It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Four drunk men, arms linked, yelling obscenities and knocking people over.
A series of incidents at a weekend show has seen Canberra band Moaning Lisa take a stand against obnoxious behaviour at gigs.
![Canberra Band Moaning Lisa frontwomen Charlotte Versegi and Hayley Manwaring have spoken about anti-social behaviour at gigs.](/web/20161203162041im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/0/7/7/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gszpup.png/1480673684061.jpg)
A video of musicians Hayley Manwaring and Charlotte Versegi speaking against "buffoons" has been viewed more than 9700 times and attracted a string of supportive comments since being uploaded to Facebook on Sunday.
"We love a drink, we love to get plastered, we go to shows, I don't think I've ever hit someone or thrown a beer at someone on stage," Versegi said in the video.
"It's not that hard to not be a douchebag and we don't think our standards are too high with that."
Manwaring added: "What we are asking is that all of the guys out there who think this is not my problem, this isn't me, it's them, we really need you to be assessing the situation."
Transit Bar booking agent Jemist said people should be able to enjoy music in a safe and secure environment. He said people with concerns about the behaviour of others at live music events should flag the issue with security, bar staff or the promoter.
"We're lucky enough in Transit Bar we generally don't attract that behaviour for those type of shows," he said.
"We're fully behind [Melbourne band] Camp Cope and Moaning Lisa about getting the word out that you shouldn't be behaving in a way that makes other people feel unsafe."
Speaking this week, Versegi said there was no excuse for behaviour that negatively impacted on others.
"Even if you look at things like patriarchy, male entitlement, Australian drinking culture and toxic masculinity, and all of that stuff, it still doesn't excuse it," she said.
"I feel like we need to just stop having these double standards for these people thinking it's because they're larrikins, or it's their background, or they're just bogans, or they're just dudes having a dude time."
Moaning Lisa has come up with a safe signal of distress: three fingers held up.
"If anything constructive is going to come out of what we've said it's that [safe signal], and it's the venues are going to start using it and maybe other bands are going to start using it," Manwaring said.
MusicACT president Gavin Findlay said Canberra's live music scene was in regular contact with venues and security agencies about how best to prevent antisocial behaviour.
"This issue hasn't been raised with us yet so it's something we'll take on board and offer an opportunity for venues and artists to talk about it," he said.
The government and ACT Policing launched its Safe Summer Campaign on Friday, with Police and Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman saying it was everyone's role to ensure community safety.
An ACT Policing spokeswoman said the force's regional targeting team dealt mainly with reports of assaults, disturbance and intoxicated or suspicious people.
"We encourage anyone feeling threatened or unsafe at a live music venue to contact police on 131 444," she said.