Middletown – “Extreme Liberal Agenda” Inappropriate
Last night, in Middletown, residents were shocked, SHOCKED! that Sandra Bernhardt and John Waters would be performing in their city town. The Unicity festival features The Fixx and over 100 artists from around the world converging on Middletown on August 2nd.
Middletown businessman Jay Heath spoke against two of the headlining acts at the Unicity Festival scheduled for Aug. 2. He said the acts of film director John Waters and comedienne Sandra Bernhardt were obscene and promoted an “extreme liberal agenda” inappropriate for Middletown.
“I know a lot of people who would consider this a threat to our wholesome, small-town atmosphere,” he said. Acting Middletown Main Street Manager Tracy Skrobot said these acts are enclosed and in a place children cannot see them. They are also not paid for with taxpayer money.
Councilmember Kathy Kelly said she did not know about the acts and was shocked. “I’m disgusted with it,” she said
I love that liberals can’t exist in a “wholesome, small town atmosphere.” I guess that people in small towns don’t have freedom of speech or things that aren’t suitable for children. Next we can ban dances because they are the work of the devil.
oooh! how can i get tickets?!?
Which wholesome, conservative acts should we have? The wide stance? The call girl list? The tawdry, underage page texting?
Sure then, lets have David Allen Coe play instead! That should make the holders of “Traditional Family Values” tap their feet and clap their hands! Hootenanny!
VC Law #4080: Anyone who uses the word “Extreme” as a way to pile-on an insult (in their mind, at least) almost always has nothing in the way of credible criticism, and they’re usually projecting.
Extreme for that douchebag is going to bed after 10pm. Bugger All!
Dom – looks like tickets are available on the website above…
John Waters is arguably the best thing to come out of Baltimore since Babe Ruth, but Sandra Bernhardt? Her 15 minutes were up a long time ago. The Fixx??? One thing leads to obscurity.
This reminds me of when I saw the Guess Who at the Franklin County Fair.
I always get depressed seeing the past great bands ending up playing at a small town venue where everyone just talks over them. Maybe its because they weren’t that good in the first place, but it is kind of sad. Actually said hello to Chubby Checker at the Rudder years ago. He looked like death warmed over.
This reminds me of when I saw the Guess Who at the Franklin County Fair.
I don’t know who to feel worse for, the Guess Who or Franklin County.
I watched David Byrne perform at the Stone Balloon. It was sad to watch him perform on a stage that had a constant leak from a bad roof. I kept waiting for him to get electrocuted.
Granted, Byrne is still a great performer, but he was diminished by the venue…
I saw Clarence “Frogman” Henry at the “Rock and Bowl” in New Orleans. That was an interesting venue.
I saw the Guess Who, Steppenwolf, and Warren Zevon all play the Stone Balloon (at different gigs) and every one blew the doors off the place. However, this was years ago, before time had diminished (or killed) the acts. The small venue actually helped. Oh well. This was around the same time The Beach Boys were not allowed to play July 4th in D.C. because James Watt thought they were subversive.
“One thing leads to obscurity.”
Laugh of the day!
wouldn’t that threat to their smalltown be ALL THE FUCKING DEVELOPMENT GOING ON DOWN THERE?
I saw Kansas for free in Va Beach for some summer concert sponsored by a local radio station that had “Tommy and the Bull”
My favorite was Blue Oyster Cult at a Rock and Bowl in a small town in up state NY ($5) one weekend and Vanilla Ice the next weekend ($7) at the same place. Best. Bowling ally. Ever.
April Wine at the Allentown Fair Grounds….or was it Aldo Nova?
I’m not sure this is a liberal-v-conservative thing. I think these people that are complaining are just a bunch of tight-asses. There are D tightasses and R tightasses. Jerks.
John Waters will be doing “This Filthy World”. It is a friggin’ RIOT. I’ve seen it, but would pay to see it again live. He is kind of a hero of mine in a weird sort of way.
Very teeny-weeny spoiler: He advises in his act that “if you go home with somebody and they don’t have any books in their home, don’t f–k ’em”.
Sounds like wise advice to me.
Do coloring books count? I’m asking for Donviti.
I wonder what would happen if they tried topless poker night? Rush and Triumph at the Allentown Fairgrounds.
Donnie and Marie at the Allentown Fairgrounds. The shame…
Ron Wood and Bo Didley at the Balloon a long time ago both were hammeredbut they rocked awsome show
Can they book Todd Snider next time?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nMTfZFntjU
Waters is friends with my sister and BIL from their Baltimore Video Americain stores. He used their store for Serial Mom and is a regular customer himself.
In 1975 the “Worlds First Sleaze Convention” was held in Wilmington, Delaware at the “Fifth Street Gallery”. John Waters was honored, and guest , “Eddie the Egg Lady” sat in her baby crib sucking eggs. She had for sale, some the greatest selection of “large sized high heels”. It was all high drama, everywhere you looked the “gallery” was decorated “sleazily”.
The event was the brain child of former “most socially active” (Wilmingtonian I have ever met,) Rob Jones and Tom Watkins a “costume designer” It was a 3 day, Labor Day weekend event.
Political sleaze, sleaze by the dupont chemical co’s, live chickens running around the gallery floor, and round the clock John Waters movies were show stoppers. The “Pink Flamingo” and others were some of the funniest, wildest theatre I witnessed in Delaware. Phone calls from radio stations as far as away as Zurich, got the events of the day and big surprises. NYorkers came, honored guests, “Cindy Lauper” , all were housed at a shabby hotel on Rt 40. She had quite a story to tell of her “sleaze hotel experience” the next morning.
The Old Terminal Hotel , sponsored a “cocktail party on the roof”, hotel clientele were shall we say, “down on their luck” inhabitating the bar and hallways. Children of the some of richest families in Delaware were in attendance. It was a Whose Who event.
Stepping over drunks in the hallways on our way to the roof for a cocktail was the epitamy of sleaze. We were served tuna fish and popcorn and cheap wine.
Labor Day a contingent of about 200 people , in full dress costume, marched in the “Sleaze Walk” up Market Street where the King and Queen of Sleaze were crowned.
The John Waters crowd from Baltimore and the draw of Lauper from NY, created one of the best, funniest and most memorable theatrical events of my life.
I would encourage Middletown to hold their event.
We all love the Middletown New Years Day Parade, a true hoot if you havent been! Middletown is unique to pull off this event. and its all great adult fun! If it was marketed properly, small business’s in Middletown, restaurants etc. would be a “place to be in August”. Count me and my friends in.
Liz … Great story !
This is a fantastic thing to happen to this area!, Oh and by the way if the FIXX was in obscurity explain how their last release (A greatest hits compilation.) sold over two million copies in the US alone last year…That’s the kind of obscurity I can deal with ! Bring on The FIXX! BRING ON UNICITY!!!