“Hey, Asshole!”: The Word Is Spreading

Brian Raftery | October 19, 2006 11:42 am
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We hate obnoxious concert attendees, but judging by what happened Monday night at a Springfield, Missouri, Wilco concert, we think Jeff Tweedy may hate them even more. From a new post on the band’s website:

Here’s a brief synopsis of what happened. It was clear fairly early on that security was a a bit lax at the Shrine Mosque…Fairly early in the set, there were a couple of people shoving and roughing up others in front of the stage. Jeff asked everyone to calm down and respect each other and when things did, the band resumed the set.

…During the first encore a young man jumped onto the stage and did the requisite salute to his pals. While we certainly do not encourage that kind of behavior, we were prepared to let it go, as he was, it seemed, heading back into the crowd. Just when it appeared he was walking off the stage he turned around and moved towards Tweedy from behind. Jeff did not see him approaching, but felt the guy’s hands on his head. To this, Jeff reacted.

And though they don’t quite spell it out on the site, by “reacted,” they mean “he cold-cocked the guy.” A similar event occured at a Juan Maclean show last week in Atlanta; if anyone has any pictures of the offending assholes (or any assholes in general) please send it to tips@idolator.com. Again, Idolator only wants to encourage documentation, not actual violence. Unless you’re the frontman of an alt-rock band, and can afford to keep a pitbull attorney on retainer.

UPDATE: Pitchfork has the video here. Damn! That looks more like a Wayne Brady-style choke! Tweedy Speaks Out After Missouri Incident [Billboard] Juan Maclean Beats Down Drunken Reveler in Atlanta [Pitchfork]