A few days ago, Neko Case flipped out on a concert-goer after a jewel case of her own album was thrown at fellow New Pornagraphers band member, Carl Newman. Although Case only upped her street/comedy cred with the rant and failed to come across as the Bill O’Reilly of indie rock, this episode got us thinking about some of our favorite indie celebrities’ most hot-blooded hissyfits. Below, we have gathered our ten favorites (including video of Case’s monologue), so click through and watch as the hand-knitted mittens come off and the Pabst-fueled moments of crazy ensue.
10. Morrissey cancels his show after being hit by a cup
This video shows Morrissey getting nailed with a plastic cup in only the second song of his set. His reaction is a bit over-dramatic, eh?
[via Prefix]
9. Jay Reatard’s bloody Toronto
After being barraged by projectiles and having his gear and body covered in alcohol, the late Jay Reatard started throwing punches when a rambunctious fan climbed on stage and bumped into him. Tearing off the fan’s shirt and bloodying him a bit, Jay attempted to continue his show when a woman threw a beer jug at him. Jay, getting increasingly frustrated, decided to throw it violently back into the crowd. Eventually, when the front row wouldn’t stop thumping him, Jay decided to just pack up and leave.
[via Exclaim.ca]
8. Brian Jonestown Massacre fight on stage
An internal massacre indeed…
7. WAVVES melts down at Primavera Sound
Nathan Williams decided to show up drunk and spaced out to his gig at Primavera Sound and proceeded to do nothing more than mess around for the entirety of his set. After doing a “sound check” for 30 minutes, and verbally abusing both the concert staff and audience, Williams stumbled through a couple songs until his drummer got sick of it. Then he poured a beer on Williams’s head and walked out. Pretty rock ‘n roll!
[via Stereogum]
6. Whitest Boy Alive has glasses stolen, walks out
Erlend Oye simply cannot see without his glasses. After he climbed into the balcony of a show in Mexico City, some fan stole his specs and refused to return them. That’s when Oye decided to call the whole thing off.
[via HRO]
5. WAVVES and Black Lips’ fist/Internet fight
Showdowns such as this rarely happen in the indie-rock world, as sweater enthusiasts tend to be pretty laid back. But such was not the case between (who else?) Nathan Williams and Jared Swilley of Black Lips when the former’s entourage got into a fist fight with the latter after a show. So, who won? Apparently, after the scuffle Jared was bloodied and Nathan was fine (well, aside from the emotional sting of Swilley calling him a “faggot” on the Internet, which really only made the Black Lips look bad). We’re calling this one for the King of the Beach.
[via Brooklyn Vegan]
4. Deer Tick review Pitchfork’s review of Deer Tick
Angry about their sub-par Pitchfork review, Deer Tick decided to lash back at the taste-making site, reviewing the review of their album, The Black Dirt Sessions and posting their “Bitchfork” review on their Facebook. Kind of funny, mostly hissy-fitty.
[via Urlesque]
3. Patrick Wolf attacks stage crew
Even better: Later, Patrick Wolf refused to apologize for any of it.
[via Pitchfork]
2. Neko Case may just choke a bitch
To reiterate: This is why we love Neko so much. So awesome!
[via Vulture]
1. Cat Power’s whole tour of meltdowns
Chan Marshall of Cat Power’s onstage ridiculousness is pretty much legendary at this point. The distinction between fable and truth is a bit blurred in the Cat Power crazy epic, but what is known for certain is that in the mid-’00s, Chan Marshall would “treat” her audience to some sort of bat-shit display on an almost nightly basis. Ranging from rants about the KKK to mutterings under her breath about “bad vibes” while poorly improvising music to singing a Chinese restaurant’s menu word for word, Cat Power rarely failed to disappoint those hoping to see an indie trainwreck. For her consistency and dedication to baffling skinny jeans-wearing audiences, Cat Power wins the top spot in our canon of indie-rock hissyfits.