Featured photo by Ben Stas.
UPDATE December 13, 1:43 p.m.: The Globe reports that the bouncer has been fired.
Last night’s Peter Murphy show at the Middle East was a handful. And, apparently, a mouthful as well.
The Bauhaus frontman was playing the Cambridge club on the latest stop of his Stripped solo tour. But the gig was interrupted several times, most notably because Murphy took offense to a Middle East security guard reportedly eating his venue-supplied dinner of fries and some sort of sandwich or burger near the stage a few songs into his performance.
“There was a disconnect between our security staff and understanding the type of artist we are dealing with,” Middle East publicist Clay Fernald tells Vanyaland, adding that security treated the Murphy performance “thinking it was a regular show” where added security is needed along the stage, and not of a veteran performer playing to an older crowd in a stripped down, intimate setting.
Sources at the show tell Vanyaland that things got very heated between the security guard and Murphy once Murphy demanded the bouncer be ejected. Murphy allegedly made a comment about the bouncer’s “rap”-looking demeanor. Murphy was then confronted by other venue guards and after a brief and vulgar confrontation Murphy left the stage for more than 10 minutes, emerging only after the hungry security guard was removed from the room.
UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: Here is the video, which is NSFW. The heated confrontation begins around the 3:20 mark; and it appears Murphy says something along the lines of “don’t you fucking rap-look at me, man” to the bouncer, who is black, at 4:52. Murphy also states on stage that the bouncer kicked a few thousand dollars worth of gear during the argument.
Fernald admitted that the security guard who chowed down “violated” the parameters of the event and should not have eaten his staff meal during the performance and along the side wall where the Mid East stage ramp meets the green room. “It was Peter Murphy’s stage last night,” Fernald adds. “He was upset, but he cooled down after 10 minutes and finished the show… It definitely won’t be the weirdest thing to happen to Peter Murphy on tour.”
At other points during the night, Murphy apparently got upset over fans in the crowd using cameras, and changed the lyrics to Bauhaus’ “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything” to include a reference to “Trump town” after a fan called him “racist” over his handling of the situation with the bouncer.
“Peter Murphy show at the Middle East was fraught with technical difficulties and drama,” writes @resourceress on Instagram. “Honestly I don’t blame him for having a freak out about security staff eating on the side of the stage and people using their phones well into the set. There was an audience member Facetiming the show to a friend. The venue posted signs that said ‘please only take photos during the first three songs and video for the third song.’ Respect your artists, people! #petermurphy #sandwichgate2016 #gothdreams”
Some stills are below.
Peter Murphy just went ballistic on a security guard for eating a sandwich. The show is on hold. Wtf? pic.twitter.com/sN7AcenLJD
— Lisa McDermott (@lisaemc2) December 10, 2016