Shirley Manson doesn't like the beach, and she truly hates beach balls. This is especially true at a Garbage concert. Instead of trying to distract the audience by bouncing a ball, maybe pay attention to the music. That's what Manson believes, anyway.
At a recent performance at Australia's Good Things Festival, one concert-goer repeatedly threw beach balls until Manson was completely done with the situation. She spoke directly with the audience member and left no doubt about her anger.
She said, "Big guy with your big f–kin’ beach ball. What a f–kin’ douchebag...You’re a f–kin’ middle-aged man in a f–kin’ ridiculous hat, and you’re a f–kin’ f–kface. I want, literally, to ask people to f–kin’ punch you in the f–kin’ face. But you know what? I’m a lady, so I won’t."
Shirley Manson of Garbage minces no words in letting fans know how she feels about beach balls
As stated before, Shirley Manson very much hates beach balls. One can assume that no beach balls were tossed around after she vented, at least no reports exist of the same. Plus, while Manson might have gotten some pushback about what she said and her anger, she wasn't about to apologize.
Posting on the social media network Threads, she wrote, "I make NO APOLOGIES whatsoever for getting annoyed at beach balls at shows. I joined a band because I HATED THE F–KING BEACH. I joined a band because I wanted to listen to Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure and be dark and beautiful."
There was no official response from Robert Smith or Siouxsie Sioux on whether they also hate the beach and beach balls, though one might believe they could because their bands putting on a concert near the ocean seems far-fetched.
As for Garbage, they performed two other shows over the next couple of days at the Good Things Festival in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney. It was the band's first shows on the continent since 2016.
The setlist included tracks from their most recent two albums as well as "Only Happy When It Rains,” “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!),” “Stupid Girl,” and “When I Grow Up."
Moreover, Shirley Manson is completely correct. While there is a novelty to fans throwing balloons or other non-dangerous items, not all audience members want to join in on the fun. Most of there to enjoy the songs and the performance, and constantly looking around large balloons is not fun. The music is what matters.