Credit: Joecuba
Calgary-based post-punk band Viet Cong was due to perform in Oberlin later this month at Dionysus Disco. The promoter for the show, however, announced this week that he’s canceling the event due to the band’s “problematic” name.

Promoter Ivan Krasnov apologized and drew up a lengthy statement on the move:

“As the person behind booking this band, I would first and foremost like to apologize on both my and my booking organization’s behalf for inviting a band with a name that deeply offends and hurts Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities, both in Oberlin and beyond. I acknowledge the problematic nature of a band naming themselves ‘Viet Cong’ and extend my apology to anyone hurt or made uncomfortable by the name and its connotations.”

The statement goes on to reel in broader apologies to the region’s Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities, as well as to recognize past protest movements against the Vietnam War.

There’s no word yet from the band on their take.

This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2015.

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.

One reply on “Oberlin College Venue Dionysus Disco Cancels Viet Cong Concert Due to Band Name”

  1. Astonishingly dumb. Many names from the punk era were designed to offend, and of course many band names have four-letter words. At least with a name like “Khmer Rouge” and the mass murder they were responsible for, you could see the point. But many Americans openly supported the Viet Cong, who became one of the members of the present Viet government. How can this be seen as offensive?

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