And so it starts...

Stars, a Canadian indie-pop act most famous for the song "Take Me to the Riot" has become the first of what will surely be a dozen or more indie rock acts to threaten a boycott of Arizona over the crazy new immigration bill which more-or-less requires cops to profile the apparently Mexican and possibly illegal.

Stars tweeted it, Pitchfork posted it, others are joining in, including Major Lazer. Electric Mustache and The Republic already posted the news.

Here's my question: How many times has Stars played Arizona in the last couple years? Or ever? My girlfriend likes the band, so I follow their movements a little, and I don't recall them playing here anytime recently. Also, they already had their tour announced without an Arizona date.

So, yeah, this seems like a cheap publicity stunt (by Canadians!) but I don't doubt we'll see more of it. Arizona is, for good reason, an easy mark right now, and we're probably going to take some beatings from left-leaning bands seeking to "activate the base," as they say in politics. It's a shame bands can't understand that it isn't necessarily their audience at fault, but whatever, we probably deserve it.

As of publishing time the band did not respond to tweets asking when they last played here.