"The band is very disappointed," said guitarist Noel Hogan. "The North American tour was going really well, and we were having a great time connecting with our fans. We feel badly for the people who waited in lines to purchase tickets for the remaining shows, but the band is supportive of Dolores."
Apparently singing 'berry O'Riordan needs to rest her cords. According to a band statement, O'Riordan's doctor told her to take the next four weeks off so she can fully recover from "flu and exhaustion." That means concerts in Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Park City (Utah) and California dates in Sacramento, Mountain View, San Bernardino and Los Angeles are history. The band won't reschedule the shows, and ticket-holders will receive refunds.
The Mountain View concert on September 27 was going to be the first show "Webcast" with Apple's new Audioactive technology. No word yet from Apple whether the company will schedule a different act to debut the technology or just postpone the launch until the Black Crowes play September 29.
The Cranberries this week, Oasis last week--it's been a bad month for concert-goers. Conspiracy or fluke? "That kind of stuff just happens; there's nothing new or novel about this," says Gary Bongiovanni of Pollstar, the concert-tracking magazine.
Of course, since the 'berries seem to tour every five minutes--their manager counts 432 concerts in fewer than three years--U.S. fans should be able to see them again. That might not be the case with Oasis, which pulled the plug on its tour last week and has ceased performing live "for the foreseeable future."
The Cranberries will resume their "Free to Decide" world tour in Munich on October 18 and wrap it up in London on December 16.