November 14, 2005
Please forward this complaint and my extreme outrage to the I--- and W--- Band that played at the Warfield last month. I attended with two friends after weeks of anticipation. We had gone to great lengths to find a babysitter for a weekday night, drove an hour and a half to attend, spent a fortune on gas, sitters and dinner, then of course on the tickets themselves, only to be abused by the most vile man I have ever been held hostage to in my history of attending entertainment venues.
It's is 3 AM Friday morning when I write to you. I am again awakened to the replay in my brain of his crass spew of violent words: why does Julia Roberts spread s--t on her vagina? why does god give dying kids cancer? what is the difference between pissing on Courtney Love and the American flag?...This "comic" had no interest in performing for an audience. It was immediately clear that the entire purpose of his "act" was to incite outrage, sicken the captive audience, and promote hate. The audience expressed their outrage with unified force and made every attempt to force him to desist from his figurative and literal show of vomit and phlegm, only to be told to "f--k off". Despite our unified chanting and shouts of disgust he was allowed to continue for what felt like an eternity. No one shut off his mike, no one escorted him from the stage, and no comment of apology was made for this lowest grade of "poor judgement".
It's is 3 AM Friday morning when I write to you. I am again awakened to the replay in my brain of his crass spew of violent words: why does Julia Roberts spread s--t on her vagina? why does god give dying kids cancer? what is the difference between pissing on Courtney Love and the American flag?...This "comic" had no interest in performing for an audience. It was immediately clear that the entire purpose of his "act" was to incite outrage, sicken the captive audience, and promote hate. The audience expressed their outrage with unified force and made every attempt to force him to desist from his figurative and literal show of vomit and phlegm, only to be told to "f--k off". Despite our unified chanting and shouts of disgust he was allowed to continue for what felt like an eternity. No one shut off his mike, no one escorted him from the stage, and no comment of apology was made for this lowest grade of "poor judgement".
In my lifetime I have worked in prisons, been a therapist, fought off rascist assailants, been attacked for the purpose of rape and been assaulted for my lesbianism. In thirty minutes of stage time this man was allowed to promote every kind of hatred I have ever known and had to endure. In his torturous minutes of fame, this parasite managed to suck from that audience every kind of hurt that we as a community have ever known.
When I learned that I--- and W--- hired this man to perform, I was moved past being appalled...I was literally shocked. Who could believe that the band that I have grown to treasure for their sweet, kind, loving, soul-searing music could purposefully bring harm on an audience like this?
I have given a lot of thought to this over the last month...when you wake up in the middle of the night hearing the words reverberate "why does Julia Roberts spread s--t on her vagina" you wake with nausea and sorrow knowing that role models of any generation would take the stage to spread contempt and hatred. I tell myself that maybe I--- and W--- didn't really book this act, maybe they were duped in what he was really about, maybe they were as disgusted as we were from the show...but why then did they stand in the sidelines doing nothing as the assault on THEIR audience took place? Why did they come on the stage in silence- no apology for the crime of their poor judgement, no comment to respond to our blatant disgust, no nothing.
I didn't hear your first three songs, I--- and W---, but instead heard the refrain of his words striking me over and over again. Hatred. Hatred. Hatred. How can I ever listen to I--- and W---'s beautiful music ever again knowing what despicable people created it? Several of us walked out of the concert and spent the rest of our evening processing the event, as victims of crime typically must. Several more stayed, but not without struggle...it was all anyone was talking about in the stands--"should we leave?" "Why did they do that to us?"
I am requesting that the Warfield take an official position to bar this band from any future bookings at the Warfield. I hope that other venues take note. I--- and W--- owes its public and the City of San Francisco an apology. I hope that this event serves to educate them that we will not tolerate the kind of immaturity and insensitivity that breeds this kind of hate. What they owe me personally is about $300 and reimbursement for therapy costs.
Sincerely,
R---- S------
