> If any brown M&Ms were found backstage, the band could cancel the entire concert at the full expense of the promoter.
I really don't think this would stand up in court. Does anyone know of any concerts cancelled due to minor issues with the rider?
I really don't think this would stand up in court. Does anyone know of any concerts cancelled due to minor issues with the rider?
These guys were working with thousands of amps of electricity, hundred of pounds of equipment, pyrotechnics,etc. Could easily severely harm or kill someone if it wasn't setup properly. No obligation to do a show of the other side of the contract isn't being fulfilled
It's only to act as a canary, kind of a checksum (and I suspect it's not the only one, only the most obvious/curious).
When the band arrives into the venue, they check for canaries: if they see something wrong, it's a good enough reason to trigger a full inspection for serious issues.
However, as noted by others, this is rather moot: someone who didn't notice this line in the contract probably didn't notice all the other (more serious!) issues.
Why not? Under what legal doctrine?
Van Halen, at the time, were doing the largest stadium stage show ever. Most tours were 2 semi-trucks of speakers and lighting, VH were ~10+. Due to the never before done scale of the show rigging weight limits are critical. Not following it could lead to a stage collapse.
VH put the brown M&M’s in the middle of the weight requirement rider. This way the production crew could easily see if the local producer actually read the rider by seeing a bowl of brown M&M’s.
I also don’t really buy the explanation that brown candy would indicate that the facilities weren’t structurally/electrically safe. I think it’s more likely that the band were just a bunch of spoiled jerks.