FKA Twigs Fans Are Furious After Spending $110 To See The Back Of Each Others’ Heads
"Ridiculous waste of money for something which, I'm sure if I could've seen, would've been worth every dollar."
On Sunday, British performer and musician FKA Twigs performed a highly anticipated show at Carriageworks as part of Vivid’s star-studded 2019 music line-up.
Twigs has become something of an icon over the last few years, her reputation bolstered by a series of extraordinary singles and videos — her newly-released ‘Cellophane’ one of them — and by her sly and nuanced media persona.
But rather than the mix of contemporary dance and dark electro that they were promised, attendees of the show were treated to a $110 view of the back of each other’s heads. The main hall at Carriageworks does not contain an elevated stage, and so most punters had to make do with only the briefest glimpses of FKA Twigs, when she took to the pole that features heavily in the video for ‘Cellophane’ and began to dance.
It is not the first time the venue has faced such complaints either — visibility at St. Vincent’s 2018 show at the venue was similarly criticised.
Unsurprisingly, punters are not happy, with many of them taking to the Carriageworks Facebook page to express their disapproval. Indeed, so many have voiced their unhappiness that the venue has been forced to apologise.
“We’re so sorry to those who couldn’t see,” the venue wrote on the event Facebook page. “The international staging of Twigs’ Magdalene tour does not include large scale video screens. We take on board your comments about stage height and will work towards making our future music events better.”
Gosh the @FKAtwigs show was a magnificent work of art and beauty, but gosh that venue was the wrong choice to experience it.
— Zan Rowe (@zanrowe) June 9, 2019
Reading the FKAtwigs reviews from Carriageworks, as someone who suffered through St Vincent last year, & more before, I can only say to poor gig-goers, I hear you; I’ve been you. That venue is a destroyer of shows: bad sight lines, poor sound, terrible atmosphere, eater of soul.
— Bernard Zuel (@BernardZuel) June 10, 2019
FKA Twigs was a genuinely incredible stage show. @Carriageworks was not much of a space for it, and I probably wouldn’t pay to see a gig there again. https://t.co/YAxbQVEiab
— Joe Hardy (@joe_hardy) June 10, 2019
But it seems like the apology has done little to assuage many fans, who are clapping back.
“I paid $100 to see so little of it,” wrote one punter. “Really disappointed with the venue. I won’t come to a show here again.”
“I have never been to a concert where I could not see ANYTHING!” wrote another. “Ridiculous waste of money for something which, I’m sure if I could’ve seen, would’ve been worth every dollar.”
FKA Twigs is yet to comment on the incident.