To compensate, fans were invited onstage to dance and fill in on the mic for few songs while the singer rested, but that didn't last for long. After four blond girls sing an extremely off-key rendition of Madonna's "Into the Groove" (the band's only cover), security went going nuts over insurance liabilities.
Donathon begs for one more song ("Fer Sure") to send the crowd home somewhat happy, but he's denied. As a large African-American bouncer herds the audience out, fans begin repeating the song's chorus of "Fuck me in the backseat!" and "Don-a-than."
Ben Collins chalks up Donathon's near-fight and aggro behavior to his frustration at not being able to sing ("It's like taking the strings from a guitarist") and, more importantly, being burnt out from stress and worn out from touring constantly over the past year.
"Part of the allure of this band is what happened tonight, that with Chris Fucking Donathon, anything happens with this kid and they feel that and know it. And tonight anything did happen," Collins says. "As their managers and as their friends, it's up to us to look out for Hector and Chris and make sure things don't do too far. It's at the point right now where they need to go wrap up this tour, go home, and take a long break."
Things are calmed down by the time members of Chronic Future and The Medic Droid are loading their gear into vans and trailers parked outside the stage door. Standing across the street from the hotel where the late Dee Dee Ramone crashed, the now-mellow Donathon's got a 40 of Budweiser and is holding court with a dozen fans.
Zach Daniell and Kiki Fausel share their story with the drunken singer. He's back into Chris Fucking Donathon mode and replies with good-natured sass.
"You guys are both fucking gay. Totally cheesy," he says. "Love it. Love it."
Donathon's also assuring his fans that The Medic Droid's next show in Gotham won't end as badly.
"We'll be back again, and next time, seriously, next time we're gonna have the [vocoders] going. I'm gonna be singing, I'll even be spinning the mic around," he says. "It'll be crazy."
"I'll even fuck the sky," he adds, falling to the sidewalk and humping the air.
oh shit i can't believe i havent seen this article until now! i was at the blender that night, and i had started the chanting of fer sure as we were kicked out by that fucking security guard.
however, medic droid broke up yesterday. something happened between chris and hector i think.
Just read the article and was totally pumped to get to a computer & listen to these guys. Expecting music that was new and fresh and totally awesome. Um, sounds like pop punk to me. With the same beats and the same nasally voice, am I missing something?
It's not a question of haters (or sockpuppets pretending to be fans rushing to the defense of the band, for that matter). Make an outline of the article and you quickly find there's very little of a factual nature. The writer tries to make all this boring stuff sound interesting, but see how his hyperbole is supported: he doesn't describe a rollercoaster ride to fame or a "meet cute," despite claiming that he does. The supposedly wild antics of the band goes no farther than the singer lifting up his shirt. The alleged debauched ambisexuality of the crowds at the clubs they play deosn't sound especially wild but, as with pretty much everything else in the article, we're just supposed to take the writer's word for it (even though he seems to just be taking the band's word for it). If you like the band, fine (I went to their Myspace page and personally I liked their "hit" better when Toni Basil did it as "Oh Mickey"). But the article is a big hunk of nothing that smacks of payola.
omg...i'm very happy you wrote about the medic droid cuz their my favorite band and they really put on a great show...
Don't listen to the haterrs, just listen to the music. its so good and chris donathan is so cute
This is one of the most blatant instances of empty hype I've seen in a while. The writer makes no attempt to verify the frankly unimpressive claims made by the band and their management (e.g., that they had lots of interest from major labels before choosing to be on local trust fund label) and I can't help but smell a big pile of bullshit. Is this supposed to convince Phoenix residents that they're missing out on something because they're allegedly REALLY, REALLY popular elsewhere? A bunch of Myspace hits, eh? I wonder if they hooked up with one of the services that offers to use their programs to boost the number of plays your Myspace tunes receives or whether they did it themselves.
Great job, 'New Times'! I was so stoked to see The Medic Droid on the cover. They are a phenomenal band and really stand out from the indie rock scene that seems to dominate the Valley. It's awesome that such an innovative duo is representing AZ so well! Keep it up, and good luck to Modern Art!
I've heard these guy's album. The production is really great. I'm in my late 20's and the overall vibe of the band is definitely geared towards a younger audience so I personally can't give a fair review. My younger sister likes these guys a lot. I wish this story had more info about their label and what it is doing in the local music community.
Either way, no need to hate on em. There's a New Times every week. I'm sure somebody else you think is a fag will get the cover soon enough. ;)
Peace
Honestly, it was an excellent show, and this band is talented. Please, don't look at their younger fan-base. The true fans are really awesome and dedicated. And, the band plays a funky beat, and Donathon is a great guy and a fantastic vocalist. Not to mention Hector is the sweetest man ever.
Is there seriously nothing else going on in this city that this crappy band gets the cover of the new times? did you guys listen to their music before writing this? my guess is probably not. can we please get coverage of bands that you don't have to be a 13 year old girl in order to like them?
What a couple of fags. Certainly not worthy of a cover story in New Times. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
