Odd Future 'Wettn Bitches Up' @ Coachella Saturday

About an hour after Tyler the Creator proclaimed that they were 'strapped at Coachella' on Saturday, someone tweeted that they "Just witnessed @fucktyler cuss out a security guard & spray him in the face w/ a watergun." Then Tyler (who should stop using the F word) tweeted that he got kicked out (but had fun). Luckily Odd Future played their Coachella set on Friday.

Update: Not surprisingly, Tyler "Got Back In!!!!!", and he tweeted that as he was watching Lil B who he then got on stage with. They performed "I'm A Pretty Bitch"...

Tyler the Creator & Lil B on stage together (by abteen bagheri)

Update 2: The rest of Odd Future got on stage with Lil B too. And then Tyler stage dove...

Tyler stagediving during Lil B's set (by jhaner)

Some videos from OFWGKTA's Friday set are below...

Continue reading "Tyler the Creator kicked out of Coachella Saturday (luckily Odd Future played on Friday)"

photos by Tim Griffin

HR of Bad Brains / security on stage during Bad Brains

"...At this point, Bad Brains were playing, and it was clear more trouble was in store, when some guy in some sort of medeival doungeon master getup tried to crowd surf during "Attitude," which inspired the security to storm the stage twelve or so deep, evacuate the Bad Brains, and stand like some sort of musclehead Stonehenge along the end of the stage, while their leader informed everyone, "This is not a concert, this is a party. Have a seat." Of course, the floor was covered in horrible grime and broken glass, but whatever.

Poor Bad Brains. Or is it? With all due respect to these legends of hardcore and reformed homophobes, I don't know if I can ever recall a more phoned-in performance in all my life. This should come as no surprise, based on the ubiquity of weed stench emenating from their dressing room, and the equally ever-present site of all-time-greatest-hardcore-singer front-runner HR sitting motionless on a couch (seriously - this hardcore legend did not move an inch during the whole evening!). I mean, whatever floats yr boat, HR, more power to you, but for this Greatest Hardcore Band Ever to get onstage and have their singer remain motionless in body and completely monotone in voice... I dunno, it is just not how I imagined it might be. Disappointing at best.

Well, this whole scene was fucked, clearly, and my ladyfriend was getting more and more disturbed by the assholery on display (or sexual harassment, as she would call it, and perhaps rightly so) and the constant picture-taking by stangers, that she had to go home and try and live like a reasonable person. I wish I could have followed her, but as will become a theme throughout this sad tale, I really needed the money. So, I escorted her out of the building and out of the hellish nightmare that was this party, and I was glad to see her moving towards a more peaceful and decent evening..." [Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus]

That is one small passage from a very long rant that Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus posted to his blog after an unpleasant experience at the Vice Halloween party on Saturday night. He goes on to talk about being kicked out of the show before getting to play, the Vice staff barely being able to get him back in, and him calling the cops!!! ("I made my second-ever call to 911"). Most of all he seems mad at the hired security company and encourages Vice to sue them.

He makes the whole night sound really horrible though - like really bad, which wasn't actually my own experience. I thought it was fun, though I wasn't kicked out. Security had a major presence, but what do you expect when you invite thousands of people to come drink for free in a giant warehouse in the middle of Williamsburg? My only discomfort was the bathroom lines. I almost peed my pants waiting for one of the porta potties!

Titus Andronicus performed as Weezer (a band that also played a Halloween show in NYC that night). They went on after Bad Brains (who played after Jesus Lizard) which was kind of weird because not that many people stuck around after the two headliners finished. Yes, HR of Bad Brains is a weirdo now and Bad Brains live are just kind of weird, but that's old news. Thanks to an enthusiastic crowd, the Bad Brains show was actually one of the craziest I can remember (security being weirdos for a minute aside). Read Patrick's whole rant HERE. More pictures from the show HERE. Watch some videos of the Bad Brains show, below...

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus didn't enjoy the Vice party"

Jesse of GGD @ WBAR-B-Q in April (more by Zach Dilgard)

"On Saturday night at Pukkelpop as the festival was coming to a close Jesse [Lee, drummer for Gang Gang Dance,] was singled out and attacked by three security guards as he was attempting to walk to the artist backstage area to get the shuttle to the hotel. Security denied him access although he was clearly wearing an artists wristband and immediately dragged him to a darkened area that was not on the close circuit TV network and forced him face first into the ground, they then pulled his arms behind stamping on them trying to break both arms whilst repeatedly shouting at him, 'We are going to show you what real pain is.' They handcuffed him and continued the unprovoked beating. The three thugs then took Jesse to the police where they accused him of throwing a bottle at them." [GGD's publicist via Pitchfork]

The rest of the publicist's statement is below....

Continue reading "Gang Gang Dance drummer says he was attacked by security guards at Belgium's Pukkelpop Festival"

photos by Joseph Xu

"Damn homeboy in M83 has the weakest slap I have ever seen...inviting the crowd on stage is almost as stupid as stage diving to watered down synth-pop" - Jay Reatard

Anthony Gonzalez of M83 played a free NYC show at the WFC Winter Garden on July 14th. He then traveled to the Pitchfork Fest for a set on July 19th (which is where the photos here are from). On the way, Gonzalez had a bit of trouble at his show in Columbus, OH.

Moments before M83's set came to a finish, during closer "Couleurs", Kibby invited the mainly docile crowd on stage to "bring down the house together." While 30 or so accepted the invitation (including myself), and one concert-goer even went so far as to knock over the glass shield in front of Maurin, all three members remained unfazed and continued through their dynamic jam. Unfortunately, not everyone held those exact sentiments.

Production staff at the Wexner Center started breaking it up. Fans were ushered off stage, then abruptly pushed off, to which it became a screaming jamboree. Although the fans followed orders, Gonzalez was not happy. He wasn't having it. Because 30 seconds later, he waved fans on stage again, all in the name of dance. This time, however, production staff became angry, violent, and irate. Immediately, they pushed oncoming fans off the stage and stood at the front blockading people from jumping back up. This didn't sit well with Gonzalez, who blew up, yelling "Fuck you" into the microphone at the production staff for messing up their set, all while the two accompanying musicians continued playing. You can only imagine the musical genius at hand.

While one member of their touring staff tried to quell the argument, it was too late. Gonzalez left his post and confronted the production manager for the venue head on, hitting him violently with the open palm of his left hand. The crowd, which continued dancing, appeared stunned as well. Strangers turned awestruck to their neighbors as if to say, "Did you see that?". What's more (and kind of, um, bad ass), the band actually finished its song, and Gonzalez jumped into the excited crowd, who threw him up jubilantly. Soon after, M83 exited and the fans dispersed, knowing they not only saw a great show, but saw their newfound hero (Gonzalez) kick ass in their name.[Consequence of Sound]

This morning (as reported by Pitchfork), Anthony issued an apology.

That apology, a video of the event and Gonzalez discussing it the next day at Pitchfork (as the Thermals play in the background), with more pictures from Pitchfork, below...

Continue reading "Anthony Gonzalez (M83) slapped security (video), apologized (letter) +++ he played the WFC in NYC & Pitchfork (pics)"

"Woah just watched crystal castles at sonar, sound was awful throughout kept cutting out so at te end alice started trashing the stage..." - Little Boots

Crystal Castles @ Coachella 2009 (more by Darren Kim)

"Toronto synth-rockers Crystal Castles were involved in a melee with security while onstage in Barcelona early Sunday morning. Their show, part of the Sonar festival, had been marred by technical issues. At some point during the set singer Alice Glass went into the crowd and punched a security guard. She then climbed back on stage, and pulled out the kick drum and appeared to be about to heave it when a sound technician grabbed her. And that's when her bandmate Ethan Kath jumped in and rushed to her aid." [National Post]

Videos below...

Continue reading "Crystal Castles fight w/ security @ the Sonar Festival (video) "