Canberra indie band Moaning Lisa have pledged to do anything they can from the stage to stop harassment at gigs.
The majority of gig-goers are there to listen to music and have a good time with their mates but numerous incidents this year have exposed the ongoing problem of harassment at gigs. Luca Brasi called out a “piece of shit male” who felt up punters at their gig and Urthboy asked for “mutual respect” at gigs after a harassment incident.
Now, Moaning Lisa have taken to Facebook to post a video about an incident which occurred at a gig on Saturday night. The pair said the actions of some “buffoons” during their show “ruined the night for everybody else,” leading them to make the video.
“We’re really sick of the excuse of just shrugging it off as drunken behaviour and ‘oh they’re just having a good time, don’t worry about it. Boys will be boys.’ Fuck,” they wrote.
“What we are asking is that all of the guys out there that think this is not my problem, this isn’t me, this is them – we really need you to be assessing the situation. If a female is around and they look uncomfortable, then chances are they are uncomfortable,” they further said, admitting that them asking for people not to behave in a certain way is not enough to stop it.
The duo have an idea that if anyone is feeling uncomfortable at a gig they put up three fingers signalling that they are.
“Our priority is your safety and priority above all, so if someone is hassling you or you feel unsafe or uncomfortable at one of our shows, we want everyone to put up a signal which we’re gonna say is gonna be a ‘three’,” they said.
“We understand it’s fucking hard to go out and ask for help, or to approach a security guard or confront someone, and we know we have a lot of power being up on stage with a microphone.”
They’ve pledged that if they do see it from the stage they will do something about it.
“We’re not gonna put up with this shit anymore,” they concluded.
Listen: Moaning Lisa – ‘Shoe-In’
https://soundcloud.com/moaning-lisa/shoe-in
