Jay Reatard Toronto Drama Continues

P-fork reports on the back-and-forth over what exactly happened at the Silver Dollar on the 17th.

Neither the promoters nor Jay will admit who is really at fault: the fans. It's obvious why - no one wants to alienate people who cough up the dough, no matter what their conduct is. But the truth is, it is the fans who are at fault. No one should decry a little rough and tumble up front at a show like Jay Reatard's. It's to be expected and if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. This isn't a Norah Jones (or Spoon, hahaha) show. This is hardcore/garage/punk whatever you want to call it. But there is a line. There is a line between a pit up front and stage crashing. And there is a line between stage crashing/diving and interference with the band.

It's all by degrees. Unless there is some real extreme thrash punk whatever band known for allowing its fans to come up on stage and trash the equipment and fight with the band, when is it acceptable to allow interference? Not to mention, it doesn't make any sense! If one gets their ya-ya's out by hearing such music, how are they furthering those ya-ya's out by actually trying to stop the music?

Furthermore, there are the larger group of fans who don't do such things and pay good money to see the shows, in their entirety, without interference. It's one thing to pay and understand that a pit will be a-happenin'. It's another thing to pay and just a few songs in, see idiots keep crashing the stage to assault the band and vandalize the equipment. Who pays for that?

As for the security issue, there was one security goon at the venue and he only showed up after Jay started packing up, and probably only because of fear that the idiots would assault Jay outright for ending the show.

The place was beyond crowded. I have no idea if it was overcapacity or not. None of my Toronto pals indicated to me that it was. But it was very crowded. And a handful of guys up front took it upon themselves to interfere with the show. The venue and the promoters probably did a bad job. But it's the fans fault. And while Jay is right to be mad, he should be upfront and just put the blame where it is - the fans. Not every fan. Not most fans. Just those fans that ruined it for everyone. Also, he may want to take a few tips (Wilco & White Stripes, and Dirtbombs) on to how to handle these things.

And by the way, if you are going to be a band that has fans run around and go nuts on stage, this is how you do it: