Arcade Fire kicked off their tour as planned on Tuesday in Dublin, despite allegations of sexual misconduct against singer Win Butler, as a wave of ticket refund requests swept through social media. For its part, the music channel CBC Music has confirmed that it will stop playing the group’s songs until further notice.
Posted at 2:16 p.m.
Updated at 6:08 p.m.
In an article published on Sunday, four people told the American media pitchfork having been victims of sexual misconduct by the leader of Arcade Fire. Allegations that have been refuted by Win Butler, who says he never had a non-consensual relationship, but has apologized for the pain he caused by not being “more aware and attentive to the effect” he has on people.
In the evening, a spokesperson for CBC Music confirmed that the music channel will be boycotting Arcade Fire due to the allegations concerning its singer, “until we have more details about the situation”.
A spokeswoman for ICI Musique, the French-language counterpart of CBC Music, did not call back The Press immediately.
After the publication of the text of pitchforkthere have been numerous calls for the tour to be canceled.
But seeing that the group had decided to go ahead with the shows, several fans said they were unable to go and applaud them on stage, or even cheer them on. On Twitter, requests for reimbursement, which directly challenge the giant Ticketmaster, were very numerous on Tuesday.
But a few hours before the start of the show, the two concerts in Dublin were still maintained by the producer MCD Productions, with no possibility of reimbursement for people who no longer wanted to attend.
Opening the evening at 6:30 p.m., Canadian singer Feist took the stage as planned. Proceeds from the sale of her merchandise will be donated to Women’s Aid Dublin, read a small poster hanging from her stand.
Arcade Fire then took to the stage at Dublin’s 3Arena to a cheering crowd and few empty seats, and kicked off the show without commenting on the situation.
The group, which performed in Osheaga a few weeks ago, is scheduled to perform around 40 shows this fall in Europe and the United States. The tour Wethe title of their most recent album, is due to end in Montreal on December 3 at the Bell Centre.
We asked evenko, who presents the show, if a cancellation was considered. “We are currently assessing the situation,” we were told in an email. Same thing for refund requests: “We will assess requests, if any, with regard to refunds. »
Disappointment
David Seligman is artistic director of Pop Montreal, an event closely associated with Arcade Fire since its inception. For him, it would be very surprising if their tour were canceled. “There are millions invested in it, it’s impossible. Even if the band himself decided to cancel, he could be prosecuted! »
He understands that the fans be angry, but he thinks there are plenty of other ways to let it be known. “They can boycott the band, go to the show and yell at them… Look at Feist, she’s going to donate all the money from her merchandise sales to a women’s aid organization in Dublin. »
He admits it, he too is overwhelmed by the revelations he read in pitchfork. Especially since it was predictable, because of the culture that reigns in the music industry.
“This rock star lifestyle… You can’t treat people like that, you have to treat them with respect and dignity. The problem is that they are surrounded by people who close their eyes, who cover up, who let things happen, who are afraid to say something. »
It was during a 2016 event organized by Pop Montreal, Pop vs Jock, a fundraiser for a basketball organization the group had participated in for years, that Win Butler reportedly met one of the four people who spoke to Pitchfork . Reading this information hurt David Seligman very badly.
“It’s hard to hear that he used his coming to target an 18-year-old young woman. »
This is also the last time that Pop Montreal collaborated with the group that grew up with him – it was the festival that presented their big free show in 2011 on the Place des Festivals, after their victory at the Grammys.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, THE PRESS PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT,
Arcade Fire during its big show on the Place des Festivals presented as part of Pop Montreal in 2011.
“We have a long history with the band, we did great things, says David Seligman. But the last time the relationship was not very good. People did not feel well, there were abuses of language. This is not what we want as an organization. We felt that it was no longer a good fit, so we decided not to work with them anymore. »
With Vincent Larin, The Press