Club Cap Leaves Fans In Cold

Many fans with tickets to a recent Third Eye Blind concert in Honolulu were out of luck after a club was found to be in violation of fire code during an inspection the evening of the show.

Concertgoers waiting in line outside The Republik were sent away Aug. 30 when inspectors found the club had exceeded its 299-capacity limit by about 100 people, the local KITV News reported.

Fire officials told the station the 1,500-capacity club had been informed occupancy would be capped at 299 until the venue secured an assembly permit, hung capacity and exit signage and installed a fire alarm system, automatic sprinklers and panic hardware door handles.

However, promoter BAMP Project said in a statement following the incident that it had been given documentation that made it believe it was operating within the codes of the law.

“In fact, we had sold under the maximum occupancy load that was given to us in our paperwork,” the statement said. “While we respect the Fire Marshals duty in keeping public safety, it was disheartening to learn late Thursday evening that we were being held to a capacity that was 70 percent less than what our paperwork stated.”

Fans who didn’t make it into the show were offered refunds minus service fees and the band announced via Twitter that it would play a makeup concert in a local park the following day.