Sinister: Rule it out!

[Paul Arathoon]

Christ, you'd think that B&S were going to bomb any cities they weren't 
playing in. They aren't a Public Limited Company and "we", the self 
appointed fans, have no reason to dictate their behaviour. So we buy their 
records, doens't give us a mandate to have a go at them or the management.

I just hope the next months on sinister aren't full of more and more people 
complaining about this because it is about to get tedious....

>From: "Julie" <jules at xxx.cx>
>Reply-To: "Julie" <jules at inebriated.cx>
>To: <sinister at missprint.org>
>Subject: Re: Sinister: Rule it out!
>Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 08:51:20 -0400
>
>You know, the times when I've had the opportunity to agree with Brian
>Pennington have been few and far between.
>I wasn't going to say anything about this whole west coast tour thing,
>because I didn't really care that much.  But this email from Neil Robertson
>pissed me off subconsciously, as I woke up this morning annoyed.
>Belle & Sebastian have very rarely acted like professionals, and their fans
>have passed it off as charming.  Oh, they won't be photographed, isn't that
>cute!  But the people Neil's email was directed to were not the NME, they
>were the fans who have been buying imports, flying to the UK for festivals,
>and crouched over their computers listening to Peel Sessions for years on
>end.  But to wait for ages for news of a tour, and then to be answered with
>a chiding "Just wait your turn!" is a little fucking idiotic.  One half
>assed mini tour in 1998 where half the dates were cancelled does not a good
>excuse to blow off more than half a country make.  If you can't afford an
>east coast tour, or you have no time, or you just don't WANT to because you
>spent a few weeks there not long ago working on the Todd Solondz thing
>(without scheduling any shows), say that.  But don't play the fucking
>martyr, Neil, it's  not becoming.  Clearly you are shocked that those of us
>who saw the band several years ago, or possibly stood in the venue waiting
>for a show that would never happen, would dare to ask for more shows.  Oh,
>but we have to wait while the rest of the world gets graced with the
>presence of Belle & Sebastian.  How considerate of you to play for the good
>people of Iceland.  (I noted that the entire center of the United States 
>and
>Canada was omitted from Neil's list.  Really, if you're going to make sure
>everyone gets a turn, don't forget Bolivia, and India, and fucking
>Minneapolis.)  It is painfully apparent here that touring for Belle &
>Sebastian is not a matter of satisfying fans, it is a matter of convenience
>for the band, and where the band feels like going.  Which, once again, is
>fine, if you're just going to be up front about it.  But that email was not
>a reassurance in any way to those of us on the east coast, it's a kick in
>the teeth.  Just to get things straight.
>This email from Neil Robertson is the biggest bunch of defensive garbage
>I've ever seen from a supposed professional in my life.  And I'm insulted.
>Which is irrelevant, but shouting about it made me feel a little better.
>
>-Julie
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Neil Robertson" <neil at xxx.net>
>To: "sinister" <sinister at missprint.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 12:14 PM
>Subject: Sinister: Rule it out!
>
>
> > I'd better stop yous there.
> > Don't read anything into there being a gap between the West Coast and
> > Brazil.
> > We're going home in between. There will be no East Coast shows.
> > There is one more West Coast show to be announced. We haven't finalised 
>it
> > yet, and I wanted to get the rest of the shows on sale.
> >
> > Just to get things straight. Three years ago we played some shows on the
> > East Coast. Now we're doing some on the West.
> > We will be back in the East soon enough. For the moment though, there's
> > loads of other places we've never visited.
> > The people of Japan, Australia, Italy, Norway, Greece, Argentina, Chile,
> > Portugal, Nothern Ireland, Iceland and Denmark, for example, have never
>had
> > a visit, and they must be ahead of New York in the queue.
> >
> > My apologies to the good people of Philadelphia and Toronto, who I think
> > have a right to be disappointed. We owe you one (at least), but to come 
>to
> > the East and only do these two would be hard to justify.
> >
> > We've got some catching up to do, but we're making decent progress, and
> > we'll be round again as soon as we can.
> > Sorry about that.
> > Please bear with us. I appreciate your patience.
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Neil
> >
> >
> >
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> >  +-+       "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper           
>+-+
> >  +-+  "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" 
>+-+
> >  +-+    "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000     
>+-+
> >  +-+  "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000  
>+-+
> >  +-+  "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001   
>+-+
> >  +-+               Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa                 
>+-+
> >
>+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
> >
>
>+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>         +---+  Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list  +---+
>      To send to the list mail sinister at missprint.org. To unsubscribe
>      send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
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>  +-+       "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper           +-+
>  +-+  "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
>  +-+    "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000     +-+
>  +-+  "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000  +-+
>  +-+  "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001   +-+
>  +-+               Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa                 +-+
>+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+


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        +---+  Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list  +---+
     To send to the list mail sinister at missprint.org. To unsubscribe
     send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
     majordomo at missprint.org.  WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister
 +-+       "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper           +-+
 +-+  "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
 +-+    "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000     +-+
 +-+  "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000  +-+
 +-+  "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001   +-+
 +-+               Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa                 +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+