Folks this is a sad day for music. And a sadder day for this country.
According to the LAS VEGAS SUN, while performing a concert this weekend, Linda Ronstadt was asked to leave the stage by the venue management when she dedicated the Eagles hit 'Desperado' to Michael Moore. According to the paper, the room erupted into equal parts boos and cheers.
She told the audience Moore "is someone who cares about this country deeply and is trying to help."
Aladdin Casino President Bill Timmins ordered security guards to escort Ronstadt off the property and her belongings from her hotel room were sent to her tour bus.
Timmins also sent word to Ronstadt that she was no longer welcome at the property for future performances, according Aladdin spokeswoman Tyri Squyres.
Hundreds of angry fans streamed from the theater as Ronstadt sang. Some of them reportedly defaced posters of her in the lobby, writing comments and tossing drinks on her pictures.
Timmins told Las Vegas Sun gossip columnist Timothy McDarrah: "We live in a city where people come from all over the world to be entertained. We hired Ms. Ronstadt as an entertainer, not as a political activist.
"Whether you are politically on the left or on the right is not the point. She went up in front of the stage and just let it out. This was not the correct forum for that."
Timmins said she was wrong to bring her politics to the stage.
The review goes on to blast the performance as awful, saying the conclusion was the highlight of the evening.
When an artist can not perform because of the political climate, it is a very sad day and we are all poorer for it.
Well, the Dixie Chicks controversy did prove that this sort of thing is good for business. It remains to be seen what impact of the Fahrenheit 9/11 stances of Pete Townshend ("Won't Get Fooled Again"), R.E.M. ("Shiny Happy People"), and Neil Young ("Rockin' In The Free World") will have on their audiences and sales.
So hopefully Ronstadt will be able to continue her tour. And artists will continue to be free to express themselves.
More on the impact of music on politics.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - olorin took
... the usa is truly becoming a fascist country. amazing. if that's the land of the free and home of the brave, one wonders what being unfree would be like...
2 - Kurt Nordstrom
That argument that the USA is becoming 'fascist' over a Casino axing Linda's act is a bit baseless, I think. The Casino, being a private organization, can do whatever they want to, for whatever reason. That's like saying that, because several local country stations took the Dixie Chicks off the air after they bashed Bush, that the USA is fascist.
Let's be honest. The Casino has a vested interest in not pissing off half of its patrons. Pissed off patrons go spend money elsewhere.
3 - Eric Olsen
Yes, this wasn't a neutral concert setting. Performing at a casino is really just an extension of entertaining the gamblers, and half of the gamblers are going to react negatively to an overt political statement. She could say pretty much whatever she wanted in a neutral concert venue with no vested interest - she was just dumb.
4 - Eric Olsen
I meant to add: context is everything.
5 - Shark
"..So what if they shut down a few Jews' businesses. It doesn't affect me..." --- a 'good' German citizen, 1936
6 - Kurt Nordstrom
Shark, who is "they" in this case? This is about the owner of an establishment choosing their own entertainment. On the contrary, if the government told you that you HAD to let a certain somebody perform in YOUR establishment -- that would be closer to fascism.
Or are you just trying to blatantly push a few buttons with an off-context remark? :)
7 - Shark
The Casino has a vested interest in not pissing off half of its patrons.
And ironically, by their jack-booted, free speech chilling tactics, they probably just pissed of at least one half of the US population. (liberals, Democrats, Linda lovers, et al.)
"To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state of mind of freedom. If we do that we are letting the same thuggery in by the back door that we are fighting off in front of the house." -- John Dos Passos
8 - Eric Olsen
They would have reacted the same way had she made a pro-Bush, pro-war, anti-Michael Moore statement. The issue wasn't the content of her political statement: it was that she made a political statement
9 - Shark
Kurt, my point is that "we're" on a slippery slope when 'economic' freedom (and the dreaded "marketplace") starts being used as an excuse to justify smashing free speech and ruining people's careers.
Toby Keith gets air play and a stack of awards. The Dixie Chicks and Linda Ronstadt get fucked, banned, booed, and booted.
Guess they were 'on the wrong side', eh?
Ronstadt and the Chicks today; who and what will it be tomorrow?
("Truth be told, we're all criminals if we remain silent")
10 - Shark
ERIC: "They would have reacted the same way had she made a pro-Bush, pro-war, anti-Michael Moore statement."
Oh please...
11 - Shark
Eric, I don't know about Ohio, but you can go to just about any public event in Texas and hear some yahoo praising Bush, the war, and singing "God Bless America" over the PA system.
(And may God have mercy on your soul if you don't stand during that 'new' 'faith-based" version of the Star-Spangled Banner.)
12 - Al Barger
Shark, you're too smart not to know better than what you're saying here. "They" did not come in and shut down HER business. "They" were only running their OWN business.
Sounds more like she was having a little meltdown, and didn't really want to be there anyway. By sounds, she was doing a limp, perfunctory performance under contract, and just went off on a little tirade.
Alrighty then, you're fired.
Of course, if she's really serious, she's welcome to buy some kind of venue there, and go up on stage and talk whatever kind of foolishness suits her.
13 - MJ
First off, neither the Dixie Chicks or Ronstadt went to jail and nor did the US Government tell them what to say and what not to say. So there is no censorship. They can say and write whatever they want, but the public and these casinos can also say whatever they want. Shark, if the Chicks and Ronstadt are being threated with "economic" censorship then what is the alternative? Do we make radio stations play the Chicks? Can Britney Spears declare her love for Hitler and then expect stations to play her music? These people are frigging entertainers, people pay attention to what they say and they cannot understand that some people might be offended by their comments?
14 - David Flanagan
When an artist can not perform because of the political climate, it is a very sad day and we are all poorer for it.
Ms Ronstadt has perfect freedom to perform. Really, if she wants to be politically active, she should play at Kerry rallies or at Moore events, where her words will be appreciated and in context.
But to give political messages to an audience that simply wants entertainment is not only a bad idea, it's in some ways unethical. It's like the sleazy car salesman who tries to lure you in with promises of a good deals but then tries to add all those supposed "savings" in on the back of the deal in the form of additional fees.
The audience came in to listen to music, not to be force-fed political messages. I'm sure Ms. Ronstadt has not damaged her career with this stunt, but, seriously, this is not a free speech issue, this is an employer who sets standards of behaviour for performers and one of those standards happens to be political tolerance.
Nuff said.
David
15 - Rodney Welch
I'm totally with Shark on this one. In today's political climate, it's not -- as Eric said -- about making a political statement. It's about making the wrong kind of statement; it's about backing the wrong horse. I seriously doubt the Vegas crowd would have gone apeshit if she sang in honor of George Bush, or that she would have been escorted off the stage. Political statements are fine in ANY venue if the crowd endorses your point of view; rock singers take on political issues on-stage all the time, usually the kind that get a good, hearty "Hell, YEAH!" from the crowd. Linda did it with the wrong crowd -- and that's why they came in and shut down her business.
16 - boomcrashbaby
Political statements are fine in ANY venue if the crowd endorses your point of view
Since it was a casino and since she offended patrons, do we conclude that those who support letting Bush be the one to fight terror, are by nature, gamblers?
17 - Shark
"...do we conclude that those who support letting Bush be the one to fight terror, are by nature, gamblers?"
Um, they're the biggest gamblers in American history.
(Good one, Boomcrash! Ahahah!)
18 - Shark
Some of you need a lesson in history. Ever heard of McCarthy? Blacklisting? John Henry Faulk?
Those weren't EXPLICIT cases of "censorship" perpetrated by a "government," but they were about as close as you can get to a pre-facist knock-down yer doors at 3 AM and drag you to a de-lousing center America, home of the paranoid and unbrave.
A few well-placed words ruined people's lives. A few whispered rumors or libelous labels killed many people's careers.
"Weren't no gommument sinsership, tho, huh. Just the ol' public domain and pure-D 'merican commerical interests, that's what it is... So shud up, buncha whinin' crybaby liberals pussies..."
I love how some of you justify this slippery slope by saying "It's not a government act..." etc.
Bullshit. Read some history.
And how about the cookie sharing peacenik group in Farenheit 911 --- infiltrated by some dickhead Nazi wannabee law enforcement punk out to stop a couple of angry grandmothers from painting a psychedelic "Peace" sign or, god forbid, flinging an oatmeal cookie at the White House?
Your tax dollars at work.
Fuck that.
And FUCK the mood in America that says its VERBOTEN to criticize this facist frat boy fuck up of a President and his fucking lying criminal fat-cat, rich pig pals.
Fuck the implicit "commercial" suffocation voice of opposition.
It's dangerous to ignore it, it's dangerous to justify it -- and you could be next.
19 - Tom Johnson
This isn't political, it's financial. The casino was watching idiots deface their property (that's $$$ if it isn't obvious) and they got rid of the instigating party: Rondstadt. Simple enough. Had she said something pro-Bush and anti-Bush people freaked out in a similar fashion, she would still have gotten the giant hook and shown the door.
Yawn. Non-issue, let's move on, folks.
20 - Doug
Shark,
In other posts you refer to your alleged age...ie being "old". I don't know how old you are, but I have never heard anyone who lived through McCarthyism ever claim that it was not government censorship as you do in your post. [edited]
21 - Dan
Desperado : a bold or violent criminal; especially : a bandit of the western U.S. in the 19th century
Seems like a fitting tribute.
22 - Douglas Mays
Yeah, I go with the opinion of the casino expressing their opinion. Linda has to remember not to talk about religion or politics when at work.
But then again, good for Linda!!! Caused quite a commotion. National news! Good job Linda!!!!! Sure makes a bigger statement than if it remained isolated to the people at the show.
Maybe she knew just what she was doing. the times, they are a changing, again. thank goodness.
peaceloveguidance
23 - Michael Croft
Before we get too definitive on what happened, I've seen this eyewitness report from a commenter on The Corner that claims that the Aladin account is inaccurate.
It sounds to me like Timmins got angry over a political statement and made a decision on the basis of it, then told a slanted version of what happened so that he wouldn't have to say he didn't like her politics. Not illegal, not heroic.
Shrug. Singers who piss off club management and have to find new places to play in town is not a story I haven't heard before.
24 - boomcrashbaby
I've heard a story that the concert was billed as the greatest hits tour, but she told the audience that was wrong. 'Too bad, so sad' was the tone she gave the audience, and that people had started demanding their money back before she ever mentioned Michael Moore. And I read that she was doing everything she could to get fired. She told a reporter before the show she wanted it to be her last casino performance. I think she saw a polarized America, enhanced by cocktails, and took advantage of the situation.
I actually hope that is the situation, because if a destructive mob started over a political statement made in this country, even if enhanced by cocktails, then we are far more divided than most people think. Cocktails bring out what you really feel anyway, right?
25 - Pat
Linda Ronstadt is a washed up old bag who needs to go to a Palm Beach rest home to get high and forget about her damn luggage.
Desperado (devoted to Michael Moore ) was the LAST song in her set. The majority spoke! Fuck Off Bitch!!!
Las Vegas must be getting desperate to be booking that shit!(Linda Ronstadt.)