NAPALM DEATH THREATEN DESTRUCTION OF FAMED BRITISH MUSEUM; GIG CANCELED

March 29, 2013 2:48 PM

Seminal UK grind outfit Napalm Death were scheduled to play a special one-off performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum in collaboration with an experimental ceramics resident. This performance was to "...be amplified 'through an experimental sculptural sound system' made by ceramic artist Keith Harrison. In a lingering, two-fingered salute to safety concerns, the press release explains that ceramic tile sculpture 'will potentially disintegrate as the performance progresses'."

Sadly, this show, entitled Bustleholme, was called off due to "...fears the high decibel levels could damage the fabric of the building'."

The ceramics resident, Keith Harrison, has produced a number of live performances in which clays are converted to ceramics using industrial and domestic electrical systems. A few short videos of his work are available, including an audio performance of vinyl and ceramic recordings and a demonstration of color-coded clay baked using electrical elements. An upcoming performance will feature a clay replica of Keith Moon's drumkit being detonated.

posted by Existential Dread (13 comments total)

"...fears the high decibel levels could damage the fabric of the building."

So. Fucking. Metal.
posted by Broseph at 3:00 PM on March 29, 2013 [8 favorites]

Normally, when I hear "fabric of the building" I think of bricks and mortar and so on, but the V&A is in fact filled with lots of actual fabric. They have the most comprehensive fashion collection in the world, four centuries' worth. Is cloth susceptible to loud noise?
posted by Fnarf at 3:04 PM on March 29, 2013

"Hotblack Desiato could not be reached for comment."
posted by Freon at 3:24 PM on March 29, 2013 [10 favorites]

The hell did the dude make out of ceramic, a Death Star?

The Dadaists/Futurists were right: Art Museums are too conservative to be useful. Have the show in some abandoned lot. And let's rock the f*ck out! If something gets destroyed, well than right on!
posted by alex_skazat at 3:35 PM on March 29, 2013

Can't they get the Queen to override the cancellation? I hear she's been way into Napalm Death since she picked up a copy of From Enslavement to Obliteration in 1988 on a whim while flipping through vinyl at some music store in Chelsea.
posted by mcmile at 3:43 PM on March 29, 2013 [5 favorites]

Forgot to credit the article I pulled the title from.
posted by Existential Dread at 4:37 PM on March 29, 2013

Reminds me of this 1984 Einstürzende Neubauten gig at London's ICA.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:21 PM on March 29, 2013

If it's too loud, your building's too fragile.
posted by fredludd at 5:56 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

I've been in museums where they kind of weird out when you give the artifacts more than a cursory glance, so this kind of surprises me. Back in the day I spent some solid time laying on the floor of the V&A, photographing the bottom of some medieval furniture and I think the docents just stepped over me without batting an eye.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:41 PM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

Reminds me of this 1984 Einstürzende Neubauten gig at London's ICA.

"We never had a jack-hammer on stage!"
posted by homunculus at 8:37 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is cloth susceptible to loud noise?

It's susceptible to broken glass.
posted by fraula at 1:43 AM on March 30, 2013

oh man, I got all excited, but then realized I was thinking of Nailbomb. Though Napalm Death is cool too, yo.
posted by kaibutsu at 8:22 AM on March 30, 2013

I feel a compromise can be reached. The museum should stipulate that the band can only play five songs, and all of them must be You Suffer.
posted by vanar sena at 10:50 AM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]