Win Butler targeted by sexual misconduct allegations: Arcade Fire boycotted by his Montreal admirers

MISE & Agrave; DAY

Early fans of Arcade Fire disappointed by the band have finally decided to get their tickets refunded for the concert scheduled for tonight at the Bell Center in Montreal.

“It will be a twinge of heart not to be there, that's for sure, says Alexandre Beauchamp, yet a fan of the Montreal rock band. I will never see them in concert in my life. This is the show I was most looking forward to this year.”

Alexandre Beauchamp, follower of Arcade Fire, has decided to resell his tickets for the concert planned at the Bell Center in Montreal, following allegations of sexual misconduct against the singer and leader of the group, Win Butler, revealed by the American media. Pitchfork last August.

Like many other aficionados of the band, this Montreal native has decided not to attend the Arcade Fire concert, scheduled for Saturday night at the Bell Centre. In question: the allegations of sexual misconduct against the singer and leader of the group, Win Butler, revealed by the American media Pitchfork last August.

“I thought I could, but I can't make out the artist's work,” explains Beauchamp. I can't even listen to Arcade Fire songs anymore.”

Finally reimbursed

Same story with Maude Sills- Néron, who also decided to have her ticket reimbursed.

“I felt uncomfortable going to applaud a potential sexual aggressor, who also seems in total denial, explains the young woman from Montreal. Several themes addressed by the group particularly touched me. I felt betrayed.”

Maude Sills-Néron launched an online petition that collected nearly 1,400 signatories to ask Ticketmaster for the possibility of obtaining a refund for the concert of Arcade Fire at the Bell Center.

Angry by the silence of the group as well as by the refusal of the promoter Evenko and the ticketing giant Ticketmaster to reimburse the places in the first place, Maude Sills-Néron decided, last October, to launch a petition demanding reimbursement. Nearly 1,400 signatories have signed it so far.

“I don't know if the petition has moved things forward, but Evenko is finally starting to reimburse our places, after multiple unsuccessful attempts, details Madame Sills-Néron. Several people contacted me to tell me that they had also managed to get reimbursed.

So far, Evenko has not taken a public position and has not provided details regarding the terms of reimbursement. Contacted by Le Journal, the promoter refused to give more details on this subject.

“We do not communicate this data, it is internal information”, commented Christine Montreuil, media manager at Evenko.

“It’s quite nebulous, underlines Alexandre Beauchamp. I applied for a refund several days ago, and my tickets were finally canceled yesterday. But I had to contact Evenko to learn the news, because I received no justification or confirmation from them. So far, my tickets have just been cancelled, but I still haven't received the money in my bank account.”

Thousands of tickets offered

Last date of the group's world tour, which began three days after the revelations of Pitchfork,Montreal was to be the high point of it, symbolizing the return to the fold of the city's flagship group.

“I'm still sad, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the concert this evening in a corner of my head, confesses Maude Sills-Néron. I'm curious to know how many people will be at the concert.”

A few hours before the concert, the Bell Center was still struggling to fill up, and thousands of tickets were still available.

< p> On Ticketmaster, 3118 tickets were still officially offered in the stands two hours before the concert, not counting the seats in the floor. On StubHub, a site specializing in resale of tickets, it was still possible to find seats around 15 Canadian dollars a few hours before the concert.

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