Changes: Death Grips, Delorean, The Beards

Delorean reschedules its fall U.S. tour after suffering “psychological manipulation” during a “virtual kidnapping” last week … Death Grips nixes its appearance at The Beards cancels its U.S./Canadian tour because of visa issues.

Delorean is taking some time off the road after the incident that occurred while the band was in Mexico City for a gig.

A statement from the Spanish dance group says that on the morning of Oct. 7 the members “received a phone call at our hotel room in Mexico City from a person posing as a hotel security officer. We were informed that there was a security threat at the hotel.

“What followed for the next 30 hours was an experience where the threat of death was real due to the psychological manipulation inflicted on us by our kidnappers.”

The group was rescued Oct. 8 “thanks to the fantastic work of the National Police in Spain, Ertzantza , Interpol and the Federal Police in Mexico.”

Photo: http://dlrn.net/photos/

In its report on the story, the Los Angeles Times notes that family members of the band “were told to pay a large ransom of they’d be harmed. ‘Virtual kidnapping’ is a new form of crime in Mexico, in which the perpetrators play on fears of violence to extract ransoms even when the victims aren’t in immediate danger.”

Most of the dates for Delorean’s U.S. fall tour, which was supposed to begin Oct. 16 in Detroit, have been postponed for January. A few gigs have not been rescheduled, including its appearances at Fun Fun Fun Fest and .

Here’s the new itinerary:

Jan. 24 – Brooklyn, N.Y., Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Jan. 25 – Washington, D.C., Black Cat
Jan. 26 – Philadelphia, Pa., Johnny Brenda’s
Jan. 28 – Atlanta, Ga., Purgatory At The Masquerade
Jan. 29 – Birmingham, Ala., Bottle Tree
Jan. 30 – New Orleans, La., One Eyed Jacks
Jan. 31 – Austin, Texas, The Mohawk
Feb. 1 – Dallas, Texas, Dada Dallas
Feb. 3 – El Paso, Texas, Lowbrow Palace
Feb. 5 – Phoenix, Ariz., The Crescent Ballroom
Feb. 6 – San Diego, Calif., The Casbah
Feb. 7 – Los Angeles, Calif., El Rey Theatre
Feb. 8 – Santa Ana, Calif., Constellation Room    
Feb. 9 – San Francisco, Calif., The Independent    
Feb. 11 – Seattle, Wash., Barboza    
Feb. 14 – Minneapolis, Minn., 7th Street Entry    
Feb. 15 – Iowa City, Iowa, The Mill    
Feb. 18 – Chicago, Ill., Lincoln Hall    
Feb. 20 – Toronto, Ontario, The Hoxton    
Feb. 23 – Cambridge, Mass., The Sinclair

The band’s label, True Panther, says tickets for the new dates will go on sale soon.

The Beards’ fall North American tour was also set to kick off this week. The Australian comedy/folk rock bandsays it won’t be able to make it because the U.S. Immigration didn’t approve its performance visas.

The group says it plans to appeal the decision, noting that the U.S. consulate didn’t give a reason for the refusal.

Photo: facebook.com/TheBeardsAustralia

“If it is overturned we will return to America and Canada to play shows as soon as we possibly can. We want to offer our most sincere apologies to all of our North America fans.”

The excursion was scheduled Oct. 19 through Nov. 3.

As for Death Grips, the band hasn’t offered a reason for its cancellation. After pulling a no-show at a Lollapalooza after-party show in August, and then bailing on its appearance at the Chicago festival, the hip hop group has now scratched its Nov. 8 set at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas.

Photo: John Davisson
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, Tenn.

FFF Fest broke the news with a Facebook update saying, “We were hoping to not be a part of this but unfortunately Death Grips has canceled their entire Fall tour. We have added FFF vets No Age to the Black Stage – more info to come.”

Our records didn’t have any other upcoming shows listed for Death Grips.