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Juggalos’ Revenge
If there were radio announcements about the last-minute cancellation, not many fans were listening. Although they didn’t know about the cancellation, they did know about the club’s new bar. One that club owners didn’t want ruined during a typical ICP show.
Angered to find a dark club and only a sign announcing the show’s cancellation, some of the estimated 300 fans that had amassed in the Chili Pepper’s parking lot broke in the club’s door, smashed bottles and glass, and lit at least one fire outside near the front door.
According to a spokesman for Esham, one of the ICP’s support acts, club and band reps had talked about the possibility of staging the show at the venue’s outdoor stage, but ICP’s people rejected the idea and the show was canceled.
“Some of the fans showed up for the show and the doors didn’t open, and some of them just broke in and did what they could do. It was pretty ridiculous,” the spokesman said.
“As soon as the fans found out it was a new bar, it’s like that just lit the spark with them and kind of fueled the fire. So, instantly, the fans went right for the bar, and started wrecking it first,” he told Pollstar.
An ICP “street team” was supposed to be in place to tell fans the show was canceled and hand out T-shirts, stickers and other merchandise, but it didn’t show up either, according to the source. The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal reported that passers-by called 911. “When we responded, the crowd dispersed almost immediately,” Sgt. Wade Brabble told the Sun-Sentinel.
Fort Lauderdale firefighters doused the blaze. There were no injuries or arrests, according to the newspaper.