What if you’re the only one not being entertained?
One or two guys heckling can be jerkish, but at what point can a critical mass emerge where enough people are not entertained that it becomes a free-for-all? Half the audience? 40%? 65%?
I didn’t mean to come across as trying to promote or justify heckling, necessarily. Though I can see how my question might read that way. I was just trying to point out that heckling happens more often when entertainers aren’t entertaining. Especially if the crowd has paid to see something other than what they are getting.
Mine was a serious question though. At some point, there may be enough disgruntled customers that heckling just becomes a mass movement. I wonder where that point is.
Fair enough. I’ll write up a grant proposal so we can study it full time. 
The only regrettable heckling I ever did was at a Pere Ubu gig in '89. They had been reunited for about year or so at that time, putting out decent music that IMO didn’t satisfy like their '76 - '82 era did. I was ripped on acid and yelling shit at the great, portly vocalist David Thomas between songs, but at least none of it was, in any way, derogatory. Mainly I was yelling abstruse shit like “spontaneous similitude!” (a phrase from his “Monster at Winter Lake” solo album), and after a while DT just looks down at me and goes “ok who is this wise guy?”
A year before was watching The Fall and beer bottles were getting thrown and Mark and Brix E. Smith.
That sucked.
The bottle throwing.
Their version “US 80’s, 90’s”, though, so rocked the joint.
You have good taste in music, Eddie.
And a tip of the hat to you, sir.
In 2002, saw Nile in Seattle. They’re totally shredding technical metal with lyrics that explore ancient Egypt, exclusively.
At one point I yelled out “Power Slave!”, in reference to Judas Priest’s mind-blowingly sucky album that also had ancient Egyptian themes.
Surprised at all the laughs I got - even Karl Sanders (guitarist, vox, main songwriter) sputtered out a suppressed laugh.
(them and Napalm Death - 'twas a fine gig!)
One of the best band retorts to heckling: back in the 80s, watching Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra. Some doofus up front kept pestering JJ - just wouldn’t keep quiet - so JJ went right up to him and very loudly and clearly went, “SHUT THE FUCK UP, GOOF!!!”
Everyone applauded and hooted.
Oh, God yes. Jimmy Carr is brilliant with hecklers. He likes to chat with the heckler, get his - it’s almost always a guy - name and occupation and whatnot, no doubt using the time to come up with a viciously funny slam. I saw one show where he was being heckled while responding to another heckler, and without pause said “I’m sorry sir, I’m going to have to put you on asshole waiting.” Then, after he’d delivered one of his classic putdowns to the original heckler, he turned to the other and said, “If you want my comeback, you’ll have to scrape off your Mum’s teeth”.
Senator Al Frankenstein was in my office about a year ago. I answered a question incorrectly, he was merciless in heckling me. He’s a good Senator but he was not kind.
???
Judas Priest never had an album called Power Slave. There was an album called Powerslave, but it was neither by Priest nor sucky.
You mean Iron Maiden, sir. And not altogether unsucky, but certainly not mind-blowingly sucky. I would say 70% awesome with some super sucky filler.
This thread’s not quite dead yet!
I had to post this relevant VICE article: [Comedians Tell Us About Their Worst Hecklers
LOL meanwhile posts 50 and 51 somehow got by my radar…yeah…wow - mixing up Priest and Maiden like that! Quite funny, actually.
Like Powerslave all one word now.
Comedians Tell Us About Their Worst Hecklers
Cool - the Jamie Loftus one was my fave. The Adam Newman one was a little bit of a bring-down, though. But hey - shit happens, I guess.
Saw the Who once, the opening band was this new group called The Clash. They sang this song called “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Audience opinion, expressed rather loudly, went for the latter option.
Interesting - saw The Who and The Clash in Seattle in '82, but the Clash weren’t exactly new then. T Bone Burnett opened for them, and he was getting the gears from everyone.
Damn, it makes feel good to have been heckled by people who had taken time out of their lives especially to heckle us*, not this amateur pick-up heckling of whoever happens to be around.
*Seriously, the more I think about it, the more special it makes me feel. We touched someone!