Brightblack Morning Light Respond to Tucson Incident

Photo by Magic Andy McLeod

Last Wednesday, as previously reported, Matador Records duo Brightblack Morning Light played Tucson, Arizona's Club Congress. The gig ultimately "went off without a hitch," according to a Matador representative, however, it was in jeopardy for a few moments as, in the words of Matador's blog, "at least one venue owner took considerable umbrage at what he thought to be BBML's insistence that servicemen and women be barred from attending their show."

This misunderstanding, as reported, arose from a poorly-worded clause from the band's tour rider. "No U.S. Military entities in any form allowed within the event," read the original rider, intended to reflect Brightblack's request for no military recruitment at the performance-- a common stance among indie bands, shared by TV on the Radio, among others.

The club sought clarification. "On the day of the show," wrote Brightblack's Nabob Shineywater in an e-mail to Pitchfork, "they asked if we were opposed to military recruitment at music venues and we said 'Yes.' Then they asked if we allowed soldiers to our shows, and we said, 'Yes.'" The band also amended its tour rider to read, "We do not support military recruitment for the US Government's soldiers being held on site of where we are conjuring up music."

The story should have ended right there, but some person of high intelligence decided to leak the old, mis-worded rider onto the internet, that bastion of good sense and civilized discourse. A couple blogs picked up the story, some people said some mean things, and a few curmudgeons vowed to boycott a band they'd have never heard of otherwise. People are funny like that.

"I played Club Congress a few years ago with Bonnie Prince Billy & Neil Hamburger & Faun Fables," wrote Shineywater. "The place had a different vibe back then. I don't like the place really, we probably won't visit there again."

Once again, the moral of the story is get off the internet and go do something constructive, people! (Says the guy writing for a webzine.)

Shineywater further explained his stance on the Matador blog. "It is my belief that the US military itself has always been a tool of genocide, beginning with Native Americans. I believe that this war is blood for oil, not blood for democracy. With that knowledge, the US Military should accept that it has been misled, as the polls show as the majority opinion among US citizens. That's why we don't support any recruitment for the US Military. We do support impeachment of the current President, who was falsely elected."

As previously noted, Matador and Brightblack wish to offset carbon emissions from the band's "turr", which continues in Denton next month. For every purchase made from Matador's webstore, the label will buy 50 pounds of carbon dioxide offset from Terrapass, with a goal of ultimately making up for the 30,000 pounds Brightblack's turr is expected to generate.

Brightblack Morning Light:

04-17 Denton, TX - Hailey's
04-18 Austin, TX - Emo's
04-20 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *
04-22 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
04-23 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
04-25 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle *
04-26 Bloomington, IN - Landlocked Music *
04-27 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
04-30 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab *
05-02 Wesleyan, CT - Eclectic House at Wesleyan University *
05-04 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Bard College *
05-05 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *
05-06 Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw *
05-09 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
05-18 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead Holiday Centre (ATP vs. the Fans)
05-31 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fòrum (Primavera Sound Festival)

* with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs