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Two Gallants Get Tazed, The Blues
SF/Oakland’s scruffy, hobo-punk troubadours, Two Gallants, just got a whole EP worth of material thanks to Houston’s finest. Details and video come from Pitchfork and Houston So Real.
From Pitchfork (emphasis mine):
An indie rock show descended into chaos Friday night in Houston, Texas, when a police officer investigating a noise complaint at the club Walter’s on Washington allegedly attacked the band Two Gallants and its fans. According to various sources, Adam Stephens, singer/guitarist for the Saddle Creek two-piece, was shot with officer G.M. Rodriguez’s Taser gun, as were the band’s tour manager and two audience members—one, a 14-year-old boy. Two Gallants drummer Tyson Vogel and vocalist/guitarist Andrew Kerwin of opening band Trainwreck Riders were arrested.
Sounds like some cop lost his shit when presented with a crowd of people not totally cowed by his presence and predictably erupted with violence. From the Houston So Real post it also sounds like some issues that are beginning to affect Seattle might have been at play:
However, like all inner city neighborhoods in semi-close proximity to a downtown area, in recent years the developers have moved in and the piece of shit yuppies have followed. And with the dipshit yuppies come the noise complaints. See yuppie pieces of shit can’t figure out why when they move into a building with paper thin walls, built with the cheapest materials and labor greed can buy, directly behind a night club that has been rocking and rolling for like 50 years, they might have to deal with a little noise.
Comments
Note to self: When the enormous, crazy-eyed cop rushes on stage and tells me to stop playing, do not respond with "Fuck no, suck my dick, get off the stage". He will become angry and likely pop me in my big fat mouth. I must remember that just because I am on a stage does not mean that I am either important or invincible. If I don't treat the enormous, crazy-eyed cop who is trying to do a thankless job (one for which he is clearly not psychologically suited) while surrounded by a club full of drunk people with a tiny shred of respect, he is likely going to return the favor. And my whole band full of skinny "hobo punk troubadours" aren't going to make a dent in the 235 lb. enraged cop whose Taser is audibly charging.
My only question is - why can't the cops rush the stage and taser the roster of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I would actually *pay* for a video of that (unlike an album of their "music").
Yeah, not to question this cop's intelligence, but it seems like the best way to deal with a show is not to bum rush the stage but rather to just talk to someone at the door, get the show manager, tell the sound guy to kill it/turn it down. There are subtler/more effective ways to quell a rock show, but then none of them involve macho posturing or the tazing of minors.
I'm right now staying just outside of Houston. Just another reminder of how disturbing it is down here.
Kathy, you should write about your experience of staying in city in a "red state" on the blog.
hulk smash!!
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Wow.
This got me thinking. With the mayor's push to have everyone in Seattle live in Belltown, shouldn't there be an agreement in which future condo ownders should have to sign an agreement that:
"By agreeing to live in the midst of a city with a thriving nightlife and music scene, said condo owners must also agree to not be total fuckwads and call the cops everytime someone pushes the volume nob past solo-Cat Power show into full on Mastodon metal-fest."