Starbucks Spat Theatre

November 17, 2002 8:56 PM

I've never had a cup of coffee in my life. Can't stand the smell. However, if I were able to watch Reverend Billy's Starbucks Spat Theatre I'd be living there 24/7. Has anyone witnessed one of these performances? [via an email i got from bud]
posted by dobbs (15 comments total)

jesus christ - go cure cancer or something, will ya, billy?
posted by tristeza at 9:07 PM on November 17, 2002

I much prefer this Reverend Billy. Catch him live if you can. It's worth the trip. Amen!
posted by Ynoxas at 9:38 PM on November 17, 2002

"Well of course Disney is a famous union-buster. Stories from its employees are legion... the relentless cleanliness..."

Testify Billy! Get those unions in there fighting for employee's right to stink like a tuna!

I don't really care for Disney or Starbucks but I don't think this freak show will change anything.
posted by arse_hat at 9:40 PM on November 17, 2002

He had a huge protest in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to stop what was thought to be a Starbucks moving in. Starbucks denied that they had any plans for a store there, but everybody I know who was at the protest said it was fun.
posted by destro at 9:52 PM on November 17, 2002

I had the pleasure of seeing Rev. Billy's guerrilla theatre in a documentary I recently attended. Also featured in the film: The Billboard Liberation Front.
posted by pfafflin at 10:17 PM on November 17, 2002

Reminds me of this little gem.
posted by Ljubljana at 11:10 PM on November 17, 2002

Funny how when I lived in Seattle you wouldn't catch me dead in a Starbucks but now that I've moved to Floor-ee-duh I nearly pee myself with happiness whenever I walk into one. It could be that I miss Seattle but more than likely it's because good coffee in this butt-hole-of-a-state is considered to be whatever you find in the bottom of the pot at the corner 7-11. So (shouting in my best N. FL drawl) Rev. Billy - I REBUKE YOU AND CAST YOU OUT....because I'm, uh, well, a sell-out to corporate coffee. *oh, the shame*
posted by photoslob at 11:50 PM on November 17, 2002

I stopped in a Starbucks once but the burnt smell chased me out and I haven't been to one since. Was that really the coffee?
posted by HTuttle at 11:57 PM on November 17, 2002

HTuttle: I'm curious, are you a coffee drinker? I've heard people refer to Charbuck's. But it seems to me Peet's is generally much more charred than Starbucks, and Peet's is supposed to be the 'leet coffee drinker's coffee. So is there a contingency of golden-brown-roasted coffee enthusiasts, too?
posted by shoos at 12:05 AM on November 18, 2002

I drink a fair amount a of coffee, but don't consider myself a selective drinker at all, but I can appreciate a decent brewed cup. I've never heard of Peet's, is that a west coast thing? I'm NorthEast.
I also wonder if the burnt aspect is more the aroma than the flavor but never had one so I can't say. Certainly flavored coffees SMELL more flavored than they ever TASTE. But I don't know if I could ever get the burnt aroma, (let alone the higher price), past my nose.
P.S. I have lived with several diehard coffee fanatics, and they all swore against Starbucks brew.
posted by HTuttle at 12:31 AM on November 18, 2002

With all the milky shit that you get at Starbucks, how can anyone tell what the coffee tastes like? Frothy kids' drinks with caffiene...

We are blessed here in Wellington with a large number of independant coffee roasters supplying their own and others' cafes. Havana, L'Affare, Coffee Supreme, Fuel, ... Starbucks doesn't seem to be making much headway against them - as long as it's not through underpricing, any cafe they kill wasn't up to much anyway.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:05 AM on November 18, 2002

And just to get the thread slightly back on track - The Rev is potentially funny, but I don't see this achieving anything except irritating the patrons once they cop to what's going on. Nobody likes sanctimony. Not many people like street theatre. Sanctimonious street theatre wouldn't be my method of choice for persuasion. Seems more like a way for the participants to vent than a constructive reaction to me.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:08 AM on November 18, 2002

I think the people that frequent my local Starbucks would get a kick out of it.

Course, that's on a college campus.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 2:03 AM on November 18, 2002

Heh, cool link, dobbs! I'm tempted to get an "Anti-Starbucks" mug, or maybe give one away for Xmas. And now, the obligatory, ubiquitous link to a certain... Consumer Whore.
posted by Shane at 6:54 AM on November 18, 2002

HTuttle: yeah, Peet's started on the west coast, but I know they've got them in Chicago, too, at least.
posted by shoos at 1:33 PM on November 18, 2002