishing setting up the stage as well. They must have known about it earlier.
I was so pissed. But more so sad. I live in New York City and chose to go all the way to Bethel because I felt like it would be much more special seeing Ringo there than seeing him at Radio City…
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I too traveled almost 3 hours from Albany, NY. I was on Bethel woods website just before noon and nothing posted. The emails came after I left for the drive. I am considering contacting the local attorney general and consumer protection agencies regarding the part of the sale that Ticketmaster will not refund. Last I knew, a business could not charge for something and then not privide the service or product paid for!
I had seen Ringo’s band several other times, going back 20 years. I was flat out devestated to find upon arrival the show was cancelled. The negligent behavior of Bethel Woods to not let ticket holders know sooner is a crime. They could have at least offered ticket holders free admission to the museum, but instead gouged $13 from everyone that showed up to find the show cancelled. I will be sure to tell everyone not to go there.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I agree with you! for them to still charge us with the $13 for the museum admission was not cool. They were definitely trying to make money off the cancellation. Usually the museum is open until 7 pm but yesterday they had it open one extra hour….
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
We drove 3.5 hours…$60 in gas round trip and Super8 sleazy motel wouldn’t refund us $112 either. Bethel Woods should have at least given everyone a free pass to the museum…no…hey and they don’t even sell the real Woodstock logo’d shirts in the gift shop…hmmm…real bummer man…I’m boycotting this joint…!
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:02 am
I was at Ringo’s show in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Friday night and in my humble opinion, I believe Ringo pulled the rug out from under everybody because, and I hate to say this, he was pissed at the lukewarm reception he and the All Starr Band received from the half-dead audience at Casino Niagara. Between songs, there was dead silence and you could’ve heard a pin drop. I know Ringo and the band were getting pissed. Maybe it left a bad taste in his mouth and he figured just FUCK IT for Bethel’s performance. It sucks, doesn’t it? I feel so bad for everybody that had tickets. What an unfortunate turn of events, both for Ringo and the band in Niagara Falls, and for the fans in Bethel.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
Wait… wasn’t the museum admission free with the purchase of a concert ticket? We showed our ticketmaster tix and did not have to pay the $13. I hope Bethel Woods didn’t add insult to injury by charging everybody… and you wouldn’t think they would waive the fee for the day. (And how about that museum emptying into the gift shop? Peace… love… $40 t-shirts.)
It’s so depressing when you think of all the wasted time and money. Gas, food, lodging, time off from work, etc.
I wonder if we’ll ever hear the real reason the show was cancelled.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:03 am
I agree on the charging valid ticket holders to see the museum after this scheduling fiasco.
I felt gut punched. I’m not rich. I’m a blue collar guy and I had to squeeze the budget mightily to take my family to see two of my fave’s, Ringo and Billy Squire. We got the ticket refund ok this morning, but I too am out 150 bucks in gas/food money that is gone, gone, gone. No reschedule? W.D.F.? The next nearest show that I can’t make is far western Ohio. The kids liked the museum OK but I think they know this was the boobie prize. I found out about the cancellation from a local pump jockey 30 miles away from the show site. I was in denial for the next 45 minutes until I got there. After this trip, I’m not going to the Journey show in two months either. Fumble, no touch down.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
It did really suck that the show was cancelled. And to read about how far so many people had travelled! It should have been rescheduled and certainly been communicated at a much earlier time. To wait until 2:30 to let people know was ludicrous!!!! Keep us posted about what happens with the attorneys and getting back the ticketmaster handling charge.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Isn’t life strange????The museum at Bethel would make anybody who was actually at the site in 1969 sick . Comercialism, money and especially greed has taken over the good feeling that once was the generation of peace and love. My family and I went to the Lynyrd Skynryrd concert on Friday night, rented a place to stay for the weekend, and thought we also might do the Ringo Starr show on Saturday. A word of advice to those who may venture the Bethel Woods….bring lots of money!!!!! The prices for refreshments have almost doubled, and the price of band merchandise was almost to the point of being not affordable for the best of fans…not to mention the junk in the museum gift shop(made in China, Indonesia, but not by anyone who cares except for those to make money at the museum….but what really upset me more was the fact that the band on Friday night appeaed to almost rush through the few well known hits, played about one hour, and then left…came back on and sang Freebird for encore but rushed off the stage like they were in hurry to leave????!!! What the hell….last year at Bethel Woods, as well as other places I’ve seen them, they played alot longer. Also, only about a third of the seats were filled…the lawn was packed!!! I think that Ringo Starr might have heard that people were not buying the seats; you can’t make that much from the lawn???? That same thing happens here at the Montage Toyota Pavillion in Scranton…if big names don’t sell a certain quota of tickets, they cancel usually with some unbelievable explanation… Yes, we the common hard working folks are being taken advantaged of if we believe them…sure , shit happens but we the fans get shit on everytime!!! I did have hopesw that Bethel Woods would be different…but you can’t go back….
June 24th, 2008 at 7:54 am
My boyfriend and I drove like many people, several hours to see Ringo Starr and the All Stars,,,,,we, too, did not listen to the radio that day and had no idea that the show was canceled until we got there. We do not believe the lame excuse that was used….first of all, equipment trouble crossing the border…please….they are on tour …this is what they do…there was no trouble crossing the border….of course he made it here for Radio City and next week sold out performance in Westbury Long Island….this was so selfish on Ringo’s part because it was not about the FANS…it was about how much money he could make and obviously the pavillion did not sell enough tickets. It is times like this that I say, why do I support these performers with my hard earned money…when they screw us like this and do nothing to make it better….so much for the “love & Peace” tour….Shame on u Ringo Starr for not doing the right thing by your fans…I have made a promise to myself never to contribute to your wealth again. What a disappointment…not even to reschedule…what does that tell us???? All about the almighty dollar….not about the FANS.
June 29th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hi Everybody,
I was just reading all the messages above about Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band was a no show at Bethel Woods in Upstate New York. My wife, nephew and I attented Ringo’s show last night in Atlantic City and he put on a great show as always. I understand how people feel about the show being cancel and feel sorry for them, but please don’t blame Ringo.
It not his fault that things don’t go as plan. The fault rest on Bethel Woods and not Ringo and the band. Just be happy you got the most of the money back from the concerts. They can’t be responsible for the gas, lodging and other things.
Love and Peace.