Bengaluru citizens blast state government after Cigarettes After Sex cancel show due to tech snag

Cigarettes After Sex said in a statement: 'We're so incredibly sorry we can't see you all tonight and truly tried everything we could to make it happen.'

Bengaluru-based fans of Cigarettes After Sex were livid after the US pop band cancelled their concert last-minute on Tuesday citing technical difficulties that the "local production at the venue" could not resolve. Fans did not mince words on social media as they vented their frustration of being robbed of a major concert experience, especially at a time when even Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted to build "concert economy in India".

"Technical difficulties in the Silicon Valley of India. Ironic," commented X user Saarthak (@That_otaku_dude). "Man, has Bengaluru got reduced to linguistic chauvinism and trashy Bollywood nightlife beats. This was once a prime location for music artists. I hold fond memories of my Metallica concert here. Not anymore, I guess."

Let it be known that people in Bangalore are being robbed of these experiences because of pathetic local administration.Our state government is basically on life support and will kill this city brick by brick. https://t.co/pDv2TYFp3C
Nikhil Kumar (@nikhilkumarks) January 28, 2025

"Cigarettes After Sex concert just got cancelled. Bangalore is proving to be the worst city for live gigs," author Nikhil Pradhan (@postwar) added. "From hosting the best metal and rock gigs in the 2000s to just hosting shitty Bollywood nights as an excuse for a music scene. How the mighty have fallen!"

In a statement, Cigarettes After Sex on Tuesday apologised for cancelling the show. "We're heartbroken to announce that due to technical difficulties which were the responsibility of local production at the venue and beyond our control, we're unable to perform and unfortunately have to cancel tonight's show in Bengaluru," it stated. "We're so incredibly sorry we can't see you all tonight and truly tried everything we could to make it happen."

Cigarettes After Sex also clarified that their ticketing partner, Bookmyshow, would get in touch with buyers regarding the refunds.

This is not the first time a high-profile international show in Bengaluru was cancelled due to technical snags. In September 2023, comedian Trevor Noah had to cancel his show in the city because of acoustics and sound system failures.