Ladies Of Tigers Jaw And Pity Sex Speak Out Over On-Stage Violation

Seriously, men at concerts -- what the fuck is our problem? Are we really so deluded as to our rights and the rights of other human beings that we think it's acceptable behaviour to force ourselves on unsuspecting female musicians and audience members at shows because we, what, think they owe us something?

I repeat -- what is our fucking problem?

You'll have to excuse the coarse language, but this is apparently a very real issue, and one that we are hearing about all too often lately (try not to think about all the incidents that don't get reported), whether through Iggy Azalea and her admission that she is forced to wear numerous undergarments to prevent wayward digits from violating her person, or Aaron Lewis from Staind vocally chastising a crowd of "molesters" for feeling up a teenage girl, or even the rare gender reversal of a female fan rushing a male performer, when The Story So Far's Parker Cannon was violated in Texas last year.

Now, yet another disturbing incident has come to light involving Brianna Collins of Tigers Jaw and Britty Drake of Pity Sex, in which a member of the audience at their show at Brooklyn's Music Hall Of Williamsburg rushed up on-stage and attempted to kiss Collins before actually making non-consensual contact with Drake.

Collins has consequently spoken of the incident in a Tumblr post:

"Last night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, someone came on stage and very forcibly tried to kiss me, and actually did kiss Britty while she was playing. Another person from the tour was kissed while taking a photo… This tour is the first time something like this has happened to me, and I want to directly address it," she wrote in the post.

"IT IS NEVER OKAY TO TOUCH SOMEONE WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. Ever. I felt so upset and violated, as did the others who this happened to... Touching someone without their consent is not only upsetting for that person, but is also a crime. We all need to respect each other's space — whether it's someone in the band or someone crowd surfing.

"I just want to play music with my friends and I shouldn't have to be worried whether or not every person stage diving is going to do something like that. I don't want it to come down to having to say that there's no stage diving allowed at our shows, but if stuff like this keeps happening and I feel unsafe and uncomfortable when we play, I don't know any other solution.

"So please - DO NOT EVER touch/kiss/grab someone that has not given you consent to do so. You are not entitled to that no matter what the situation is. Be a decent human being and keep your hands to yourself."

Drake has expressed her feelings over Twitter, while peers such as Kevin Devine and Paramore's Hayley Williams also had a thing or two to say on the matter:

A photograph of the stage-crasher attempting to kiss Collins is currently doing the rounds on the web, taken by photographer Sean O'Kane. A word of warning -- if you're sensitive to issues of consent and personal violation, you may find it pretty upsetting. It's not a graphic photo, but its elements -- Collins' expression, the visible force with which the stage crasher is pulling her towards him, the laughing bro in the background -- are truly disturbing.

Two more pics by O'Kane have been published, along with a first-hand account of the incident from Nerve writer Jillian Lucas.

"As the first chords of 'The Sun' started playing, I danced, I swayed, I bopped my head, waiting to hear the first harmony of Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins fill the hall," Lucas wrote. "Instead, as fans climbed over the edge of the stage and ran towards the mic, her part of the harmony was cut off, as a guy attempted to grab her and kiss her.

"She finished the song (and the rest of the set) understandably upset. Ben came to the mic with a disappointed look on his face. 'To the fucking asshole that just tried to kiss Brianna,' he started, 'I think you'd better leave.' The crowd erupted, starting a chant of 'Asshole, asshole!' as security dealt with the situation. 'Just because I'm up here and I'm a girl,' Brianna hissed into the microphone stand that sat in front of her keyboard, 'doesn't give you permission to come into my personal space like that.' "

There really are no words, except "stop it". Just... stop it. Regardless of gender, this behaviour cannot go on.

Anyway, before you get too depressed by all this, enjoy some Collins and Drake for the right reasons -- their abundant musical talent -- instead, to remind you that the world is not an inherently shitty place, even if it feels like it sometimes.