No Good’s Cherating concert cancelled after threats of protests and accusations of band representing “drinking culture”
Written by ABR on 17/08/2022
Malaysian punk band No Good have cancelled their upcoming Cherating tour date following threats of a possible protest against the gig and accusations that the band represent “drinking culture”.
- READ MORE: No Good: “We’re not traditional people, so why do we have to be traditional punks?”
The tour date, which was set to take place on August 20 in Cherating and would have been the final show on the band’s ‘No Gong’ tour in support of their latest album, was cancelled by the band and organisers Laut and Coastal Shore in an announcement on August 16.
Show promoter Ci Chaan posted a statement from the organisers and No Good on Twitter apologising to gig-goers and explaining that the organisers and the band had “done everything possible” to try and continue on with the show, but had decided on cancelling the show due to the conditions in the permit for the show issued by the Kuantan City Council.
As the permit states that the show must “keep local sensitivities” and “not cause a disturbance or receive complaints from the local community”, the threat of protests against the show would allow authorities to shut down the show at any time had the organisers and No Good gone ahead with it.
(Cont..) pic.twitter.com/MziGtEYsHs
— Ci Chaan (@cichaan) August 16, 2022
“Recently, we found out that there are some parties who have been expressing strong opposition to the show being held,” the statement continued. “We discovered several messages had been circulated among the community around Cherating that contains a call for a protest against this event. These messages have been sent to community representatives and we succeeded in getting a copy.”
The copy of the message obtained by the organisers was included in the statement, and reads in part: “I hope you will extend your goodwill and protest this concert. I received information that hardcore punks were involved in [No Good]’s show in Kuala Pilah. They’re liberals. Drinking culture and drinking alcohol cannot be separated.”
No Good have also posted a statement of their own, apologising to fans and explaining that the band and organisers have taken all precautions, but the authorities would still shut down the show without warning despite “happily taking the deposit and a 25% entertainment tax cut from ticket sales”.
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The statement continues: “We hope that everyone involved understands that [the decision to cancel] was made not just for the safety and comfort of everyone on the day of the gig itself, but also for the sake of the creatives and surfing community that have sustained this area.”
Several members of Malaysia’s music community have since responded to the cancellation of No Good’s tour date. Ze of Spooky Wet Dreams wrote: “You know the scene is coming back to life when shit like this happens. Whatever happens, stay strong and walk straight”.
Sekumpulan Orang Gila’s Raja Nazmin Shah wrote: “What’s happening to Malaysia’s music scene right now has happened before, and we know what happens next. Gg [Good game] gais.”
Apa yg berlaku kat Malaysia music scene sekarang ni pernah berlaku sebelum ni. Dan kita akan tahu apa yg akan berlaku seterusnya.
Gg gais
— / (@adekkkk) August 15, 2022
Angkasa Space venue owner Elmi Elmo, who had been sharing about the difficulty of organising a large-scale tour in Malaysia in part due to the negative image of underground music among the general public on his Twitter just hours prior to the announcement of the cancellation, wrote: “See? I was just talking about this. What rubbish is happening now?”
Tengok. Aku baru je cakap tadi. Apa benda lah sial. https://t.co/DyMFjFxwRJ
— #FiersaBesariLiveinKL (@ELMIELMO) August 16, 2022
No Good’s album ‘Punk Gong’ was released two years after their first EP, the 2020 effort ‘Demo Kawe’. It clinched the third spot in NME’s list of 2021’s 25 best Asian albums, with writer Adrian Yap praising the record as “proof of a band willing to push themselves to even greater heights of creative prowess” and “at its Kelantanese heart … a deeply visceral record”.
In April, the band also put out a music video for the album track ‘SUAY’.
The post No Good’s Cherating concert cancelled after threats of protests and accusations of band representing “drinking culture” appeared first on NME.
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