When news broke in mid-November that Californian punk-rock legends The Descendents would be hitting Australian shores for the first time since 2010, fans were ready to don their Docs, mess up their hair, and rock out at the band’s reknowned high energy shows.
The veteran rockers also put together an amazing supporting lineup for their Aussie shows, including New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls, and heritage Aussie punk acts Frenzal Rhomb and Bodyjar.
Now, one of the most anticipated, and indeed the punk tour of the year, has been dealt a very unfortunate blow.
The key support act for the Aussie run of shows, Sydney’s Frenzal Rhomb have pulled out of the four city tour due to “a sudden and unexpected illness,” in a statement issued by the band.
While the group have always been known to stir up some outrage (let’s not forget the 2004 Less Than Jake song “Jay Frenzal”, named after Whalley, which describes him breaking their bus “with a two-by-four and a shitty grin,”), Descendents lead singer Milo Aukerman revealed he wasn’t too worried about touring with the wild band.
Speaking to Tone Deaf just a few weeks ago, Aukerman stated “we’re gonna be flying, I just hope [Jay] doesn’t break our plane…”
The cartoonish punks have joked about falling ill before, just as recently as their Melbourne gig at The Hi-Fi Bar where the band’s lead singer Jason Whalley said on stage, “I think I just had a stroke coupled with an aneurism,” in reference to the high energy nature of the gigs.
This time though, all jokes are off. While no further information has been given regarding the medical circumstances that caused the band to cancel their spot on the tour, the band assures that another announcement will be made “in due course.” Their full statement reads:
Following a sudden and unexpected illness, a member of Frenzal Rhomb has been hospitalized and the band will be unable to honour their commitments to this national tour. Frenzal Rhomb apologise to all of their fans and friends, and ask that fans and media respect their privacy at this difficult time. The band will make another announcement in due course.
The Descendents tour is still set to start tomorrow, February 6th, at Brisbane’s Eaton’s Hill with all other supports continuing their appearances.
Descendents 2013 Australian Tour
Wednesday February 06 – Eaton’s Hill – Brisbane, QLD
with THE DISABLES
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au, 1300 762 545
Thursday February 07 – Big Top Luna Park – Sydney, NSW
with IRRELEVANT
Tickets: www.ticketek.com 132 849, www.oztix.com.au 1300 762 545 & www.bigtopsydney.com1300 BIG TOP
Saturday February 09 – Festival Hall – Melbourne, VIC (Lic. All Ages)
with GAME OVER
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com.au
Sunday February 10 – Metro City – Perth, WA
with guests
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au, 1300 762 545 & www.heatseeker.com.au
