I have heard of The Ettes before. I own a couple of their albums and enjoy listening to them. I have however never heard of Imelda May. Or I hadn't until last night anyway...
It was my fourth and last shift of the week at the bar, and I was feeling a little tired and fragile, just chatting away to my friend in an otherwise empty bar, when in walked three lovely people who proceeded to tell me the story of their night. They happened to be The Ettes, and instead of performing in Boston as they were supposed to that night, were having a drink at 200 Orchard. I mean, I love my work, and love working in one of my favourite bars in NYC, but I don't think I would have chosen drinking there instead of playing a gig...
So after serving them few drinks and introducing ourselves, it appears that The Ettes had been asked to support Imelda May on her US tour. Just fresh off another tour, they packed up there gear, rented a van and set out on the road again. Along the way from Nashville to Boston, a small interview was posted HERE. A little tongue in cheek, a little playful, but nothing harmful at all... But apparently Imelda May didn't appreciate it and kicked them off the tour. Yes, kicked them off the tour while they were already in Connecticut, having driven all the way from Nashville that day for the first gig.

Coco (Lindsay) explained that the journalist had taken her out of context, and basically changed her words so they sounded like she was telling Imelda to watch her back, but even so, the article just sounds playful! Was it really worth actually kicking them off her tour? What was she worried about? That they would actually be better than her and literally blow her off the stage?! Who gets scared of a little fun competition? Don't you actually want to have a good support band to warm up the crowd before you go on? And also, does she Google herself everyday and scrutinize every article that says something about her? Because this tiny article would never have been noticed if she didn't! And how many people actually bought tickets for the shows because they wanted to see The Ettes? What are Imelda's team going to do about that?!

Sometimes I just wonder what happened to rock n roll. Who cares about image? It's all about the bloody music... Or apparently it isn't for some musicians...

To me it all sounds like a big pile of terrible PR BS on the part of Imelda May and her team. Having had the pleasure to actually meet the members of The Ettes, and talk to them for a few hours, I found that they are the most lovely, down to earth and interesting people, and obviously never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. They just wanted to play their music for their fans.

I just had to write about this as it made me so angry last night. I hope The Ettes get back to Nashville safely, are able to get some of the money they spent on all of this back, and are able to forget all of this crap. They didn't deserve this to happen to them. Even the journalist who wrote the article is mortified as he never meant it to be taken that way... I guess some "stars" think way too highly of themselves.

I still don't know who Imelda May is and really don't have any need to find out.

I hope they make it back to NYC soon - they were an absolute pleasure to meet and talk to, and made me want to visit Nashville even more now!