During a M83 performance in Columbus, Ohio last weekend, frontman Anthony Gonzalez physically accosted a guard once security forces began forcefully removing fans from the stage. As the show wound down, Gonzalez had invited the crowd onto the stage, in violation of security protocol; when security stepped in and began to clear the stage, Gonzalez flew into a rage, slapping and kicking a security guard.

If Jay Reatard’s Twitter is any indication, Gonzalez’s kicks and slaps weren’t enough to sustain serious damage (claims Reatard: “Homeboy in M83 has the weakest slap I have ever seen”), but Gonzalez issued an apology to the guard in question on the band’s MySpace page today, stating that “I sincerely apologize for the way I handled the situation, and in particular for trying to physically interfere with security staff at the venue who I fully accept were only trying to do their job of ensuring proper protection for both the band and members of the audience.” The full statement is available here; M83’s next show is at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan this weekend, where hopefully no security guards will be harmed.

A friend of The Tripwire who goes under the production credit of Music Is Magic recently sent us a mix of songs he mashed-up. Included in the mix were a bevy of indie staples we prescribe to, including Gang Gang Dance, M83, Black Dice, Burial and MGMT among others. But the track “Gupdegup” mixes arguably three of our favorite summer jams together to make what we are deeming the perfect track to escape the city to.
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Moby’s been feeling inspired lately, and we’re about to benefit from it — his ninth studio album, Wait For Me, hits stores June 30, and we have the video for his first single “Shot In The Back Of The Head” right here, right now.
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In the wake of the ever increasing pool of festivals and the possible merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the idea of paying $200 to see live music during a recession resulted in our pockets slapping us back into reality. But to be fair, the Sasquatch Festival — presented by Live Nation and tickets sold by Ticketmaster — is one of the cheaper weekend-long festivals and the line-up could quite possibly be the best yet.
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With Saturdays=Youth, M83 (aka Anthony Gonzalez) decided to forego the 80s references and instead, just take us back to the decade with an album of nostalgic fondness. Like the soft-focused mythology of eternal summers and young love of a John Hughes movies, Gonzalez dedicates our pick for seventh best album of 2007 to “all the friends, music, movies, joints, and crazy teachers that made my teenage years so great!” Or as contributor Kim Robinson put it, the layered synths of M83’s Saturdays=Youth “made me feel all John Hughes 80s insecure, naïve and happy all at the same time.”
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