Performers being arrested onstage is nothing new but the process in which Mac DeMarco found himself detained is a tad more curious. The alt-rock figure was playing a show at The Hub near the University of California Santa Barbara on November 14 when police decided to take him into custody after he scaled some ceiling beams to reach the venue's second floor, according to Pitchfork.
It was the second time that the show had been stopped by security: It only took about ten minutes before the police stopped the music and flashed lights into the crowd, where apparently some overzealous fans were moshing. A 22 year-old attendee had apparently challenged a member of security staff to a fight, which sounds like a good reason for arrest to us, while a 21 year-old woman was arrested and charged with resisting arrest (no word on why she was being arrested in the first place).
Once the music started back up again, DeMarco got the crowd to lift him to a height where he could grab the beams on the ceiling and clamber on up to the second floor. Once he returned to the stage police immediately arrested him, bring the show to an early close. The performer wasn't charged for anything, as the officers in charge reportedly questioned him outside the venue and released him once they realized he was the actual performer, not a drunk fan.
The event raises a number of questions about concert behavior and what should be cracked down on. For one thing, moshing is a standard at many metal and rock shows with very few instances of actual injury. On the other hand, security is often blamed when deaths such occur at shows, such as the case where a fan died after falling from the stage at a Lamb of God show in Romania several years ago. And again on the other hand, only 100 patrons were reportedly at the DeMarco show.
The fact that DeMarco was apparently immune to charges for dangerous behavior while a fan would not have been is also interesting. Admittedly, watching Iggy Pop roll around in glass or members of Dillinger Escape Plan hang upside down from beams while playing guitar makes for an excellent live experience. We understand the inherent stupidity but we admit we'd be loathe to ban it.
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