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Exit stage wrong
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Hardcore band H2O on bouncers as a safety hazard
by JOHNSON CUMMINS
Other stories:
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Lobby for your right to party
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Alternative agenda
Those Neanderthal knuckle-draggers known as bouncers are usually the least popular people at any gig. Not to say that all of them are bad, but some of them can be a real bummer to deal with, no matter what side of the barricade you're on.
History lesson: in David and Albert Maysle's 1970 rockumentary Gimme Shelter, the Rolling Stones play a free concert at Altamont Speedway in 1969. This film perfectly captures the "buzz hassle" experienced by the unwashed masses who innocently showed up to get a glimpse of Mick and Keef getting their ya-yas out. Probably halfway to the nod, smackhead Jerry Garcia suggested that motorcycle gang the Hell's Angels would be the ideal security team for the show. The peaceniks in the crowd were hardly prepared for the blanket of violence suddenly thrown upon them. Flower power proved to be no weapon against the lead-filled pool cues swung by these greasy bikers hopped up on Budweisers and Benzedrine.
The show resulted in four deaths and also included Jefferson Airplane's guitarist being knocked unconscious, as well as Mick himself taking a punch in the face courtesy of their own security team. Great idea, Jerry!
Wait a minute, here. Aren't these testosteroned no-necks supposed to protect the performers? Well, sometimes. NYC hardcore band H2O have many horror stories about their bouts with bouncers and still have the scars to prove it.
Stories and scars
During a show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on last year's Punkorama tour, the band were forced into fisticuffs with the security crew who were more than just roughhousing a couple of teenagers. "We couldn't see what was going on while we were playing," says guitarist Rusty Pistachio. "Afterwards, we were talking to some kids who were getting beaten up by the bouncers and getting kicked out, so we decided to talk to the bouncers and get the kids back in for the Bouncing Souls set. These were like, 16-year-old kids with marks on their necks from where the bouncers were choking them and these bouncers were like, over 220 pounds. After some heated conversation about how they were doing their job incorrectly, they grabbed Dwayne Peters from U.S. Bombs by the neck and dragged him down two flights of stairs and that's when the mele#201;#233;e started. I grabbed the one bouncer who was just punching anybody in his way, including kids, and beat him to the curb. Then everybody in the band got into it until the cops showed up."
H2O are hardcore veterans and pride themselves on being able to police their own shows. Their hypersensitivity to overzealous bouncers will often result in a pre-show talk with local security when they sense there could be trouble. As far as trouble in the audience goes, they will also stop a show at the first sign of violence from the pit and then single the person out, which so far has worked without problems.
At a recent show in San Diego, an audience member was in a chokehold until H2O's road manager pried the bouncer's arms off of the kid. Opting not to provide the soundtrack to bouncers' excessive zeal, the band stopped the show mid-set and left the stage. Once offstage, they found themselves cornered once again by six other bouncers trying to provoke a fight.
"I really think that there are very few security people in the United States who are worth a fuck," says Rusty. "In Denver, we would have security watch kids fall on their heads after the barricade and then beat them up. In Birch Hill they were choking this kid and I almost had to break the bouncer's fingers trying to pry them off the kid's throat. It's gotten to the point that if the bouncers are really bad at a place, we will boycott that place."
Of course, there are two sides to every coin and not all bouncers are muscle-bound, impotent meatheads. Groovy Aardvark cover model Robert "Big Bob" Dumontier has been providing security at Montreal hardcore shows for 17 years and truly understands what he's doing.
"I think the thing you have to do is to just try and just make sure nobody gets hurt," says Bob, "and recognize moments just before things escalate into a fight. You have to show respect for the people and trust that people going to shows know what they're doing. After doing this for so long it's become second nature to me, and I still haven't had a problem yet, from bands or fans." *
H20, with guests Saves the Day and Grade, play Salle *'X on Thursday, May 4, 6pm, $12. Big Bob is currently working on his solo album of tender pan-flute ballads.
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