Acclaimed singer-songwriter playing to a sold-out amphitheater takes exception to loud fan chatter and departs amid f-bomb laden tirade, then returns to finish concert. Oh, and Jenny Lewis performed, too.
Before the Meltdown: A smiling Ray LaMontagne early during his set at Meijer Gardens on Wednesday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
By Tricia Woolfenden
LocalSpins.com
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It was the “f— you” and implicit mic drop heard ’round the world.
Or, at least heard ’round Grand Rapids’ social media sphere (and likely far, far beyond) as reports of singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne’s expletive-laden on-stage meltdown flooded Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
LaMontagne (Photo/Anna Sink)
The famously mercurial artist abruptly stopped his set and stormed off stage Wednesday night when several members (seated in the front row, directly in the singer’s sightline) in the sold-out audience at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park wouldn’t stop yapping during the quiet of “Like Rock & Roll and Radio.”
The air, miraculously, was sucked out of the outdoor space as LaMontagne and crew exited stage left, abandoning both loyalists and standard-issue Meijer Gardens’ Chatty Cathys alike to wait out the seriously awkward silence.
During a brief — but oh-so-passionate — screed that precipitated the flight, LaMontagne asked the offending audience members, essentially, why they didn’t go home and listen to an (expletive) record and talk over it instead of (expletive) talking over him in the front row of his show. He then demanded their removal by security as a contingency to his re-entering the performance space.
Fair enough.
Or is it? (For the record: If Internet scuttlebutt can be believed, this is not the first time the singer has sounded off on a less-than-respectful crowd and some of the proof is on YouTube.)
No doubt, LaMontagne’s behavior will be a divisive issue among Wednesday night’s concertgoers and Local Spins’ readers. On the one hand, what music fan or artist hasn’t wanted to throttle an obnoxious attendee who simply won’t stop gabbing, singing LOUDLY off-key, spilling beer on neighbors or just generally being a douche?
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On the other hand, we exist in a society where thousands upon thousands of other people’s quirks and behaviors can affect our own experience. People do irritating crap. They watch entire shows through an iPhone screen. They dance in herky-jerky movements that block others’ view of the stage. They smell like AXE Body Spray and wear sunglasses on the back of their heads. The world is an imperfect place, and a live musical performance space can be a hyper-amplified microcosm of all that is flawed with our fellow man.
LaMontagne wasn’t wrong for being annoyed — because, seriously, he was only saying what a lot of us want to say, every day — but his grievances could’ve been handled in a much more effective way.
Jenny Lewis played a set following opener Belle Brigade. (Photo/Mike Coon)
Finish the song, make a very pointed (and publicly shaming) comment to the offending party/parties and move forward as the bigger person. As it was, LaMontagne’s actions took the wind out of the sails of at least a portion of the engaged attendees who were left bewildered and confused as to how his words related to their own concert experience.
(As an aside, with roughly three hours between the time the venue opened and the main act, it is fair to say that some of the audience had become restless, if not bored, by the time LaMontagne started his 18-song set. It probably didn’t help that the singer wasn’t overly conversational with the crowd. That’s his prerogative, of course, but Meijer Gardens’ regulars likely are accustomed to a more upbeat, ego-stroking brand of stage banter. LaMontagne didn’t fall all over himself to praise the venue nor the region, and that’s somewhat unusual for a Meijer Gardens performance.)
The Big Walk-Off wasn’t the only road bump of what ostensibly lined up to be a perfect evening of great weather and talented musicians. An otherwise gorgeous rendition of “Jolene,” off LaMontagne’s first album “Trouble” (2004), was marred by a concertgoer throwing up in the midst of the lawn crowd, causing neighbors to fight their own gag reflexes or scuttle away from the mess. Not exactly an ideal listening scenario.
A FIGHT ALMOST BREAKS OUT; FAN REMOVED BY SECURITY GUARDS
Meanwhile, there was the bitter front-row attendee who “voiced” his displeasure with LaMontagne’s tantrum with an equally childish series of hand gestures and posturing once the singer returned to stage. (The attendee was later escorted out by security after what appeared to be one or two stifled skirmishes with fellow audience members.)
Restless Crowd? (Photo/Anna Sink)
All in all, an uncharacteristic night for Meijer Gardens, where the biggest drama typically comes from folks disagreeing about the height of a lawn chair or the scope of a “reserved” blanket space. If nothing else, perhaps this is a reminder for some concertgoers to more carefully consider why they are attending a show: Is it to really listen to the artist and be a considerate neighbor? Or would you — and everyone else around you — be better served if you hung out at home and played a record instead?
The music wasn’t entirely upstaged by the drama. Here are a few other take-aways:
• LaMontagne’s roughly 90-minute set heated up after the artist’s meltdown. The band returned to stage seemingly recharged, and while not acknowledging the angry elephant in the arena, rocked out for the final five songs, including “Hey Me, Hey Mama” from 2008’s “Gossip in the Grain,” and “Drive-In Movies” from his current, critically-acclaimed release, “Supernova.”
The singer’s voice is at once airy and earthy, gravelly and smooth. It’s no wonder he’s such a hit with the ladies in the house. And to be clear; this was primarily a female audience. His four-piece band ably backed him with bass/upright bass, guitar, drums and keys.
• Jenny Lewis and her white-clad backing five-piece band were a delight during their performance, which followed an opening set by Belle Brigade. Lewis’ songwriting can, at times, seem uneven, but her 50-minute set was an easy-breezy peek at her poppy/alt-country/indie catalog that was perfectly suited for a casual summer evening.
The actress-turned-singer focused on material from her newest release, “The Voyager,” but presented a 12-song set highlight by the 2008 song “Acid Tongue” from the album of the same name. For that tune, she was backed simply by a ten-person “choir,” including every person from her band, plus a few from show opener Belle Brigade (who also serve as backing artists for LaMontagne).
Read WOOD TV 8’s brief interview with the couple which sparked the incident online here.
RAY LAMONTAGNE: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY
Ray LaMontagne photos by Anna Sink
Jenny Lewis photos by Mike Coon
Click on photo to enlarge gallery
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
Nice write-up, John…
Excerpt of Michelle’s spiel before introduction of artists on the stage at Seven Steps Up (Spring Lake): “…we ask that you not talk during the artist’s performance. It doesn’t mean you can’t lean over and quietly say ‘I love this song’, what we’re asking is that you not go on and on about all the other songs you love or what you did last night. If you can understand that, you’re in for some magical moments tonight. So please be respectful of your neighbors and the artist who’s literally spent a lifetime preparing for tonight’s performance…”
The Pin Drop Concert series at Seven Steps Up Live Music & Event Venue.
Yes Gary, I was chuckling to myself and thinking of Michelle’s preshow caveat last night during the hubbub at FMG.
I thought last night’s show was definitely entertaining, I’m glad he came back out to finish it.
What is concert security good for if not ejecting people who are acting inappropriately, and without consideration of other audience members? Granted, perhaps Mr. LaMontagne may have wigged out, but let’s not fault him for his exasperation. I suppose it would have bode him better and gained favor of the audience if he could have managed a cooler nature and stated that the show would not continue until these inconsiderate louts were removed. As both a musician/performer and someone who enjoys attending shows, there is a growing epidemic of this type of self centered & rude behavior among audience members. This is just another sad example, that’s all.
People are rude by nature when it comes to live musicians. My own friends carry on talking while I’m singing my heart out. I’ve been entertaining for over 42yrs. It means so much when you have an attentive audience that sincerely appreciates your creativity! I feel LaMontagne’s frustration!
Let’s be clear. I DO NOT condone Ray’s behavior at the Gardens last night. He is a professional and should have acted as such. On the other hand, the talkers who were dead center right in front, continued to talk through his whole set. They were asked several times by others around them and by Ray and his band to quiet down. At that point, security should have stepped in and told them to talk in back of the venue. Think of your favorite artist or band. If they did the same thing would you feel the same way? Let’s all take a chill and remember it’s about the music. We have all reached that point at some point in our lives. Ray just made a poor decision the way he addressed it. I think the fact that the doors opened at 5 and alcohol was being served and Ray did not come on until about 8 may have something to do with it too. So, if you are a concert goer, you do have a right to talk, you paid the money, but if you are talking through the whole show, don’t sit in the front row. Save those seats for the true fans who are there for the music.
We were bemoaning the fact that we missed out on tickets for his show, but I guess I’m not quite so disappointed now. We don’t “do” vacations, so buy tickets for eight to ten shows per year, so have a pretty good “feel” for the venue, and unfortunately the experience is not quite what it once was.
Security is still doing a decent job of getting most people parked, are on top of the chair height and over 21 banding, seem very consistent in checking coolers and containers, but rule enforcement relating to issues of crowd control is inconsistent, and traffic control for departures has been nonexistent. We have tried speaking directly to security members about issues, but have been disappointed in their responses. We have not taken the step of contacting garden officials this year, so shame on us for not being part of the solution.
Jon,
Outdoor concerts, especially without reserved seating, are somewhat understandably difficult regarding crowd control. As a musician who has performed at MG (& countless other venues) I am used to audience members talking, etc. In fact, when an audience actually listens, I can feel a little unnerved at first! But here’s what the ‘talkers’ may not realize, at least when I’m performing: I interact with the audience if they are quiet (or even mostly quiet). I have trained myself, as a pro, to ‘read’ the room & try hard to guage how to present the music. Am I ambient music or am I a show? The hardest thing, and what often happens, is when the audience is mixed and I have to split the difference. My tendency is to retreat into the background, say nothing on mic, & just provide some music as a sort of soundtrack for the evening. But, if people are relatively quiet, I take that as my cue to engage with them inbetween songs & the evening can become so much fun! It is unfortunate that the ‘talkers’ apparently don’t have a clue what they are missing by being so self absorbed. To be fair, the performer onstage is obviously self-absorbed or he/she wouldn’t be onstage in the first place. But the performer is there to engage the audience and, hopefully, provide everyone an experience that CAN’T BE HAD BY LISTENING TO A RECORDING AT HOME! With some performers this means a lot of banter & interaction with the audience, while others may simply play their music. But, no doubt, the performance will be different depending upon whether the audience is engaged with the listening process or not. I don’t know who Ray is but I wonder if that’s why he was initially ‘boring’ or, at least, not engaging the audience with dialogue.
Another related comment: Of great concern to me are the posts I am reading in which people say “I don’t go to concerts because of this.” Indeed, I am somewhat in that category myself! I would like to see someone do more informal research on this (a survey???) and include venue managers in the results because I wonder if they realize how much business they may be losing by NOT handling crowd control better. For some venues there is a relatively simple fix: seat people accordingly, i.e. seat those who want to talk in the part of the venue that is removed from the performance area. It puzzles me why this isn’t usually done, at least not in my experience in GR. I am enjoying all of my gigs up north this summer partly because the venue managers are doing this! Everyone has such a better time that way. The partiers are far enough away that they can relate to the music as ambient, whereas the people who are there to be entertained are seated up close. Of course I am talking about a more controlled environment (most recently, a small outdoor venue & some restaurants). When the short-lived jazz club (?) was open a few years ago I heard from several customers that they would never go back there again because they couldn’t hear the music what with people yakking it up. To finish, I would love to see a venue in GR that had a listening policy. And I wonder if all the people who don’t go to live pop concerts due to crowd noise would show up, spend money (OMG, a cover charge??), and have amazing experiences together. As GR tries to become a first class city, I think it has to have at least one such venue for it to happen. I believe a ‘listening policy’ would only bring in more $. I’m not aware of a venue that really has one, at least, not for jazz and related music.