IRISH BAND OTHERKIN have a very busy tour schedule lately. Since the 30th of September, the boys have been playing shows across the UK and are entering the European leg of their tour tomorrow, starting in Rotterdam.
When bands play every night, they’re bound to see some inappropriate behaviour in their audiences. Most of the time, this kind of stuff gets ignored. However, Otherkin encountered a fan who was very upset by an incident at their show and they could not keep silent about it.
They started off their statement on Instagram and Twitter by letting fans know that it was one of their favourite shows they’ve done in the UK and that the fans “were in it from the off and didn’t let up once.”
They continued:
We need to talk about an incident that happened last night: a girl in tears because she was groped in the mosh pit and apologising to me because she was worried that she was ruining our night by mentioning it. It was f**king heartbreaking. This is completely not on; not at an Otherkin show, not anywhere.
We play loud, fast music. Mosh pits happen, circle pits happen; but if you think you can use either of those as an excuse to force yourself upon someone trying to enjoy themselves at our show then you best f**k off to the basement you came from because you are certainly not welcome at an Otherkin gig.
They then went on to ensure female fans that they want to make their audience as safe as possible for them.
Girls! We love seeing you shredding it in the mosh pit and if this ever happens to you at a gig of ours, please let us or one of our crew know and we’ll kick the prick out straight away. This shit needs to get stamped out of live music.
The band’s statement has since been reported on by giant international music publications like NME and Alternative Press.
The post was received well, with fans thanking the band for standing up for them and calling out this kind of behaviour. Otherkin will be back in Ireland for two gigs in The Button Factory in Dublin and Roisin Dubh in Galway in mid-December.
