Problems at Pro Rock festival in Kiev Ukraine

[Survivor]

Also there were problems with militia (guards) who never respested metal-lovers ...

We head two types of guards on the fest. The first type was custodial service, and I didn't hear about troubles with them. And the second one was militia (policemen or some special departments of police) that were participants of a lot unpleasant incidents.

[Vindrytter]

I waited a few years of Stratovarius show in our country. And when in Stratovarius were hard times, I still believe that I will see your show in the future. And the dream was so close. But the idiots from WIMP Promotion canceled the show without any explanation. I hope that the bands and fans will get their compensation. And still very much hope that in the future, I and other fans from Ukraine will be able to see your concert. This is my dream.

...Hold on to your dream
Somewhere there's a beam of hope
which is guiding your way through the dark...

PS

Please come back one day - but do run a thorough check on the promoters next time

I fully agree with these words.

[JensJohansson]

Please come back one day - but do run a thorough check on the promoters next time:(

When you do these things you have to operate a little bit on faith. This time we were let down. It can happen anywhere but for a lot of Western metal bands the Ukraine is "new territory" so this horror story will for sure make the rounds. You can't really "check promoters", it's not how it works, I imagine people will just be a bit more wary, ask for a larger share of the fees up front, etc.

The problem now -- as it was on Sunday -- is that they don't communicate or seem willing or able to deal with the mess that was created.

I hope they will explain a little better what actually happened, and I hope they compensate the fans who bought a ticket but didn't get a concert.

The scenario we went thru is for a band close to a nightmare, and definitely something which will impact how willing bands will be to go there in the future. It has nothing to do with Ukrainians as a people. It's just that word goes around in the industry, so to speak.

Having your fans ripped off, being totally stressed out about the safety of yourself, your crew, your gear -- and also at the same time lose a bunch of money -- is nobody's idea of fun.

For sure the way to even try to repair that now would be to communicate..

[finnlandia]

Monsters of rock was canceled because of that in one of the Russian cities,dared the stage fell over.

I'm sorry Jens that it happened to you!

[Burning Reflection]

I must commend Stratovarius on your ability to stay steadfast and resilient, but honestly cheaters should not be getting away with such things. It's sad because people will try and justify their injustices with the most pathetic of excuses and point fingers when it was themselves that broke laws and caused the problems. I know it's cliche, but time is money and it is also limited! I think your time and all the fan's is worth something and everyone should be compensated! I mean it's one thing to be peaceful, but another to be treated like a fucking doormat. Thank God that out of all the countless shows I've been to in LA, nothing like this has ever happened to me because as a fan I would be pissed off and disappointed for sure

Bon Voyage and best wishes on the rest of your tours!

[NeverendingAbyss]

I read this and I recalled that my best friend moved to the Ukraine a month ago. I wonder if she bought tickets for the concert... I should probably be on facebook more often
Damn, Jens, that sounds really upsetting. I'll try to contact my friend if she heard anything about this or knows something. Oh well! At least you are still standing with those two feet

[Vindrytter]

I think this epic failure has affected not only the bands but many fans of our country and other countries. Very soon in the same place, at the stadium "Chaika (the seagull)" will be another festival. Organized by Global Promotion. And though it was written above, they have organized many concerts in Ukraine, but after the events took place on Sunday, many Ukrainian fans had feared coming to the festival. What then has to talk about fans from other countries. Many of them now want to return tickets. Our music agencies have lost trust of many peoples and return it will be very difficult

[damn]

so the shit got a little out of hand.. damn, i had the tickets for the concert... but i had to leave on a business trip so i traded my ticket :O

ohh, damn... i guess none of these bands coming back soon?

[Guardian_RU]

on the behalf of all Ukrainian fans I would like to apologize for the terrible situation which happend on Pro Rock festival [...] but we have some other promotion agencies (not only WIMP Promotion) which held many concerts and festivals in Ukraine and those concerts were successful both for the bands and fans

Pro Rock was first fest in Ukraine with really big names. Another one - Global East Fest, www.globaleast.info - planned for next week. I bought tickets for this show, I bought air tickets from Moscow, I bought hotel in Kiev already.

And I'm really hope to change my mind about Ukraine.

[metalforeva]

hello Stratovarius,

one of the Ukrainian fans speaking here. I am a member of a metal discussion board in Ukraine, and there is a topic where fans can talk to the organizers of ProRock directly. There has been many posts, but still many things are unclear.

The most current version i heard as to why the fuck up happened is - the organizers didn't have the money to pay the company that set up the stage / audio equipment; didn't have the money to pay some of the bands / hotels. Supposedly they fell short because one of the ticket agencies didn't give them money from ticket sales on time.

Frankly the story is full of holes and smells like bull shit. I don't know if we ever find out full truth.

Anyway, I hope the fans that got ripped off get refunds. I hope the bands get the money for their performances. And I hope each of those bands that got fucked over actually comes back and performs. I've been waiting for some of them so long.

cheerz

[Ragehead91]

Holy shit! And I thought the whole Unholy Fest 09 thing was bullshit XD

[metalforeva]

Holy shit! And I thought the whole Unholy Fest 09 thing was bullshit XD

oh come on man, Unholy Fest was a much larger bull shit. xD
i almost shit my pants when I saw their expected band line up, and started piling up cash to attend the epic event xD

[Guardian_RU]

Monsters of rock was canceled because of that in one of the Russian cities,dared the stage fell over.

Yeah, cancellation of Monsters of Rock in Novosibirsk was last minute decision and many fans pissed off about train and bus tickets, hotels etc... but it was technical failure, not financial. It was big tour actually and other shows had great success.

Supposedly they fell short because one of the ticket agencies didn't give them money from ticket sales on time.

Come on, another advocate of this @#$% morons? I'm shocked how many posts in Ukrainian forum justify this people. Yes, they held first day. But they failed as organisers and damaged country reputation once again.

[Guest]

Come on, another advocate of this @#$% morons? I'm shocked how many posts in Ukrainian forum justify this people. Yes, they held first day. But they failed as organisers and damaged country reputation once again.

dude, chillout. where exactly did you get the idea that i was advocating them?
I wrote what I saw on Ukrainian forums, and I wrote "supposadly" which means that most likely the story is bull shit.

I personally think that it's 100% organizers fault and they should crucified xD

[Guardian_RU]

I personally think that it's 100% organizers fault and they should crucified xD

... they should burn in satanic flames of Lucifer!

[Ragehead91]

Holy shit! And I thought the whole Unholy Fest 09 thing was bullshit XD

oh come on man, Unholy Fest was a much larger bull shit. xD
i almost shit my pants when I saw their expected band line up, and started piling up cash to attend the epic event xD

Well, I guess for the guys who actually spent money to go there it is sad. But it wasn't as big for me since the only 2 bands on the line-up I liked were Primal Fear and Amon Amarth. I don't really care for extreme Metal if it isn't Melodic Death Metal. And I didn't want to go there anyway. Since the two bands I like still don't justify a shitload of Extreme Metal Bands I don't care about.

[AAAAAAAAA]

And WHO on this earth would have liked to see YOU there Pinhead??

[Ragehead91]

And WHO on this earth would have liked to see YOU there Pinhead??

I could ask the same question to you.

[Toff]

Hey, guys, just wanted to clear some things out.
The rumour about one of Arch Enemy's technician being robbed is not true. A person who escorted Arch Enemy all the time since their arrival said it's a false info, and the organizers didn't hear about such incident either. Nor did we, to be honest, and we heard lots of rumours at the fest. So I tend to believe that guy.

As for the hotel, it's indeed another mistake of organizers in not paying ahead for hotel rooms, and not being able to pay in time in the end. Sorry you had to go through this. :pissed4:

We were so disappointed we can't see and hear you! But hopefully you can come to Ukraine and actually perform there sometime in the near future. I'm ashamed for such a bad first impression you got from coming to Ukraine, but this incident is one of those rare unfortunate exceptions, I'm quite sure Global East Rock Festival will be a major success.
Hope to see you soon, guys!
Cheers!

[AAAAAAAAAA 2.0]

And WHO on this earth would have liked to see YOU there Pinhead??

Please! I am sure there are people like ME waiting to see him personally

[AAAAAAAAAA]

And WHO on this earth would have liked to see YOU there Pinhead??

Please! I am sure there are people like ME waiting to see him personally

I also bought several tickets to witness this grand spectacle!

[Michael_Janus]

ArchFriend

Everybody already know that promoters are [s]morons[/s] amateurs. Did you really need to post tons of text?

[AAAAAAAAA]

And WHO on this earth would have liked to see YOU there Pinhead??

Please! I am sure there are people like ME waiting to see him personally

I also bought several tickets to witness this grand spectacle!

You can count me in. I will be there On the first row. It will be the height of this year.

[Michael_Janus]

Here a little translation of this thread for russian-speaking fans:

Перевожу свободно, но суть, естественно, сохраняю.

Jens Johansson(заглавный пост):

В первую очередь хочу извиниться перед всеми, кто купил билет, но ничего не увидел в воскресенье.

У групп тоже был непростой денек, конечно мы все ожидали что сыграем! Для Страто это было достаточно нелегкое путешествие - с вчерашнего феста в Финляндии в Киев. кое-как успели за 24 часа(реально это заняло 23 часа, лично я успел поспать всего 2 часа в самолете).

После того, как стало известно что фест отменен и пары часов сна, мы собрались перекусить.
Lauri предложил сделать экспромтом концертик в каком-нибудь киевском клубе. Лично я осторожничал, после того, как узнал что одного из техников Арченеми ограбили в аэропорту. Его заставили снять все деньги с карточки.

Но Финнтролл сделали это - они сыграли где-то и это фантастика!

Когда Финнтролл вернулись после концерта - довольные и малость нетрезвые, у них возникла та же проблема что и у остальных: наши ключи от комнат больше не работают, личные вещи и снаряжение группы застряло в гостиннице, поскольку орги им тоже не заплатили.Также они не отдавали паспорта.
Это была гостинница "Русь" - это место явно стоит обходить стороной в будущем.

Орги пропали - так что группам пришлось решать проблему самостоятельно.

Самое хреновое - что никто не объявил фанам об отмене феста. Вообще.

Было много слухов почему все так случилось. Увы ничего конкретного. Вот несколько слухов и опровержений:

-Онлайновое агентство по продаже билетов задержало передачу средств, а арендодатели хотели деньги вперед.
Но веб-сайт агентства принадлежит самим оргам!


-были в ходу поддельные билеты

-продажи билетов были слишком низкие(официальная отмазка оргов). Но техники и группы говорили что в первый день феста толпа была приличная(около 4к)!

В общем это одна из рок-тайн: фанов поимели, музыкантов тоже, а деньги пропали в неизвестном направлении.

Похоже во всем виноват организатор сергей Горох из WIMP Productions (email wimp@ukr.net, телефон: +380509415839, icq 282-011-652).

Если появятся какие-то новости по поводу возмещения средств или хоть какие-то новости -я выложу их здесь (Жду не дождусь).

Далее небольшой срач англоязычных фанов, не имеющих отношения к фесту и ответ на него Йенса(вкратце фаны предполагают что это все наебка и во всем виновата русская мафия , Йенс говорит что вряд-ли и ждет комментариев от украинских фанов. Также сообщает что почитывает сайт оргов через гугл транслейт и жалеет ноющего во весь голос беднягу из Мурманска)


Далее начинается интересное:

Один из украинских постеров поизвинялся за дебилизм оргов и выразил надежду, что Страто не обиделись на всю Украину из-за случившегося, на что получил ответ:

Jens Johansson:

Ё-моё, надеюсь вы не думаете, что у нас теперь аллергия на слово "Украина"! То, что произошло в воскресенье - ни в коем случае не вина страны.

Мы еще попробуем как-нибудь вернуться - и сыграть! Главное чтобы вы знали - мы сделали все что смогли. Но чтобы приехали мы, или другие группы - необходимы вменяемые организаторы.

Это очень хреново - когда фанов имеют как хотят. когда имеют музыкантов.. ну, это не так уж и необычно - к этому как-то привыкаешь.

Дальше всякий бессмысленный срач и массовые извинения украинских фанов.

Потом чувак с ником ArchFriend постит гигантскую простыню, суть которой в том, что орги имбецилы и в следующий раз стоит более придирчиво проверять , с кем связываетесь, на что Йенс отвечает:

JensJohansson

Когда ведешь такую деятельность - приходится доверять людям.В этот раз нас подосрали. такое может случиться где угодно, но для большинства западных групп Украина - "неизведанная территория", поэтому, конечно, некоторый резонанс эта история вызовет.
к сожалению проверить оргов заблаговременно невозможно. поэтому, думаю, музыканты просто должны быть осторожнее, требовать деньги вперед и т.д.

Главная проблема сейчас в том, что орги молчат как партизаны и не показывают, что готовы разгрести тот бардак, который натворили.

Я надеюсь что они более внятно объяснят что реально произошло, а также вернут фанам деньги за билеты на отмененный концерт.

Ситуация, в которой побывали группы близка к понятию "кошмар", и, естественно следует ожидать, что музыканты теперь с меньшим энтузиазмом отнесутся к поездкам в Украину. Конечно дело не в украинцах как в людях, просто специфика индустрии.(прим. переводчика: другими словами орги насрали нам в репутацию - теперь придется расхлебывать, ибо на западе репутация важна)

Никому не доставляет удовольствия идея попасть в ситуацию, где фанов поимели, самому приходится беспокоиться о безопасности себя, команды и снаряжения и к тому же терять деньги.

Несомненно, первым шагом для оргов к попытке исправить ситуацию должны быть адекватные переговоры с пострадавшими сторонами

Далее пока просто срач.

[Survivor]

Here a little translation of this thread for russian-speaking fans.

You have forgoten one more important post (at least one episode from it). Let me continue.

Ребята, я хочу кое-что прояснить.

Слухи об ограблении одного из техников Arch Enemy ложные. Человек, сопровождавший Arch Enemy с момента их прибытия заявил, что эта информация неправдива, а организаторы также не слышали о таком инциденте. Честно говоря, мы тоже, хотя на фестивале до нас доходило немало слухов. Так что я склоняюсь к тому, чтобы верить тому чуваку.

Далее - замечание, что неспособность оплатить номера в отеле ни до ни после мероприятия - еще одна ошибка организаторов, а также слова надежды по поводу возможного визита группы в Украину.

[Morbid_ua]

They posted a new message on the official website that promoters at this point in time are trying to pay debts to bands, hotels and security and they ask fans to give 'em a little more time.
An official statement is coming very soon.

link

[Morbid_ua]

Promoters are going to start money-back procedure as early as next week.
They start with Kiev residents and then expand to other regions and countries.

It's not official yet, though.

[ArchFriend]

ArchFriend

Everybody already know that promoters are [s]morons[/s] amateurs. Did you really need to post tons of text?

Sorry that I offended you with a lengthy text, my well-informed friend. My only excuse is that the message wasn't exactly meant to inform YOU, as you seem to know everything better than anyone on this planet

[ArchFriend]

Please come back one day - but do run a thorough check on the promoters next time:(

When you do these things you have to operate a little bit on faith. This time we were let down. It can happen anywhere but for a lot of Western metal bands the Ukraine is "new territory" so this horror story will for sure make the rounds. You can't really "check promoters", it's not how it works, I imagine people will just be a bit more wary, ask for a larger share of the fees up front, etc.

This is exactly the problem: new territory. Ukraine (as well as Russia) is a new territory from the European point of view, with a new market economy, new democracy and transition-period mentality.
Business in general, and business ethics and priorities, are evolving from scratch here - and that means that professional criteria in business are very often not up to par in Ukraine. This is in large part due to simple lack of experience (and responsibility) in local businessmen - in your case, promoters.
They might have best ambitions - but they just don't have the technology, and it might be fatal for larger-scale events like music festivals that they try to organize.

You're right, you can't do without faith here - but, as in the ex-Soviet countries things work quite differently so far, some extra attention and a lot of precautions are a must.
Fees up front might really be a good idea, too.

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts, Jens.

[Beast_Pete]

I am organizing tournaments for Ukrains as well, and I got in touch with many Ukrainian guys. They are really nice and fun to talk with, I'm sure this one bad example shouldn't justify flaming the whole country and their citizens. And the band is wise enough not to do so. Let's hope for a better start next time.