ON September 30, I wrote a column where I recounted a story my friend Jack Burditt told me. He had been to a punk rock concert in Los Angeles with his teenage daughter and, while there, one of the punk bands had said some nasty things about President Bush and his Iraq policy. The crowd, Jack told me, promptly booed them. Jack said that the band in question was the Buzzcocks.
The Buzzcocks now deny having said anything about President Bush. I’m happy to take them at their word. I spoke to Jack and he spoke to his daughter and she says it wasn’t the Buzzcocks, that it was another band (I’m not going to tell you who she thinks it was, not until we know for sure). We’ve called radio, TV stations, and newspapers that covered the concert, but right now no one has an answer to the question of which band it was. As for my friend Jack–he’s a sensible adult and he took notes at the concert. If he got the band wrong, well, once you’re over a certain age I suppose, they all start to sound alike.
My apologies to the Buzzcocks for what was an honest mistake. We can all count it as more good news that they took offense at having anti-Bush sentiments ascribed to them. Bully for the Buzzcocks, I shall have to go out and buy their latest album in support, even though I’m guessing chubby, bald guys are not their target demographic. (Actually, it’s not available in stores–you can only get it online, here.)
So: Who was the band that said, “F— George Bush” and started the astonishing reaction of boos from the audience? I don’t know for sure right now, but I promise to get to the bottom of it.
Larry Miller is a contributing humorist to The Daily Standard and a writer, actor, and comedian living in Los Angeles.
