Concert patrons upset after rainout

When fans bought tickets for the Hippy Hill Hoodang event in Bean Blossom, Ind., they expected a large venue with a multitude of local and popular punk bands for an entire weekend. However, all the concertgoers got was a few short hours of music, a rainstorm and a cancelled event with no refund for their troubles.\nTicket prices for the Aug. 27-29 event ranged from $60 to $75 and had scheduled nearly 40 bands including Umphrey's McGee, Leftover Salmon, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers, MOFRO, the Zen Tricksters and Brothers Past. The three-day gala attracted an estimated 3,000 spectators, but the music played for only one day. \nHippy Hill Hoodang attendee Mary Beth Davis said she was excited prior to the event, but felt cheated when the rest of the concerts were canceled. \n"I was obviously disappointed. I wanted to be there for the entire weekend because there were a lot of big names at the concert," Davis said. "I would have paid a little more to get in if I knew they didn't have enough money to cover their overhead expenses."\nDespite the unexpected cancelation, none of the spectators has been reimbursed any money from tickets. Davis said she felt insulted that none of the attendees got even a fraction of their money back.\n"I felt cheated that none of us got our money back," Davis said. "None of us even know where the money went and it was especially bad when we didn't even get what we paid for."\nIndyLIVE, the promoters for the event, could not be reached but placed an apology on the Hippy Hill Hoodang Web site, which blamed the lack of recompensation upon IndyLIVE's own lack of funding.\n"IndyLIVE lost money as did other people whose efforts contributed to the concert," the Web site said. "There is nothing we can do but apologize to all those who are, like us, disappointed."\nWhile attractions such as Karl Denson and the Jazz Mandolin Project made it to the stage Friday, bands such as Umphrey's McGee and Leftover Salmon never performed Saturday and Sunday.\nUmphrey's McGee, one of the larger bands at the venue who actually got its start in the Hoosier state, said it did not play because the IndyLIVE promoters said it would be unsafe to play because of the rainy weather.\n"The promoters told us that there would be no amplified electric music to be played (Saturday) evening, even if the weather let up," the band said in a statement. "The sound company did not have proper insurance to cover them if there happened to be any electrical damage or injuries."\nWhile the band was unable to play at the Hippy Hill Hoodang event, Umphrey's McGee does intend to hold a show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Oct. 7.\nThe Hippy Hilly Hoodang Web site used to have a fan response forum and an event calendar, which were recently taken down and replaced with the apology.\n"IndyLIVE apologizes to all its fans for the failed Hippy Hill Hoodang," the Web site states now. "IndyLIVE worked hard for about six months and invested our own money to try to make the concert work for the bands and the fans."\nWhile the IndyLIVE website did offer its regrets for the failed event, concert-goers were still left with a sour taste in their mouths.\n"I don't go to a lot of jam band festivals, but I have a lot of friends who have gone to numerous concerts like this and they have never had anything happen like this," Davis said. "While I would attend another event similar to the Hippy Hill Hoodang, I wouldn't go if it was organized by IndyLIVE."\nThe fans aren't the only ones angry with the outcome of the event, as the company hired a sound and lights engineer for the event, Clear Sound and Light Inc., plans to sue IndyLIVE for payment never received, according to a Sept. 1 Indianapolis Star article.\nClear Sound and Light could not be reached for comment by press time.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.