Safe and secure?
November 24, 2009 at 3:36 pm | Posted in music | Leave a commentTags: ash, exmouth, hamburg, live music, morrissey, security
Security at gigs is a necessary thing. Some consider it a necessary evil, but I’ve never really been of that school of thought. I’ve never had any trouble with security guards, perhaps because I’ve never really been the troublesome sort (story of my life, that.) A couple of recent incidents, though, have set me thinking about how different various artists’ attitudes towards venue security are.
We’ve all been at one of those gigs where the security are ridiculously over-zealous. Ash‘s gig (oh no, not them again!) at Exmouth Pavilion on Saturday night was one of those.
Despite being allegedly sold out, it was by no means rammed – perhaps a reflection on the fact that it’s not a venue which normally plays host to much more than tribute bands designed to appeal to the over-40s. There was a lot of security, however – and they tried to kick some people out just for jumping about a bit. Seriously.
The band’s reaction was simple and immediate:
“What’s going on down here? They’re just dancing! It’s a rock show; people are here to have some fun, so just chill the fuck out.”
Effective, too – the number of security instantly reduced to just two slightly suspicious and edgy-looking staff. A good way of dealing with things, I’d say.
Morrissey (oh no, not him again!), in contrast, seems to view security almost as his own personal bodyguards. Someone shouted “fuck you!” as he was making some slightly bizarre – possibly vegetarian-related? – point in Hamburg about renaming the city’s residents “hamburgists” rather than “hamburgers”.
His response?
What a charming man, eh?
Moz does a Jacko
October 26, 2009 at 11:30 am | Posted in music | Leave a commentTags: cancellation, concert, illness, morrissey, music
That’s a new phrase, recently coined by me. “Doing a Jacko” is from now on to mean taking overdramatic action to avoid playing scheduled gigs.
Not that Morrissey‘s died, I hasten to add – thankfully. But he did collapse onstage in Swindon on Saturday night after just one song, leading to his hospitalisation with breathing difficulties.
As I’ve blogged before, Morrissey has a history of cancelling gigs. I’ve made four trips to London with a ticket clutched in my happy little hand; I’ve seen a grand total of one full set and one four-song abandoned gig.
Given that tonight’s Brighton gig has, unsurprisingly, been pulled, I’d guess that it’s not looking hopeful for tomorrow’s Royal Albert Hall gig, either – a rescheduled gig in itself from May.
When you buy a ticket for most gigs, you’re essentially purchasing a promise that they will be there at a certain time and place; when you buy a Morrissey ticket you’re purchasing a vague ‘maybe’. You’re essentially buying into a dream.
People will keep doing it, though, and he’ll keep cancelling. Did anyone really expect him to play all of this tour? Of course not. But did anyone expect him to pull a hospitalisation to get out of it? Probably not. And there we go: doing a Jacko. I really want that phrase to catch on.
Get well soon, Moz.
Morrissey – First of the Gang to Die (inappropriate choice of song?)
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