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The band was scheduled to play the first of two sold-out concerts when gunmen opened fire at Crocus Town Hall.
By Alex Marshall
On Saturday morning, Piknik, one of Russia’s most popular classic rock bands, posted a message on their Vkontakte page, one of the country’s largest social networks: “We are deeply shocked by this terrible tragedy and weep with you. “
The night before, the band was scheduled to perform the first of two sold-out concerts, accompanied by a symphony orchestra, at Crocus City Hall, outside Moscow. But before Piknik took the stage, four armed men entered the great hall, opened the fireplace and murdered at least 133 people.
Among those affected were some members of Piknik’s team. On Saturday afternoon, another note appeared on the group’s Vkontakte page, claiming that the woman manning the group’s produce stalls had denied that impression.
“We are not prepared for the worst,” the message reads.
The attack on Crocus City Hall has renewed attention on Piknik, a band that has been the soundtrack to the lives of many Russian rock enthusiasts for more than four decades.
Ilya Kukulin, a cultural historian at Amherst College in Massachusetts, said in an interview that Piknik is one of the Soviet Union’s “rock monsters,” with songs animated by old Western rock bands, including David Bowie, and a diversity of Russian styles.
Since the release of their debut album, “Smoke” in 1982, Piknik, fronted by Edmund Shklyarsky, the band’s singer and guitarist, has gained popularity despite their dark music with gothic lyrics. Kukulin attributed this in part to the creative spectacles.
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