Two of Jay Reatard’s so-called fans acted out last night to prove that sometimes stereotypes exist for a reason. The garage punk show at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, was cut short after the fans jumped on stage and attacked Reatard who then fought back with his microphone stand.
And who says punk is dead? Apparently the show also included a firecracker being detonated on the club’s floor.
The two violent fans rushed the stage after Retard announced he was playing the last song of the night, according to Austin360.com. Geez, I understand the fans were upset the show was almost over but that’s no way to express one’s feelings!
Here’s what Reatard’s publicist had to say about the incident, according to Pitchfork.com:
"Jay was attacked, totally unprovoked, by two different people, both of whom were later arrested. One guy bolted onstage and came swinging at Jay, but security took him away pretty quickly. Soon after (the band hadn't stopped playing, by the way), another guy sprinted onstage and hit Jay. Unlike the first guy, Jay didn't even see this guy coming. So Jay defended himself with the mic stand until security took that guy away, too. Jay is safe and unhurt, and the cops were there for about an hour afterwards.”
And Morrissey thought he had it bad when a fan threw a plastic beer bottle at him during a U.K. show last month!
Austin360.com noted that after swinging his microphone stand, Reatard left the stage mid-song, flipping off the crowd as he walked off. Needless to say, he didn’t return for an encore.
Police arrested the two fans outside the club. Michael Buehrer, 20, and Peter Aravello, 23, were arrested and charged with public intoxication, according to the Austin Police Department’s public information office and reported by Austin360.com.
The Austin blog noted that rowdy stage behavior is nothing new to the punk garage musician who punched a fan on-stage in Toronto last year and claimed, via Twitter, that shots were fired to break up a fight at his Dec. 8 show at Walter’s On Washington in Houston.
Tonight Reatard is scheduled to play the Granada Theater in Dallas and then celebrate New Year’s with a Dec. 31 show at Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee. Hopefully the rest of 2009 will be less eventful for the fellow.
Click here for the Austin360.com story.
Click here for the Pitchfork.com story.