Eric Lacy

Lansing State Journal

LANSING — A Detroit area rap group called the Insane Clown Posse stuck to its Faygo-spraying 2-liter guns over the weekend and might have to shop around for a new performance venue in Lansing after its soda exploding mayhem forced a second sold out show to be cancelled.

Wicked clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, under the Farmington Hills-based Psychopathic Records label, declined to perform Saturday's show Faygo-free at The Loft after venue officials told them it was the only option. The venue spent the weekend cleaning up a sticky mess ICP created on Friday.

Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, whose real names are Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, felt a show without the Detroit-made beverages would've been a disservice to loyal fans, known as juggalos. The ICP sprays an average of 600 to 800 2-liter bottles per show, a tradition that started in the early 1990s, said Jason Webber, Psychopathic Records' spokesman.

"They aren't called the Sane Clown Posse," Webber said. "If ICP were to perform a show without Faygo, that would be like Andrew Dice Clay not ending his show with nursery rhymes or Janis Joplin not performing with a bottle of Southern Comfort."

Webber, who didn't attend Friday's show, said he was told by ICP that venue officials told them the show was a success. ICP didn't get word the venue wanted the group to go Faygo-free on Saturday night until that morning, Webber said. ICP's Facebook posted at 2:33 p.m. Saturday a message that said Saturday night's show was cancelled "due to some unforseen staleness."

The Loft appeared ready Friday afternoon to handle a sugary onslaught. The venue sent a Lansing State Journal reporter a Twitter message then that said "We're ready" and showed a photo of what appeared to be plastic tarps covering its stage. Later that afternoon, the post disappeared. They sent a Facebook message saying "there was a slight issue so it had to be removed."

Apparently ICP made more of a sugary splash than the venue expected. "When they book ICP, they know or should know what they are getting into," Webber said of show promoters and venues.

Jerome White, a partner for The Loft's ownership group, wrote Monday in an email to the LSJ that ICP would always be welcome at the venue, but added "we are not built to handle the volume of liquid that goes with their show." The venue has a room capacity of 500; stage size is 25 feet wide by 21 feet deep, according to its website.

Nate Dorough, president of Fusion Shows, wrote in an email to the LSJ that another ICP show with Faygo at The Loft "just wouldn't be possible." Fusion Shows, which booked Saturday's concert, posted on its website over the weekend a statement from ICP and Psychopathic Records that said The Loft, at 414 E. Michigan Ave., "wasn’t exactly prepared to deal with cleaning up 1,200 liters of Faygo." Fans who purchased tickets online or at the venue's box office will receive refunds -- if they haven't already.

Dorough wrote his company is "willing and interested" in working with ICP again because they were "very professional throughout the process."

Webber, the Psychopathic Records spokesman, said the venue was "totally cool" with ICP's decision Saturday to pass on that night's show. He doesn't want to speculate about The Loft's chances of inviting ICP back with plenty of pop or if another Lansing venue could fill the void. Webber said ICP purchases all the Faygo 2-liters it uses at shows and often fills semi-trucks with bottles so they're armed on the road.

"In the chaotic universe that is the Insane Clown Posse, you never know what to expect," Webber said.

Cleanup of the venue is complete, and no flavors of pop caused any permanent damage, wrote Dorough, in a separate email to the LSJ. The amount of Faygo that ICP sprayed in the venue led to "a moderate quantity" that seeped through the floor into downstairs businesses, Dorough wrote.

'Detours' podcast: Rapper Esham, the Beatles Forever

"Fusion Shows is picking up any of the financial responsibilities of the event, same as if an event sold poorly and lost money -- not that that's really anyone's business either way," Dorough wrote. "Really not that big a deal." Dorough emphasized in the email that ICP "very respectfully declined" performing Saturday's show.

The Loft hosted a concert Sunday night by the Dayton, Ohio-based band Hawthorne Heights that "went off without a hitch," Dorough wrote.

Webber said there are several ways to clean up ICP's Faygo mess after concerts. Venues have tried all sorts things, ranging from Shop-Vacs and squeegees to the old-fashioned mob and bucket combo. It's always a challenge to find venues willing to embrace "the Faygo factor," he said. The group has performed "Hallowicked" concerts in Detroit on Halloween with Faygo for over two decades.

Contact Eric Lacy at (517) 377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.