The next time bird poop lands on your newly washed windshield, remember this: At least it didn’t fall into your mouth.

That disgusting scenario is exactly what happened to Jared Followill, Kings of Leon‘s bassist, on Friday night.

During a concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis, MO, the band fell victim to a group of pigeons that had taken up residence in the rafters. The birds, which had made a mess of the stage prior to their act, forced the “Sex on Fire” performers to quit only after several songs.

“So sorry St. Louis. We had to bail, pigeons sh–ting in Jared’s mouth and it was too unsanitary to continue,” drummer Nathan Followill tweeted. “Don’t take it out on Jared, it’s the f–king venue’s fault. You may enjoy being s–t on but we don’t. Sorry for all who traveled many miles.”

Unfortunately, concertgoers either didn’t understand or didn’t care why Kings of Leon had to bail so quickly. (Their vocal disapproval can be heard in the clip above.)

A statement released by the band’s rep can be read below:

An infestation of pigeons living in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre in St. Louis, MO, forced the Kings of Leon to walk offstage after three songs last night. Even though opening bands The Postelles and The Stills came offstage complaining of getting riddled with large amounts of pigeon excrement, the Kings of Leon decided to carry on regardless. The band felt it would be unfair to the fans to cancel the show at that late moment.

“I’m surprised they stayed on for as many songs as they did,” said Vector Management’s Andy Mendelsohn, who reps KoL. “Jared was hit several times during the first two songs. On the third song, when he was hit in the cheek and some of it landed near his mouth, they couldn’t deal any longer. It’s not only disgusting — it’s a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there. We want to apologize to our fans in St. Louis and will come back as soon as we can.”

When the band arrived earlier in the day, the venue warned management that there had been a significant pigeon infestation problem with summer shows over the years, but they were doing all they could to fix it.

“We couldn’t believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets,” said bassist Jared Followill. “We didn’t want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play [but] it was ridiculous.”

KOL continued their tour the following night in Chicago. Those who attended the St. Louis stop will be offered a full refund.

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