BLUE ISLAND, Ill. – Opening band Abridged Aversion left the local punk scene in a tailspin when they immediately departed following their 15-minute set instead of sticking around to support the other bands on the bill, outraged sources confirmed.
“Look, we put them on the bill because they’ve only played one or two shows ever,” said Gus Halfuller, guitarist for headlining band Daycap. “Because of that, they bring in a decent crowd made up of their friends and family who haven’t yet realized seeing your friend on stage on a Tuesday is actually depressing. It makes for a good audience, but if the band leaves early so does everyone they brought with them—and that’s exactly what happened. I remember asking my bass player, ‘Are these guys for real? Are they really not going to stick around to watch the six other bands on the bill?’”
The controversy quickly reached Abridged Aversion’s lead singer, Riley Marin, who scrambled to explain the band’s actions.
“This wasn’t some power play on our part. The reality is, none of us ever got our driver’s license except for our drummer, so we rode with him,” said Marin. “Right before we are about to go on we find out he had work early the next morning so he couldn’t stick around. None of us were in the mood to try and bum a ride from my ex-boyfriend, who was the only other person I knew there with a car. So we left—it was nothing personal.”
Local punk scene veteran, historian, and rule enforcer Pete Repel said he wasn’t surprised, adding that this was bound to happen sooner or later.
“You have a lot of new blood coming into the scene who haven’t put in the work, haven’t grown up in the scene the way their older counterparts have,” Repel said while sulkily smoking a cigarette. “They don’t know what it feels like to be that headliner, sit through opening band after opening band, and then hop on stage to find everyone is gone. This is why the ‘Gilman St.–CBGB Accords of 1987’ were signed, agreeing that ‘No opening act should leave prior to the headliner.’ I’m concerned about what kind of precedent this sets going forward.”
At press time, the Abridged Aversion drummer reportedly slept through his alarm and was late to work the following day.