Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had their show on Saturday (June 8) at Los Angeles' Fonda Theatre shut down by fire marshals. The concert was the fourth of a six-date residency at the 1,300 capacity venue. The setlist had included a mix of A-list Petty songs like "Here Comes My Girl" alongside r...
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had their show on Saturday (June 8) at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre shut down by fire marshals.
The concert was the fourth of a six-date residency at the 1,300 capacity venue.
The setlist had included a mix of A-list Petty songs like “Here Comes My Girl” alongside rarities including “Angel Dream (No. 2)”, the Traveling Wilburys “Tweeter And The Monkey Man” and covers including Paul Revere & The Raiders’ “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone”.
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The band had played a cover of the Grateful Dead‘s “Friend Of The Devil”, when Petty was warned by officials at 10.30pm that the venue was over capacity by 100 people.
Petty told the crowd that hundred people had to voluntarily head to a balcony upstairs or leave; no one did.
The band played one more song, “Melinda“, before Petty was summoned to the wings, only to return to his microphone to announce “We’re being told we have to go.”
The band left the stage immediately.
The following day, Sunday (June 9), Petty and the Heartbreakers issued the following statement, reprinted in full below:
“Statement From Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Regarding Last Night’s Early Conclusion To The Concert At The Fonda Theatre In Los Angeles
“First and foremost, the safety of our fans is our primary concern and the most important consideration.
“To those fans who attended last night’s show at the Fonda Theatre, we are as frustrated as you are!
“While we are still investigating exactly what happened we do know the following as of right now:
“1) The number of tickets sold was NOT above the legal capacity of the building. The venue and Ticketmaster documentation confirms this.
“2) The Fire Marshal decided that the number of people on the floor (as opposed to on the upstairs balcony or terrace) was unsafe.
“Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and our representatives rely on the concert promoter and venue representatives to give us an accurate breakdown of the legal capacity for every part of the building and to provide security and other staff to enforce this.
“We are still investigating all details of last night’s situation and will keep you informed.
“The shows at the Fonda tonight and Tuesday will go ahead as planned and we are working with the venue, the promoter and the Fire Marshal to ensure that this problem will not repeat itself.
“We thank you for your support.
“Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers”
Top Petty & The Heartbreakers played:
“Rock & Roll Star”
“Love Is A Long Road”
“Here Comes My Girl”
“Cabin Down Below”
“Something Big”
“Best Of Everything”
“(‘m Not Your) Stepping Stone”
“Woman In Love”
“Billy The Kid”
“I’d Like To Love You”
“Tweeter And The Monkey Man”
“Rebels”
“Angel Dream (No 2)”
“Two Gunslingers”
“Friends Of The Devil”
“Melinda”