The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the American band with a title as intriguing as its music, performs at Dunedin venue Backstage on Tuesday. Probably . . .
The qualifier is required given the occasional non-appearance of group members at gigs over the years.
There have also been fights among band-mates, the most recent occurring at a London show last month.
According to a report in NME, itself the subject of abuse on the night from lead singer and songwriter Anton Newcombe, police were called to the London Forum after a member of the band got hurt in the backstage scuffle.
"The altercation erupted after guitarist Frankie Emerson, who appeared drunk on stage, swung a microphone and broke it during the show. An obviously annoyed Newcombe told him on stage he would have to pay for its replacement," NME writes.
"Later, when the band left the stage before their encore, Emerson stayed on, rambling into the microphone, saying: 'Testing, one two, one two.'
Percussionist Joel Gion tried to diffuse [sic] the situation by bidding goodnight to the crowd but Emerson continued unperturbed, exclaiming: 'Don't shut front of house man, you f . . .'.
"The rest of the group returned to play their final song before leaving the stage to applause. It was then after the gig that a band ruckus erupted backstage and police were called to diffuse the situation [sic]. However, no arrests were made . . .
"A spokesman from the band's label played down the incident, explaining: 'These things do happen on tour when the band are tired and been away from home too long."
'Named in tribute to Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones guitarist who was found dead, aged 27, in a swimming pool in July 1969, and in acknowledgment of his role in introducing Eastern culture and music to Western rock 'n' roll, the Brian Jonestown Massacre also name-drops the 1978 mass killing in Guyana orchestrated by cult leader Jim Jones.
The release earlier this year of My Bloody Underground, which boasts song titles such as Bring Me the Head of Paul McCartney on Heather Mills' Wooden Peg and Automatic Faggot for the People brings to 13 the number of albums the Brian Jonestown Massacre has put out since forming in San Francisco in 1990.
Newcombe's taste for psychedelia, twisted pop, noise-scapes and artful experimentation has been apparent since the group's 1995 debut Methodrone.
Yet, much of his musical output has been overshadowed by the release in 2004 of the movie DIG!, a documentary filmed over seven years (1996-2002) by director Ondi Timoner.
In DIG!, the friendship and rivalry between the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, another promising United States band of the time, is explored - as is the balance between creativity and commercial success.
Newcombe is presented as idealistic and self-destructive, while Dandy Warhols' front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor is more attuned to the corporate world.
Though Newcombe has decried the portrayal, DIG! has served to raise the profile of the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
As one fan writes on a recent blog: "As much as Anton doesn't like DIG!, we, the fans, cannot deny that it has raised his public profile to such a level that they can now tour Britain every year . . .
"The film's euphoria has died down slightly now, and there won't be so many people in the crowd just there to see Anton fighting."
DIG! is now available as a two-DVD set, the second of which shows members of both the Brian Jonestown massacre and the Dandy Warhols re-watching the film, reliving their exploits, melees, drug abuse and conflicts.
But enough of the silver screen.
The visceral qualities of Newcombe and his band-mates (at last count more than 40 people have passed through the band's ranks) are likely best witnessed live and loud.
They are playing with the Chills on Tuesday, while other New Zealand gigs feature Shayne Carter's Dimmer.
It seems Newcombe takes great care in choosing support acts.
On the group's Myspace site, he states: "Please do not contact us regarding your band opening for our band . . . unless we are already friends of yours and you already know for A FACT that we like your band.
"Otherwise, bands who want us to hear them should NEVER tell us to listen to them. Please do not take away the chance to discover it for ourselves . . ."
Curious about chaos? Excited by experimentation? Internal band frisson light your fire? Newcombe and company could be weird.
They might also be wonderful.
See them, hear them
The Brian Jonestown Massacre plays at Backstage, Dunedin, on Tuesday, September 2, supported by the Chills.
