With every new album by the Cincinnati Rock band Wussy, word of mouth and critical praise have helped expand its notoriety more widely. The ever-increasing attention has inflated the band’s fanbase, this past year resulting in a big uptick in touring thanks to the quintet’s latest stellar release, What Heaven is Like. (Read all about it in Wussy’s fantastic tour diary here.)
But after coming off of a string of dates in Europe earlier this year, health issues have necessitated the cancellation of a trio of upcoming shows in major U.S. cities. Under the advice of doctors, imminent Wussy appearances in Boston, Chicago and New York City have been called off due to singer/songwriter/guitarist Chuck Cleaver’s back injury, which he says creates “debilitating numbness combined with periods of white hot pain.”
Cleaver is undergoing physical therapy in hopes of avoiding surgery and says the band is going to try to reschedule the shows as soon as possible.
Wussy shared a note from Cleaver about the cancellations on social media over the weekend..
Hey y’all, Chuck here. In the nearly 18 years that Wussy has been around I can count on one hand the shows we’ve had to call off. You just play, regardless of the circumstances. Unfortunately, my back is a goner. The medical term for it is lower lumbar spinal stenosis, What it means in my case is that I’ve got two discs that are out of alignment and they’re pinching off two fairly major nerves, so that from my lower spine, along my hips and down through my legs to my toes I’m experiencing debilitating numbness combined with periods of white hot pain. Easily one of the most unpleasant things I’ve ever experienced.
Two different doctors have advised me to get off the road so we’ve had to cancel our August and September dates in Brooklyn, Boston and Chicago, so I can do physical therapy to try to avoid an operation if at all possible. Canceling these shows is truly heartbreaking for me but I’m hoping that in the long run it means that I can continue to travel and do what we do.
Anyway, I’d like to apologize to everyone who’ve bought tickets and to the clubs (Rough Trade in NYC, Sonia/Middle East in Boston and Schuba’s in Chicago). Fingers crossed, we’ll try to reschedule something ASAP.
Thanks for reading and hopefully I’ll see y’all somewhere down the pike.
Get better soon, Chuck!
This article appears in Aug 1-8, 2018.
