KUALA LUMPUR: Good Vibes Festival (GVF) ticket holders were left stunned, and some were seething in disappointment following its cancellation announced at the eleventh hour today.
GVF, which enters its second day today and is scheduled to end tomorrow, has been immediately cancelled by the Communication and Digital Ministry after British band The 1975 frontman Matt Healy delivered a profanity-laden speech directed at the government last night.
The fans' disappointment over Healy's surprising speech, which started the minute he left the stage after saying the band was banned from performing in Kuala Lumpur last night, rose a notch after today's cancellation, especially those who had just bought the RM388 GVF one-day pass to watch The Strokes live performance at the festival tomorrow.
Danny Ismail, 30, told the New Straits Times today that he had just bought the one-day pass this morning.
He had also made the necessary arrangements to attend the festival, as he would be coming from Sungai Petani, Kedah.
"I already booked the hotel and rented a car because I'll be coming from Kedah to watch my favourite band, The Strokes.
"Words cannot even describe how angry and disappointed I felt. I've been busy with work these days, but I made sure to free up my day tomorrow (July 23) to watch The Strokes.
"And I just purchased the ticket this morning. Since the organisers said last night that they would not cancel the show, I acted upon that assurance.
"I can only wait for the next update on how I will get my refunds," he said.
Twenty-five-year-old Afrina Romzi, who paid RM1,388 for a three-day VIP ticket, was left fuming at the cancellation.
Despite knowing that the concertgoers would be compensated, she looked forward to listening to her favourite band's live performance.
"I am devastated upon hearing the announcement from the government because I think there is a better solution to this issue that would not cost a major loss for the organisers, artists, vendors and concertgoers.
"Although the organisers are taking full responsibility for the artists, the government should also hold the band, primarily Healy, accountable with heavy punishment for failing to adhere to Malaysian laws.
"Malaysia has high potential to benefit from this industry as a source of revenue, and we should not be left behind on this.
"We have seen a few artist tours that skipped Malaysia to perform. I hope this issue will not further make Malaysia the last choice for international artists to come here," she said.
Music producer Jennifer Thompson took to her social media account to condemn Healy's action, saying that Healy's act could further cause trouble for other artists in the future.
"Without thinking of the consequences, an idiot has made life harder for people who live and work in our industry. You don't live here. We do.
"It's not about your damn opinion. It's about how, when, and where you deliver it," she said via Instagram post.
Another Instagram user under the handle @thesecatsarenoisy commented on one of The 1975's Instagram posts, lamenting Healy's action, which had affected thousands of others.
"You have no idea the implications of what you did to everyone else. That was selfish.
"What you did may cost us to miss out on a lot of concerts in the future... Stringent rules and background checks on performers, locals here will only be able to enjoy limited shows from international artistes... So many implications.
"We are fine here. What you do is stir things up and will impact the people. Do you want to push back? Be smart and do not do anything stupid like this. You're not a big band, and this isn't smart.
"You are what Malaysians would say, 'menyusahkan orang (burdening others)'. You will give us Malaysians a hard time after this," said the comment.
The angry and frustrated fans and the public had also taken to the band's official Instagram page to voice their anger and frustrations.
Malaysians also took to the ministry's social media page to express their disappointment over the cancellation, as they felt it was unfair to be punished for a man's action.
The 1975's performance, which was set to close the first day of GVF at Sepang International Circuit last night, came to an abrupt stop after Healy's speech.
Healy was also seen intoxicated when performing, as well as holding a lit cigarette and kissing his bandmate, Ross Macdonald, on stage.
