A few weeks back, Neko Case ended a show in Tennessee after just a few songs due to her discomfort with security guards whose guns were prominently in view. At the time, Case did not comment on the incident, while a rep for the venue, the Caverns, offered a statement. "When the tour manager requested that our licensed armed security be moved to the back of the house, we immediately made that accommodation after determining that guest and artist safety would not be compromised," the venue spokesperson wrote. "Unfortunately, we did not receive this request until after the show had begun. We were surprised and disappointed when the artist chose to end the performance early and not return to the stage."
In a new post on her Substack about her recent tour experiences, Case has offered her first public take on the Caverns situation. Here's a relevant excerpt:
I have become very attuned to (to my occasional detriment) things that bother me about touring that are very old; merch cuts, 3rd party vendors and their feeling entitlement to my music and my money, little things that a venue might do that make us feel very unwelcome as a band and as humans, union aggression, and straight up lies to my face. I have also been very attuned to and seek out the people I know and love in venues that don’t play those reindeer games. They are oases in the sooty road world. They are the people who are worth so much they have a density that can balance out the iron weighted worst of the worst; they understand and value our partnership in bringing good things to their local stages. It took a full two weeks to shake the unease after walking out of the Caverns in Pelham when the security detail of armed gunmen refused to leave. That one fucked me up. Robyn from the Pabst Theatre really helped me feel better. Thank you, Robyn.
Case recently did a career-spanning We've Got A File On You interview with Stereogum in support of her excellent new album Neon Grey Midnight Green.
