Michelle Shocked shocks fans with anti-gay rant, 2013 tour falling apart with show cancellations

I’m shocked

It’s hard for me to put into words how profoundly saddened I was to find out that Michelle Shocked had gone completely off the rails and launched into an anti-gay tirade at a recent show at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. Saying, “God hates fags and you can tweet that I said so” and “When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilisation, and Jesus will come back” and “I live in fear that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry”, Yoshi staff cut her microphone and turned off the lights and most of the patrons promptly left the venue in disgust.

Since then, the Little Australia blog reports that most of the shows on her 2013 tour have now been cancelled.

All scheduled shows (per Shocked’s website) except TWO scheduled through the month of June are NOW CANCELLED. (Most of the shows scheduled after June are listed as “tentative.”) {…}

• Cancelled: March 28, Santa Cruz, CA, Moe’s Alley (thank you for the comment)
• Cancelled: March 29, Novato, CA, Hopmonk Tavern
• Cancelled: April 24, Winters, CA, Palm’s Playhouse
• Cancelled: April 25, Portland, OR, Alberta Rose Theater
• Cancelled: April 26, Seattle, WA, Meander’s Kitchen
• Possibly Cancelled: April 27, Eugene, OR, Cozmic (a friend in the radio business in Eugene told me this just a bit ago. I’ll update when I have more; for now, Shocked’s schedule shows the show – Cozmic’s does not: update: a tweet from Cozmic)
• Cancelled: May 3, Boulder, CO-based radio show eTown
• Cancelled: May 5, Evanston, IL (fixed), Evanston Space (thank you to Space for the comment below:
  “After looking into last night’s incident in SF, we have cancelled our May 5 show with Michelle Shocked. Refunds given at point of purchase.”
  Tweet here.)
• Cancelled!
  McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, CA, is getting pummelled by fans on their FaceBook page about this Saturday’s show. No cancellation announcement yet that I’ve found.
  Update 3:30 PM Sydney (9:30 PM U.S. PDT): Cancelled!
• Latest Update: Late response from Germany (8 PM Sydney): I just got a response to an email to the Burg Herzberg Festival in Germany, where MS’s website says she’s performing on July 19. From Gunther:
  Thanks for the e-mail!
  Due to the fact of nine hours difference we expect some words from Michelle, because this has come to a complete surprise to us. Anyway, if it is like it seems right now, we will cancel the show within the next 24 hours.
  MAKE LOVE WORK,
  Gunther

I’m guessing that’s a “No.”

So far, the only response from Shocked is this tweet:

https://twitter.com/MShocked/status/313492181891563521

This isn’t a “painful confrontation” any more than it’s “truth”, Ms. Shocked. This is a complete repudiation of your horrid opinion about our friends and neighbors and loved ones who want to marry the person they love.

Shocked apparently became a born-again “Christian” recently, joining the Pentecostal West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. As someone who fell in love with her music after her “Short, Sharp, Shocked” album, I am deeply saddened by this. I have actually met her twice and spoken with her at length. I’ve been listening to her music for decades.

I won’t be buying her art any more.

[CC photo credit: bedwyrphoto.com | Flickr]