INDIO, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Despite the dire state of the world's economy, Coachella still managed to post a big year, with strong attendance figures that came in second only to 2007's record. More than 160,000 fans congregated at the festival, for sunshine, heat and more than 100 performers including M.I.A, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney and others over the course of three days.
The Cure took to the stage as the final performer and closed the festival but many attendees were surprised when someone pulled the plug on the band in the middle of their song (Oh, the irony) "Grinding Halt."
Palm Springs newspaper reported that the main lights came up, typically a signal that the show's over but the Cure continued to play. Then the big screens were shut down, followed by the main speakers, but the stage amps were still live, so the band kept on going.
As it turns out, it wasn't some weary stage hand tripping over (several) cords, but Goldenvoice's Paul Tollett. According to Tollett, the shutdown was "curfew-related" and it was Goldenvoice's call to cut the power.
The Desert Sun shed further light on the incident. Goldenvoice's contract with the City of Indio imposes a $5,000 fee on events that run in excess of their allotted time. An additional $1,000 is imposed for each minute, starting to accrue at six minutes past the allotted time.
Mark Wasserman, assistant to Indio city manager Glenn Southard, told the Desert Sun that Paul McCartney ran 54 minutes over on Friday, The Killers ran 30 minutes late on Saturday and The Cure had clocked 33 minutes over overtime when the plug was pulled, adding up to $107,000 in overages.
Wasserman added that they would discuss the matter with Goldenvoice after next weekend's Stagecoach festival in the same location and that any money collected would go to the city's General Fund. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
