Music

Psychobilly ban

Bunkhouse proceeds cautiously following stabbing incident

Aaron Thompson

Nearly a month after a stabbing during a psychobilly performance left a Bunkhouse crowd, according to one witness, “covered in blood,” the Downtown venue has yet to resume hosting acts specializing in rockabilly’s rowdier younger cousin. But a booking agent for the venue insists the ban is only temporary.

“The owners got freaked out,” says the agent, who asked not to be identified by name. “They don’t want a bad reputation to be associated with the Bunkhouse, so they’re letting things die down a little bit.”

In the wake of the incident, the venue has also installed security cameras and employed guards to patrol its interior during shows to help prevent further violence.

The stabbing, which occurred during Austria’s Zombie Ghost Train’s September 9 set, was apparently the result of a longstanding grudge between two audience members. According to witnesses, one pulled a knife and stabbed the other in the neck. “My friends and I were drinking and enjoying the tunes ... and then everyone started to rush out of the Bunkhouse, and we looked at our clothes and they were covered in blood,” says one woman who attended the show and whose boyfriend helped carry the victim outside.

The victim, who was treated at University Medical Center, is expected to recover fully from his injuries, while Metro police reportedly remain interested in speaking to a man who goes by the name “Scotty.”

The origins of psychobilly date to the early 1980s, when The Cramps, The Gun Club and, later, the Reverend Horton Heat began blending punk, rockabilly and, often, horror-themed imagery. Vegas band Bare Knuckle, a self-described psychobilly outfit on its MySpace page, was forced to relocate its scheduled September 16 Bunkhouse bill to Bugsy’s Rock Room.

Phone and e-mail inquiries to Bunkhouse representatives were not returned by press time.

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