Transgender band changes venue after protest threat in Scottsdale

Transgendered singer Genesis P-Orridge and band Psychic TV are slated to perform in Tempe tonight, after their appearance at Anderson’s Fifth Estate in Scottsdale was canceled in response to protest threats.

Scottsdale bar owner pulls transgender band plans

Scottsdale bar owner fights discrimination claim

The band is slated to perform a 21-and-over show at 8 p.m. tonight at The Sets nightclub, 93 E. Southern Ave.

Initially, Psychic TV had been slated to perform at the Fifth Estate nightclub, 6820 E. Fifth Ave. in Old Town Scottsdale, but bar owner Tom Anderson on Friday abruptly canceled the show, saying he’s concerned about threats of protests and disruptions by transgenedered activists and is worried about patrons’ safety.

Anderson banned transgendered people from the bar last fall after receiving dozens of complaints from female customers, who objected to having “men in dresses” using the women’s restroom. There also were problems with having transgendered people using the men’s restroom, because men harassed them and took their pictures, Anderson has said.

On Monday, Anderson said he decided to cancel after receiving messages from potential protesters who invoked the Stonewall Riots, a series of clashes in 1969 between gays and transgendered bar patrons and New York police. The event is considered a key moment in the gay rights movement.

Michele deLaFreniere, a transgendered woman and chairwoman of Scottsdale’s Human Relations Commission, said several transgendered people had planned to attend the show at the Fifth Estate. Activists had planned to distribute fliers with the symbol for unisex bathrooms inside, with those who might not have been allowed access holding a candlelight vigil outside, she said.

“We were not going to disrupt the show, whatsoever,” deLaFreniere said.

Anderson said he booked the performance more than a month ago, and was not aware of the nature of the band. Even so, he said he had planned to let the show proceed in a gesture to the transgendered community, but canceled after the protest threats.

“Things are going to have to settle down before things like that happen again,” Anderson said.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office began investigating whether Anderson’s prohibition on transgendered people amounts to unlawful discrimination after receiving a complaint filed by deLaFreniere, who was denied entry to the club.

Meanwhile, P-Orridge, in a release Monday, lashed out at Anderson, saying that when the band was booked to play the Fifth Estate it was “completely unaware of the ongoing civil rights issues and the local controversy surrounding the club’s owner’s victimization of transgender persons.”

“We felt, as a band, we simply could not be seen to endorse Tom Anderson’s policies by appearing at his club, despite his offer to treat me as an exception,” P-Orridge said. “It would be an unforgivable betrayal of so many people’s trust in my integrity of spirit.”

P-Orridge said she has experienced problems elsewhere in the past with being barred from restrooms because of her transgender identity.

“Transgender women cannot use male bathrooms without genuine fear of harassment, ridicule, humiliation and violence,” P-Orridge said.