Atomic Monster Weekend Cancelled Last Minute (Not That You’d Know It)

If you go to the Facebook page or Eventbrite listing for Atomic Monster Weekend, you might assume it’s still happening October 27-29 in Mesa, AZ. I mean sure, the show’s Instagram has gone mysteriously private and the website seems to be down — but you can still buy a ticket. But if you show up to the Sheraton Mesa on the 27th, you’re going to find an empty ballroom.

Because the show has been cancelled.

In a post that went live briefly before the official Instagram went private, show organizer O’Neal Pignani (under the name “Dr. Shriek”) announced that the convention was being “postponed” due to his father being terminally ill. This announcement has not appeared in any other form that we can find, and this screenshot was all we were able to track down:

Now we don’t know the veracity of the statement, but the fact that there is no way for the public to currently see it is incredibly strange.

If the name Neal Pignani sounds familiar, it’s likely because he cancelled the event It Came From the 80’s Weekend back in 2019 under strange circumstances, literally deleting all of the show’s social media. Additionally, when we researched that article we found claims going back to 2013 accusing him of not paying contracted artists. We have not been able to verify those claims still, but it’s hard to ignore them under the current circumstances.

At it’s most charitable reading, Mr. Pignani would have to be the unluckiest man in the world — and that seems like a good enough reason to not do business with him.