The band said their recent concert at the N.Y.C. venue was marked by “incredibly inappropriate behaviour” that had them fearing for their safety.
Doom Gong, a seven-piece indie psyche band from Kentucky, have accused staff and ownership of the N.Y.C. venue Cutting Room of engaging in inappropriate and threatening behaviour, according to an Instagram statement from the group. “Never before have we felt so unsafe/undermined/taken advantage of playing a show as we did last night,” Doom Gong wrote in their post, shared on November 2. Cutting Room has not responded to the allegations, and The FADER has reached out for comment.
The problems began days before the show, Doom Gong allege, with the band unable to secure “necessary info from the venue.” They were able to get in touch with the Cutting Room’s sound tech, who allegedly insulted the band’s on-stage set-up and used a slur in their correspondence. Due to time constraints, Doom Gong were allegedly told the band and the two opening acts would “need to move fast” for the venue’s 10:30 p.m. show to begin on time.
Doom Gong claim that when they arrived at Cutting Room, they faced repeated pressure to shorten the length of the three performances. The band writes that Cutting Room’s ownership “failed to realize THEY last minute double booked a show” and did not account for the two bands slated to play with Doom Gong. After discussions, Doom Gong “reluctantly agreed” to perform for only 45 minutes.
The show itself was marked by interference and inappropriate behaviour by Cutting Room staff, Doom Gong write. During one of the openers, Doom Gong claim that staff unsuccessfully tried to “pressure” them to into cutting the opener short; around the same time, a member of the bar staff allegedly began to proposition a member of the band “to see if she [wanted] to go back to his place with him.”
As Doom Gong were about to take stage, they claim one of the venue’s owners asked them not to play “so their double-booked show could start – which we obviously said no to.” After performing for 30 minutes, Doom Gong write that the sound technician came over the PA and said they had time for only one more song, despite the previous agreement for a 45 minute set. After 35 minutes, the venue’s owner attempted to signal to the band to leave the stage. Just five minutes later, the band’s sound was cut off entirely.
“We play our last couple seconds of music acapella and as promptly as possible get off the stage and exit the venue to 1) let the double booked late night show commence and 2) to avoid getting physically assaulted by the cutting room crew or the late act entourage.” The Cutting Room’s Instagram page contains a post promoting a show by the Serbian singer Nikola Rokvić, slated to take place at Cutting Room at the same time as Doom Gong’s show.
In an email to The FADER, Doom Gong claim that Cutting Room have not paid them their share of the show’s revenue of around $1000. The band asks for supporters to purchase music and merch on Bandcamp “to offset some of the $700+ we spent on accommodations, parking, public transit, etc to make that show happen.”