Warning: The following contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence.
Iconic singer/songwriter Neko Case is no stranger to staring directly into the eyes of toxic behavior and she proved that once again on Thursday, October 9th night in Tennessee.
Neko Case and her band were performing at the Caverns venue in Pelham, TN supporting her latest album, Neon Grey Midnight Green where she stopped the show after just four songs when the venue refused to remove an “armed civilian guard.” Having security is one thing but leave it to the South to bring out someone’s uncle bubba in a cowboy hat and a pistol strapped to his hip for all to see. After seeing this, Neko Case obviously had issues with this before taking the stage. According to a fan in attendance, there was, “an older white armed civilian with jeans, a cowboy hat, and a huge customized pistol on his hip posted up at the side of the stage.”
Another person who claims to have been in the front row said they saw the singer-songwriter with their band in the wings before taking the stage, and “it was clear that seeing the open carry armed security guard surprised/upset her — she was backing up, shaking her head ‘no,’ and there was a flurry of venue folk talking around her.”
They added that, after people started clapping, they “got the impression that she tried to rally and go on once she’d been spotted/recognized. But it was clearly too triggering to her.” Upon taking the stage, Case addressed the crowd by saying, “Guns really kill my boner. I’m flaccid.”
“Guys, there are men on every side of this room with a gun and I am not comfortable playing this show, I’m sorry,” Case apparently said, as per another fan’s alleged recording transcription. “It’s not okay. I can’t have men with guns watching me right now. I don’t know if you’ve ever been raped at gunpoint, but you don’t want people hanging around with guns, you just don’t fuckin’ [unintelligible]… so, I am very sorry about this, but they’re not leaving so I guess we are, thank you.”
One would want to believe that this is absolutely not normal but anyone who sees this fucking country without orange colored glasses knows that this IS the new normal. Civilians being given the right to police and terrorize at their own will is asinine and as we see here, it’s going to be causing even more trouble in the entertainment industry. I’m glad Neko stuck to her guns and got the fuck out of there. I am sure that the last thing she wanted was to disappoint the fans in attendance but not only was she standing up for her own safety, she was doing it for the safety of her fans. These days, rednecks with guns are operating on Monster Energy Drinks and short fuses so to those directing their anger towards her, keep that in mind.
Neko Case’s Fall Tour will continue on and will wrap up on 11/25/2025 in Austin, TX.
10-11 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall #
10-14 Cincinnati, OH – The Taft Theatre #
10-15 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant #
10-16 Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed #
10-17 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue #
10-18 Milwaukee, WI – The Pabst Theater #
10-20 Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall #
10-22 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre #
10-23 Boston, MA – The Wilbur #
10-24 Munhall, PA – Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall #
10-25 Cleveland, OH – The Agora #
11-07 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre %
11-08 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up %
11-10 Los Angeles, CA – The Bellwether %
11-11 San Francisco, CA – The Masonic %
11-13 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Vogue %
11-14 Seattle, WA – The Paramount %
11-15 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater %
11-18 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory %
11-19 Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater %
11-20 Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre %
11-21 Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater %
11-23 Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom %
11-24 San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center %
11-25 Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre %
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