Arcade Fire

[stereodista]

If anything, this thread is so indicative of why they should hit this whole tour on the head right now. What a mess; a mess entirely of the band’s own horrible making. Yes, the band’s: no way they’ve only learnt about this upon landing in Dublin… like Feist… and credit to her for sacking it off.

Obviously the age-old adage of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is, generally, one to go with. But whenever there are accusations of sexual misconduct on behalf of men, especially when they’re multiple and against men of ostensible ‘power’, it’s safe to assume the opposite. Honestly believe this, and scepticism is such a terrible look in terms of ‘well, we don’t know… it’s one account versus another…’ (Almost always a male stance. And so poor, whether they’re an ‘artist’ deserving some distance from their ‘art’ or otherwise.)

For anyone defending the tour continuing, reread (or read) the original article. 

Appalling, and any defence simply perpetuates the problem. Fucking heck. 

[FloorFiller]

1 hour ago, Suprefan said:

Feist dropping off the tour.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch-KNP_Itl_/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 

Gutted for anybody with money still tied up in tickets for this and having to make awkward decisions on either losing money or attending these shows. Them continuing to tour really does give off a whiff of ‘if we just continue on as normal then maybe this whole thing will go away’ and is gonna damage the band even further down the line. Maybe they see the writing on the wall and are determined to get out these last shows before having to call it a day, or maybe they’re just so incredibly arrogant. What a shit situation.

[brettredmayne]

53 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Gutted for anybody with money still tied up in tickets for this and having to make awkward decisions on either losing money or attending these shows. Them continuing to tour really does give off a whiff of ‘if we just continue on as normal then maybe this whole thing will go away’ and is gonna damage the band even further down the line. Maybe they see the writing on the wall and are determined to get out these last shows before having to call it a day, or maybe they’re just so incredibly arrogant. What a shit situation.

I imagine there are a lot of uncomfortable people working on the tour and have no choice , must be an awful situation to be in for the crew who don’t want to be around now 

[El Scorcho]

2 hours ago, Suprefan said:

Feist dropping off the tour.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch-KNP_Itl_/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 

Interesting to see that Will Butler liked this post.

[stuie]

10 minutes ago, El Scorcho said:

Interesting to see that Will Butler liked this post.

Did he? I can’t see that. Pretty damning if so! 

[El Scorcho]

4 minutes ago, stuie said:

Did he? I can’t see that. Pretty damning if so! 

Liked by Will and Aaron Dessner

[Suprefan]

So like admitting shits fucked but hope they can make it? Wonder if Leslie talked to Regine or not.
 

AF statement on Feists' departure

"We are very sorry to see Leslie go home, but completely understand and respect her decision.”

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, El Scorcho said:

Liked by Will and Aaron Dessner

That's savage. And hints there might be more to Will leaving the band than was said at the time.

[jannybruck]

I feel really shit for Feist. Being forced off an amazing opportunity to play her music for loads of people who might not be aware of her, all because of some dickhead bloke in another band doing stupid things. She'll have lost a lot of money on this I imagine considering her band and crew will need to get paid for the tour, flights, equipment hire, etc.

[Suprefan]

14 minutes ago, charlierc said:

That's savage. And hints there might be more to Will leaving the band than was said at the time.

The interesting thing regarding that is how wouldnt he, or other band members have found out a while ago. Montreal and New Orleans are not large cities and theres plenty of local stories about Wins behavior so word had to have gotten around. The band also had to have been in agreement to continue on knowing that this story was going to surface eventually. So did it come down to just trying to get one last payday?

[beau1]

50 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

The interesting thing regarding that is how wouldnt he, or other band members have found out a while ago. Montreal and New Orleans are not large cities and theres plenty of local stories about Wins behavior so word had to have gotten around. The band also had to have been in agreement to continue on knowing that this story was going to surface eventually. So did it come down to just trying to get one last payday?

Pitchfork has been sitting on this for months (maybe years). I get the impression that the band believes this will all blow over - it remains to be seen if that is the case. It's clearly all been sorted out internally. Their approach suggests that they've made their counter statements and presented their own counter evidence to Pitchfork and to carry on until it gets worse. I also get the impression that AF have already made a settlement with the wronged individuals in the hope it won't go any further. 

I have tickets for the Birmingham show tomorrow. I suspect the show will be relatively normal but I still feel quite uncomfortable about going. Win has always been my least favourite member and been a bit of weird character to me. I might give him the finger but cheer on the rest of the band. 

 

 

[Suprefan]

16 minutes ago, beau1 said:

Pitchfork has been sitting on this for months (maybe years). I get the impression that the band believes this will all blow over - it remains to be seen if that is the case. It's clearly all been sorted out internally. Their approach suggests that they've made their counter statements and presented their own counter evidence to Pitchfork and to carry on until it gets worse. I also get the impression that AF have already made a settlement with the wronged individuals in the hope it won't go any further. 

I have tickets for the Birmingham show tomorrow. I suspect the show will be relatively normal but I still feel quite uncomfortable about going. Win has always been my least favourite member and been a bit of weird character to me. I might give him the finger but cheer on the rest of the band. 

 

 

If there were lawyers and NDA's involved there would be records of it and somebody wouldve found out. You also wouldnt have gotten any information if that was the route they took. Settlements wouldve imposed even more guilt on Win cause its literally hush money. 

[lemons]

11 hours ago, gigpusher said:

Unfortunately too many people are capable of mental gymnastics when it comes to people they like. You only have to look at football fans to see that. For me regardless of anything else it's clear he doesn't treat women with respect and for that reason he'll never get another penny of my money. 

As a minimum, factually we know part of his defence offered up was 'I googled her, i knew she was 18' . In 2016, for those who defend, how many would overlook a 36yo friend hanging out at a freshers event for example. 😕 Suspect behaviour. Still don't see what people who did feel uncomfortable gained from going and singing along with him particularly with news so fresh. I feel I was in same position as many; lost money, travel, time with close friends, i was listening to the koko show for 4th time when i saw the news Tuesday lunchtime, gutted.  The band sees audience still turning out for them, show goes on as normal

[lemons]

That Feist statement is good. This bit in particular resonates:

'We all have a story within a spectrum ranging from baseline toxic masculinity to pervasive misogyny to actually being physically, psychologically, emotionally or sexually assaulted. This situation touches each of our lives and speaks to us in a language unique to each of our processing. There isn't a singular path to heal when you’ve endured any version of the above, nor a singular path to rehabilitate the perpetrators. It can be a lonely road to make sense of ill treatment. I can't solve that by quitting, and I can't solve it by staying.'

[Zoo Music Girl]

I really respect Feist for that as it can't have been easy at all. Good statement.

[stuie]

7 hours ago, lemons said:

That Feist statement is good. This bit in particular resonates:

'We all have a story within a spectrum ranging from baseline toxic masculinity to pervasive misogyny to actually being physically, psychologically, emotionally or sexually assaulted. This situation touches each of our lives and speaks to us in a language unique to each of our processing. There isn't a singular path to heal when you’ve endured any version of the above, nor a singular path to rehabilitate the perpetrators. It can be a lonely road to make sense of ill treatment. I can't solve that by quitting, and I can't solve it by staying.'

Amazingly well written statement.  I don't want to open the can again, but she's basically saying what others have tried to say in this thread about the spectrum, but they were shot down and accused of having small dicks or being guilty of abuse themselves. 

I can't see that there's any way that AF can finish this tour - more ticket holders for tonight's Birmingham show will be aware of this now, so will either not go or go in protest. 

 

 

[Hugh Jass II]

1 hour ago, stuie said:

Amazingly well written statement.  I don't want to open the can again, but she's basically saying what others have tried to say in this thread about the spectrum, but they were shot down and accused of having small dicks or being guilty of abuse themselves. 

I can't see that there's any way that AF can finish this tour - more ticket holders for tonight's Birmingham show will be aware of this now, so will either not go or go in protest. 

 

 

I think they'll finish the tour, even if it means playing to half empty venues. There'd be an obvious financial hit to cancelling - having to refund ticket holders, reimburse venues, promoters, etc and it would be a tacit admission of guilt from the band. They seem to have set their stall out to dig in and get through these dates and hope the initial fury dies down as they press on.

My best bet is they finish this tour as best they can then go to ground for a while during which there will be stories of Win entering rehab and trying to get his shit together. Then they'll return in 3-4 years time when they think everything has blown over.

[mattiloy]

11 hours ago, Suprefan said:

The interesting thing regarding that is how wouldnt he, or other band members have found out a while ago. Montreal and New Orleans are not large cities and theres plenty of local stories about Wins behavior so word had to have gotten around. The band also had to have been in agreement to continue on knowing that this story was going to surface eventually. So did it come down to just trying to get one last payday?

I would guess that they knew he was having extra marital affairs but not the rest.

What I don’t really like about the pitchfork article is that 2/4 accounts are that he basically used two fans for sex. And these are then used to infer a pattern of behaviour of abuse. But the difference between that and sexual assault or sending unsolicited dickpics in the other 2 accounts is quite vast.

The focus should really have been on establishing the veracity of the more serious claims.

Instead it paints a picture of a man who is a sex pest, but leaves room for him to be able to deny that he is a sex offender, and I guess that this is also the source of arguments in and outside this thread.

I guess it comes down to whether you disbelieve the worst allegations and can tolerate singing along with a sex pest.

Its also hard because if you rule out all musicians that have used fans for sex, I would guess that suddenly your playlists would start to look threadbare.

I also accept that its complicated by the fact that some had already bought tickets and made plans.

But as with many others I don’t think I’d buy tickets to see them now. Not sure i’d get the chance, suspect that they will disband after the tour.

[Crazyfool01]

Pretty mainstream now 

[Hugh Jass II]

3 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

Pretty mainstream now 

If they cancel now they’ll be financially liable for everything.

Doubt they’ll do it.

[gizmoman]

10 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

I think they'll finish the tour, even if it means playing to half empty venues. There'd be an obvious financial hit to cancelling - having to refund ticket holders, reimburse venues, promoters, etc and it would be a tacit admission of guilt from the band. They seem to have set their stall out to dig in and get through these dates and hope the initial fury dies down as they press on.

My best bet is they finish this tour as best they can then go to ground for a while during which there will be stories of Win entering rehab and trying to get his shit together. Then they'll return in 3-4 years time when they think everything has blown over.

People suggesting they pull the tour clearly aren't taking into account the amount of money involved, judging by the size of the venues, the number of dates and the ticket prices, it runs into the 10's of millions. Bands and promoters have insurance to cover them if shows have to be cancelled but I doubt any insurance would pay out if the band decide to cancel themselves. They are in a bind, they have contracts to fulfill and no legal reason not to do so.

[FloorFiller]

4 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

If they cancel now they’ll be financially liable for everything.

Doubt they’ll do it.

Yup I thought they’d cancel outright but considering they’ve decided to continue on so far i reckon they’ll at least complete the European portion of the tour and feel out the vibe from there.

[bloodborne]

I'm glad their crew are still getting paid. Even if I don't support the band artistically now and wouldn't want to watch them. 

[Hugh Jass II]

1 minute ago, gizmoman said:

People suggesting they pull the tour clearly aren't taking into account the amount of money involved, judging by the size of the venues, the number of dates and the ticket prices, it runs into the 10's of millions. Bands and promoters have insurance to cover them if shows have to be cancelled but I doubt any insurance would pay out if the band decide to cancel themselves. They are in a bind, they have contracts to fulfill and no legal reason not to do so.

Exactly, I doubt they took out “creep insurance” when they booked the tour.

[Crazyfool01]

13 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

If they cancel now they’ll be financially liable for everything.

Doubt they’ll do it.

That came through as a main news alert so pressure will clearly mount