CHICAGO — Fans at a Friday night Backstreet Boys show at the revamped Northerly Island chanted for one more song as an 11 p.m. curfew abruptly ended the boy band's set.
The Backstreet Boys can be seen on stage leading the chant — begging officials for a chance to do "one more song" — shortly before their microphones are cut off.
The show was at Northerly Island's FirstMerit Bank Pavilion, which, according to a tweet from the Chicago Park District, is managed by Live Nation, who "officially makes those calls."
"FirstMerit Bank Pavilion has a strict curfew of 11:00 PM. Given the artist was running behind on setting their production up, the show had to end before the set could be finished," FirstMerit Bank Pavilion wrote on its Facebook page, adding the Chicago Police Department had nothing to do with the decision.
Still, the abrupt end to the concert left fans with a sour taste.
"@LiveNation Heard you are in charge of northerly island in Chi," one fan in attendance tweeted after being redirected by the park district. "Whats up with shutting down @backstreetboys 8/2. Pissed. Not going again."
"Tonight was one of the best Backstreet Boys shows I've ever seen. It's a shame the venue/city cut the mics & shut down the show halfway in," wrote a Twitter user called wafflesnjoy.
The band was apologetic.
"We got shut down five minutes shy of the finish line. We're so frustrated, and we're going to figure out to make this right," said band member Kevin Richardson in a video posted on the band's Facebook page. "We love you Chi-Town. Thank you.
The complaint follows a laundry list of prior gripes from fans, most recently, after June 29 Jimmy Buffett show. At that event, fans said the venue was a muddy mess, the sound system failed to pipe tunes out to the lawn seating effectively, there wasn't enough beer for sale and the drinks they did have were warm.
