So the noise/rap guys Death Grips bailed pretty hard on a room full of fans eagerly awaiting their headline slot at the Lollapalooza after party at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge last Friday night. As expected, the fans were pretty pissed. One destroyed Death Grips drum kit later, they seemed temporarily satisfied.

The band was slotted in to play an evening set the following day on the Grove stage at the mega-festival but was instead replaced by pro-snowboarder Shaun White’s band Bad Things. Before the band’s no-show was announced, the stage set-up was ready to go and featured a projection of what seemed to be a fan’s suicide letter. The pre-show projection, and Death Grips album being blasted, was later discussed by the band’s management as being ‘the performance’. The email suicide note projected on stage stated:

SUBJECT: ready DATE: July 9
I am ready to take my own life. Many bad experiences led me to this dark void that I am locked in. Maybe by my own hands? I don’t really care anymore. I just wanted to say thank you for showing me the other side. the side that is locked away deep inside a person. I am mad. Mad all the time and depressed all the time. I can’t take it. I’m not afraid of dying but i am afraid that I can’t hear DG in the after life if there is such a thing. I don’t know, but I hope your music transcends to the unknown. A place where DG’s essence exists. A place where art exists. I love art. That’s the one thing that kept me alive? this long. So just to ease minds, DG didn’t “influence” me to do this. this is my own fucking choice. but thanks for making my life a little better. you’re my absolute fave and I will fight the gods if they don’t allow me to follow DG’s efforts can’t see Earth. Anyways, continue doing great things. I love you Stefan, Zach, and Andy.
I will be watching.
-AJJ”

Publicity stunt or not, shit is heavy.

Tom Groves