Pitchfork

Seriously, WTF? Jeff Tweedy's decking rowdy fans, Houston cops are Tasering innocent 14-year-old kids, and now this? National Rock Club Violence Week continues with this latest report of live gig fisticuffs: according to numerous posts on the DFA message board and confirmed by a representative from the label, DJ Juan Maclean leapt down from the stage at last Friday's DFA gig (October 13) at the Earl in Atlanta to lay the proverbial smack down on a drunk-ass fan who messed with his gear.

We'll let the Juan tell it in his words, as posted Saturday (October 14) on the DFA board: "What really happened is this: I was in the middle of mixing two records, and this drunken yahoo walks up to the stage, picks up a microphone stand, and starts beating the table that the decks were on with it, which of course sends the mix into total trainwreck. I yelled at him and he laughed at me.

"From there, I don't know what to say except that he fucked with the wrong person. I walked up to him and short story is I, as was said, 'beat him down.' It totally bummed everyone out. HE got thrown out, I went back and finished, but all the girls had left, the vibe was horrible."

According to fan reports, DFA's Tim Sweeney emerged to resolve the trainwreck on the decks.

And while vibes went sour in Atlanta that night, after some civil message board discussion (crazy, I know), things seem to be gravy between Maclean and the dude he jacked. A post from a friend of that dude prompted Maclean to apologize for his actions:

"Of course it was unprofessional...I spent the next day telling friends and my mother how badly I felt about it, how horrible I felt that I did that to someone who actually came to see us play. Horrible.

"I have nothing against that guy, obviously, since I don't know him-- when that whole thing happened, it wasn't just that time that I was reacting to, it was every other time someone had reached over and moved knobs, intentionally skipped records, etc.

"But again, I'm sorry, I fully admit that I was in the wrong and overreacted."

This in turn led someone identifying himself as the drunken reveler to share his own apology:

"I'm the nuisance, I'm the one who catalyzed the whole mess, I'm the drunk guy, I'm the one who was punched in the face...I don't remember much of that night.

"I still felt I should post to let everyone know that I too am sorry. I was having a bit too much fun that night, and didn't stop to think (was I thinking at all??) that I might be annoying others who payed to hear Tim and Juan spin. So I'm sorry to the audience if I disrupted an otherwise enjoyable Friday night.

"I want everyone to know I still had a really amazing night with my friends and didn't go home afterwards upset about it, when I woke up the next morning and my buds told me 'Juan Maclean punched you in the face,' I couldn't believe it. That's not to say I was happy to hear about it...But, yeah, Juan's actions are semi-understandable as I can be quite the ass when I'm drunk.

"Juan- I never meant to laugh at you after knocking the mic. I was enjoying the set pretty much before the fight and only accidentally knocked that mic over. I never meant to sabotage your playing, you should know that I would never do anything like that. From what I've read, I think we've both felt pretty bad about the whole thing since Friday...it's good to know that you're not the type of person that would be proud of beating down someone at your show.

"In short, everything's cool on this side."

Even James Murphy chimed in: "Juan and I talk about this kind of shit a lot. It's very strange when you DJ because you're trapped, and people can just anonymously come up and fuck with you-- and it's frustrating. Obviously this is a bad situation that luckily came out alright, with both Juan and the punchee being cool about it, but it isn't always that way."

Concluded Juan: "I'll play for free next time I'm in Atlanta, how's that? No joke."

While the DFA tour wrapped up this weekend, you can still catch Juan around the globe this fall. Just, you know, don't fuck with the guy, k?

You Juan to party:

10-19 Cambridge, MA - Middlesex Lounge *
10-27 Melbourne, Australia - DFA Vs. Modular #
10-28 Sydney, Australia - DFA Vs. Modular #
10-29 Gold Coast, Australia - DFA Vs. Modular #
11-02 New York, NY - Hiro Ballroom (CMJ)
11-03 London, England - Fabric #^%
11-04 London, England - Fabric #^%
11-09 Dublin, Ireland - Bud Rising @ Carnival ^
11-10 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Shine ^
11-11 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz ^
11-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Disco Box Nite @ Classic Grand
11-16 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso ^
11-18 Athens, Greece - Bios
11-23 Bristol, England - Monkey Knife Fight @ Timbuk2 ^

* with David Day
# with Tim Sweeney
^ with Shit Robot
% with Hot Chip