THIS SHOW WAS CANCELED BY AEG LIVE BUT IS GOING ON ANYWAY....

Jamaican Dave Productions presents BUJU BANTON

http://www.thetroc.com/

Trocadero Theatre
1003 Arch Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Phone: (215) 922-LIVE

Box Office Hours:
Mon thru Fri 11:30am - 6:00pm
Sat 11:30am - 5:00pm

CANCEL BUJU BANTON "RASTA GOT HATE" TOUR 2009

Protest Against Anti-Gay Singer at the Troc

Buju Banton still scheduled, despite threatened boycott.
By Michael Alan Goldberg 9-11-2009



About a dozen members and supporters of Philadelphia’s LGBT community assembled in the driving rain in front of the Trocadero Theatre Friday morning to denounce the venue’s decision to go forward with a concert Saturday night by controversial Jamaican reggae/dancehall performer Buju Banton, whose anti-gay lyrics have sparked outrage and similar protests around the country. Two weeks ago, concert promoter AEG Live canceled Banton’s U.S. tour due to pressure from various LGBT groups, but Philadelphia promoter Jamaican Dave Productions subsequently negotiated a deal with the Trocadero to go ahead with tomorrow night’s scheduled show.

Banton has long drawn condemnation from the gay community for his infamous song “Boom Bye Bye,” penned in 1988 when he was a teenager, which advocates shooting homosexual men in the head with Uzis and pouring acid on them to “burn him up bad like an old tire wheel.” While Banton has stated that he wrote the lyrics when he was “a child,” he has never repudiated them, and he has continued to perform the song in concert.

“We condemn this hate speech and his call to violence against gays and lesbians, as we also condemn the exploitation of our community in song for profit,” said Thom Cardwell, a board member of the Gittings Trust, a Philadelphia-based political action committee whose stated mission is “to advance equality for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens.

“Let us be extremely clear: Those who advocate the willful killing of others must be shunned by a just society and those companies who facilitate and profit from this hurtful conduct must also be boycotted, reprimanded, shunned and avoided to the fullest.”

Attorney John DiPietro, also a Gittings Trust board member, read a statement from Stephen A. Glassman, chairperson of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission:

“Those who encourage violence against minorities and women are complicit in creating a climate of fear and intimidation in which hate crimes often follow the sentiments promoted by insensitive song lyrics or prejudicial words…these reprehensible comments are acts of cowardice and insecurity which dehumanize all those who utter them or support them, and reveal both ignorance and immaturity on the part of such misguided individuals.”

Following the press conference, the Rev. Jeffrey Jordan of the Metropolitan Community Church of Philadelphia told PW what he and the other protesters hoped to accomplish with today’s gathering. “The most wonderful thing would be to bring awareness to [Banton], to touch his conscience and let him see that what he’s doing is more than having a concert, he’s going against a whole group of people. The other wonderful thing would be to have the concert canceled, and if it’s not canceled, we will be out here tomorrow to protest and let the public know our message, that we don’t tolerate hate.”

Gittings Trust board member and spokesperson James Duggan told us that he spoke yesterday via phone with Trocadero owner Joanne Pang. “Her position is that she has no control over this because she didn’t book it. She simply rented out her space to Jamaican Dave, and Jamaican Dave has complete control over it. It seems really silly that an owner of a property has zero control over what plays in their venue. It just seems like a cop out to me.

“As our phone conversation continued, it seemed to return to the fact it would cost too much to cancel this concert because of her relationship with Jamaican Dave and the seven concerts they have throughout the year at the venue,” Duggan added. “It’s a money issue, in my opinion. So I suggested in an e-mail to both her and Jamaican Dave that the concert be canceled and the Trocadero simply give Jamaican Dave another date, another concert somewhere along the line. The contract for the seven concerts would still be fulfilled, and everyone would be happy. I have not heard from Jamaican Dave, and the Trocadero has not said boo about this suggestion.”

If the Buju Banton concert does go ahead as scheduled, Duggan says his group plans to call for a boycott of the Trocadero. “We really feel it’s ridiculous that anybody would seek to profit off of someone who spews such hate speech. Especially someone [like Pang] who claims to have a relationship with the gay community. She claims she’s hosted [gay-friendly] events in the past, she’s hosting them in the future, so why should this affect her relationship with us? Unfortunately, she does not get it.” Pang could not be reached for comment.

Antigay singer to play Philly

by Jen Colletta
The Philadelphia Gay News
09-03-2009 - LINK

A controversial Jamaican singer who has promoted the murder of gays in his music will appear as scheduled for a local concert next weekend, despite show cancellations in other cities.

Last week, concert promoter AEG Live canceled the three Buju Banton shows it was sponsoring — in San Francisco, Los Angeles and one set for Sept. 12 at Philadelphia’s Trocadero — but Jamaican Dave Productions, which was a copresenter of the local show, took over its production.

“We canceled the show, but the venue and the copromoter came to an agreement to go ahead with it,” said Michael Roth, AEG Live spokesperson.

Live Nation also canceled four shows it was involved with at House of Blues venues in Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston.

The two companies were targeted by a recent phone and e-mail protest led by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network and Change.org.

The Philadelphia show, the first on Banton’s U.S. tour, was widely reported in the press to have been canceled as well, but it is the only one of the seven shows the two promoters dropped that will still happen.

Joanna Pang, spokesperson for the Trocadero, said the venue did not play a role in booking Banton, but rather rents space to companies that independently organize events, such as Jamaican Dave Productions, AEG, Live Nation and Clear Channel, and had been unaware of the controversy around Banton beforehand.

Pang said the venue has a contract with Jamaican Dave for the space, which can fit up to 1,200. The production company typically stages five or six reggae shows at the Troc yearly.

David Russell, owner of Jamaican Dave Productions, did not respond to requests for comment.

Banton first drew the ire of LGBT individuals in 1988, when he released “Boom, Bye Bye,” the lyrics of which call for violence against gays, such as, “Any time Buju Banton comes, the faggots get up and run. Boom, bye bye, in a ******’s head ... They have to die. Send for the automatic and the uzi instead. Shoot them, don’t come if we shoot them.”

Banton was arrested in 2005 and accused of being part of a group that attacked six gay men in Jamaica, but was later acquitted.

The dancehall singer was reported to have signed The Reggae Compassionate Act, a pledge to eradicate violence and homophobia from music, in 2007, but later, denied taking such action. In addition to the local show, Banton has 12 other performances scheduled.