At Hiro Ballroom last week, on the same night Zach Galifianakis accepted someone else's bid on an ostrich-man painting just 'cause they offered more money than us, Band Of Horses closed out the night with a set showcasing some new stuff next to Everything All The Time favorites. But when the crowd was noticeably excited for "Funeral," singer Ben Bridwell made note, saying something like "Do I have to play this song again?"
Commenter DirtyPistol noted that at a recent San Diego show, Ben lost his shit over the same song onstage. DirtyP offered:
Yeah Ben completely lost it after playing Funeral in San Diego last week. I agree with him that San Diego crowds are TERRIBLE and he yelled "All you fucking kids don't move a muscle all show until Funeral comes on then you go nuts and take pictures/videos for your MySpace or whatever. Sorry but its so fucking annoying!"
This being the golden age of Web 2.0, Ben's annoyance with fan-made videos was captured with ... a fan-made video. And a blog post by said amateur videographer, calling the reverb rockers "Band-aid On Horseshit." Cue P4K news, who contacted Ben to explain his side of the story through a friendly, photo-free Q&A.
Via Pitchfork:
Pitchfork: What's your take on what happened at the San Diego show? There were reports that you went off on this rant about YouTube and show tapers but that you later apologized. And this woman Rosemary wrote this blog post that includes a YouTube video of you flicking her off and saying, "I see you filming." I don't know if you saw her blog, but on it she said her new name for you guys is "Band-Aid on Horseshit". What do you think about all of this stuff?
Ben Bridwell: She seems like a big fan. I'm glad she could come to the show.
Pitchfork: [laughs] Yeah.
BB: Yeah, man. What happened was, beside Canes being a pretty tough venue to play for a band like us--
Pitchfork: Why is that?
BB: It's just really jock-y around the Pacific beach right there, and San Diego in itself is a bit jock-y. The vibe was just kind of weird. It just felt a little off. I know there were people there that were fans, and we had to put on a good show for them. But at the same time, half the room seemed to be filled with weekend warrior types.
You had this kind of weird mix of people, and unfortunately the venue is a bit-- the attitude of the bouncers and of the staff is not very welcoming to anybody coming in the door, whether you're playing there or coming to see a show there. I've been there myself as a show-going patron and felt that way before, before this band even started. So it's a bit of a fucking gnarly vibe there anyway, which made the show kind of tense.
But then you had all these kids up front, that seemed so disinterested in the show and didn't look up at the stage or anything. They just kind of sat there in front of the stage. Just seemed like they didn't want to be there at all, until we played "The Funeral". So all of a sudden you had these people that seemed so disinterested in the show all, somehow at the same time, pull their cameras out of their bags and start filming.
So I'm sitting there-- now they're really interested in this one song-- and they still won't make eye contact, looking through their little lenses, taping this one song for their blogs or for their fucking YouTube [accounts] or whatever, and it was just so annoying. It's like, this show is already going south, and these people that seem disinterested are only here to further their YouTube accounts or their blogs or whatever, and it just pissed me off.
It was really annoying. It was just scratching at the surface of what's happening to shows lately. Everybody's got a camera in their pocket, and they turn it on to just, I don't know, exploit us in some way or further their own projects or whatever the fuck they're doing with their websites and shit. It's become a little bit ridiculous, and it was just a bit unnerving, and [with] the situation with the show and everything, all the stars lined up and I got pissed off.
Pitchfork: Rosemary's take on it was that she was giving you guys free publicity. San Diego public television station KPBS's blog Culture Lust shared that opinion. Rosemary's argument was, "This band that I want to give free publicity-- I don't understand why they wouldn't want that." What's your take on that sentiment?
BB: I would say, if you want to do that, then go through the right avenues. If you want to do something, contact the label or something, and let's arrange something to do an interview or something. I just don't think that Sneaky Pete with the fucking camera is going to make too many friends, at least to me. I don't know where she's coming from. As far as I'm concerned, it just looks like someone trying to record a really shitty performance to post somewhere and embarrass us forever. I'm sure that she's really nice, and I feel bad that I got upset with her, but at the time it was so fucking annoying.
I don't know what to say. I admit that I was being a fucking asshole. I feel bad to single her out, but it wasn't so much her. It was mostly these other people in front of the stage that seemed so disinterested that kind of got the wheels turning, and once they all popped up with the cameras at the same time, I guess that's where it just exploded.
Pitchfork: Is it like that at most shows you guys have played recently?
BB: It seems to keep happening. You see it getting progressively worse. It's almost like the skateboarding community, where everyone's a fucking photographer now. You look at shots, and it's hard to keep the photographers out of the shot, you know? It kind of seems like the same thing with indie rock; everyone's got a fucking camera in their hand and, I don't know, is there no sanctity left for live performance with going to a show and seeing it with your own eyes and remembering it? Do you have to tape every second, or even just your favorite song? I understand it, but it's becoming annoying.
Pitchfork: Most of the YouTube clips you see of bands performing live aren't even very good quality.
BB: It's terrible! You can never hear anything!
Pitchfork: Maybe you guys should just pull a Fugazi, stop the shows when that happens and tell people to quit it.
BB: I see it as a bit of a problem. I'm not sure how other bands feel about it, but at the same time, I don't want to be a baby here and start getting all preachy on people. I understand that fans want to take a piece of the show home with them, so I understand both sides of the argument.
Here's Ben's side of the argument...
[videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]
Nothing like an onstage tantrum to bring an issue to a head. We're sure Ben's not alone here, though bands should be so lucky to have a hit on their hands that inspire front-row kids to break out the digicams. But we all know the weekend warrior types, and we've all seen the asshole that talks the whole show, and then mars the "single" with obnoxious "I love this song!"s throughout. True enough, a lot of fans and bands would like to see less cameras, and while staff could check for pocket cams, videophones change things. Everyone and their moms gots blogs these days, and that's beautiful -- gives people a venue for thoughts, fosters a democratic dialogue -- but everyone and their moms want that multimedia clip to prove their mettle.
The question then, from a fan's perspective: Would you rather go to photo/video free shows, or be able to experience a bit of a gig you couldn't hit on your favorite site (or ten) the next day? And as a band: Do you value free publicity? Or the ability to flick off your fans and have it be lost to the annals of time?
