Earlier this week, Gavin DeGraw was hospitalized after he was attacked during a walk home from his club in New York City, and, while staggering away, bleeding, was hit by a taxi cab. He canceled several upcoming shows, and for that we don't blame him at all. But on the grand scale, where Kings Of Leon occupy one extreme , there have been plenty of good reasons to cancel tours. Does DeGraw's assault enter the top five?
5. There's been an environmental disaster. In March, "sleazy" pop star Ke$ha was slated to tour Japan. But when a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, she quickly realized that it was not the time to glitterfy the land of the rising sun.
In a statement on her website, she said, "my heart is with Japan right now through this disaster and these hardships. I genuinely don't think right now would be appropriate timing for me to perform in Japan given the content and the spirit of my show, which is all about feeling exuberant, rowdy, and wild," but also that Ke$ha still plans bring the "party there and to that part of the world when we are all ready to dance and Get $leazy together again. In the meantime I am going to do everything I can to help relief efforts and I encourage everyone in the world to do the same.
4. Your mom is sick. Whether or not you still see him as Jimmy from Degrassi, Drake is a mama's boy (cue:"aw!"). So when his ill mother needed to undergo surgery (illness undisclosed), Drake did not hesitate to make sure that he was there to care for her, even though that resulted in canceling his European tour last summer.
"Despite my best hopes, it is apparent that my mother will need surgery earlier than anticipated. In light of this news, I have made the difficult decision to cancel my European tour in order to support her during her recovery, just as she supported me through the years," he said in a statement. "I cannot thank my European fans enough and look forward to performing abroad soon. I ask everyone to please respect my family's privacy during this time."
3. You're really, really sick. Getting sick is unavoidable, and usually it can be overcome with a little DayQuil and orange juice. However, sometimes much-needed medical attention and recovery (off the road) and understanding from fans is the only cure.
Sound Tribe Sector 9 canceled its winter/spring tour dates for February and March when bassist and front man David Murphy was diagnosed with a type of internal skin cancer and doctors found a cancerous tumor inside Murphy's sinus cavity earlier this year in January.
"There is nothing more in the world I love then playing music and sharing it with all of you and we will continue to do it for a long time together and all I ask for is y'all's thoughts and prayers during this time of recovery," Murphy expressed in a statement.
Fortunately, Murphy had a quick recovery and the band announced a full fall tour, beginning in September in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
2. You've gone insane. Though it's no surprise to us with a name like Insane Clown Posse, ICP singer Joseph Bruce, better known as Violent J, had a panic attack on stage at a show in Minneapolois, Minnesota on April 19, 1998. After going offstage, Violent J reportedly cut off his dread locks so "nobody could talk me into doing any more shows" and spent two days in a mental health facility in Michigan.
Consequently, the rest of their United States tour was canceled and Violent J's condition improved thereafter, though not without regret.
"The 'Violent J goes crazy' story is over and it's back to business as usual... scaring you instead of scaring myself," he said after his release. "I just wish I still had my dreadlocks."
Before you get comfortable and sympathetic, it is not to be overlooked that the Insane Clown Posse has questionable judgment. Last summer, the band canceled and later postponed a show in Tempe, Arizona shortly before showtime upon finding out that there was no Faygo in the venue. Violent J tweeted, "Tonight's show was postponed because of a Faygo delivery problem. Now I'm walking threw the Arizona Mills Mall. The show will go on tomarrow." Props for the impeccable spelling.
1. You support civil rights. This is probably one of the most admirable reasons to cancel a tour, especially since it was a form of protest.
In the '60s, classical pianist Gary Graffman canceled his tour dates in various southern states because he refused to play for racially segregated audiences. Graffman also joined a committee in association with the NAACP in effort to "appeal to others in the music world to protest bias by not performing before segregated audiences," as reported in the Baltimore Afro-American.
