Social Distortion cancelled its Monday night show at the UCSB Events Center, leaving thousands of ticket-holders without the story of Mike Ness’s life.

The band informed Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) of the cancellation Monday morning, said Kelly Brennan-Kleyn, ASPB special events coordinator. Social Distortion lead singer Mike Ness was too ill to perform Monday night, and the band’s website also said the group is canceling its show tonight at UC Davis. Posters in front of the Events Center informed concertgoers of the cancelled show. Brennan-Kleyn said Program Board sold a total of about 2,000 tickets as of last Friday through the A.S. Ticket Office.

“[The Ticket Office] said their phone had been ringing off the hook, meaning there were a lot of people trying to get tickets today, and it’s just a bummer,” she said.

Event Center doors were set to open at 6:30 Monday night, and two opening bands were scheduled to perform before Social Distortion was to take the stage at 7:30.

Students who bought tickets through A.S. can visit the Ticket Office to receive a full refund, Brennan-Kleyn said. Ticket-holders who purchased vouchers online through Tixster.com will receive an e-mail with refund instructions.

Brennan-Kleyn said the show has not been rescheduled, but that she will talk to Social Distortion agents today in hopes of bringing the band back to UCSB in April or May.

“Hopefully we’ll get it rescheduled for either a show in the Events Center or somewhere else,” she said.

Brennan-Klyen said she doesn’t expect ASPB to lose much money because of the cancelled concert.

“We have to pay our employees that were here setting up all day, but it’s not that much money,” she said.

Program Board had confirmed the concert last December, Brennan-Klyen said.

“We’ve all been working really hard on it for a while, and it’s just too bad that it had to happen this way,” she said.

Spencer Sawaske, a recent UC Berkeley graduate, arrived at the Events Center in a car packed with other would-be concertgoers around 8:30 p.m. He said he had driven all the way from Fresno.

The show’s cancellation “sucks,” he said.

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