INCELS BLAME ARTIST’S “DUMBASS LOSER TWEETS” FOR SHUT DOWN VEGAS SHOW

A show featuring “incelcore” artists that was set to take place in Las Vegas was quickly canceled after locals reached out to the prospective venue about the hyper-misogynistic “involuntary celibate” subculture’s hateful nature.

Near the edge of the arts district, 11th Street Records had planned to host “RockAngels 2” in their combination vinyl store and recording studio venue on March 26. Ostensibly, it was just another punk show, but locals noticed that the lineup included several performers with connections to the far-right, as well as acts that previously played at “Virginfest,”—another incelcore show that attracted prominent bigots.

In a nutshell, incels think that they’re fatalistically doomed to be undateable. They use a variety of bunk explanations to explain why (usually women) won’t date them from pseudoscience about their own skull shapes to sexist conspiracy theories, usually blaming leftists or liberals and sometimes delving into antisemitism. The community was heavily influenced by the “manosphere” and other parts of the online far-right that formed in the 2010s and saw their political power come to a head under Trump. Because incels think they’re doomed to a life without romance, the philosophy focuses on ways to cope with their loneliness while reinforcing their beliefs, mentally preparing themselves for suicide, or plotting to take revenge on the world. They refer to mass-murderer Elliot Rodger, who killed six and injured 14 others in 2014 because he felt rejected by women and envious of sexually active men, as a “saint.” The ideology is tied to multiple acts of terror including the 2019 Halle, Germany attack, the 2018 Toronto van attack, and the 2020 Westgate Mall shooting in Phoenix, Arizona.

Incelcore as a genre and scene is more-or-less a musical outgrowth of the community. Stylistically, it’s generally similar to electronic punk or ‘e-punk’, but with lyrics and aesthetics that heavily focus on “ironic” sexism/racism, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, and/or a lack of belonging in the world. Incelcore, like every other bigoted ideology, uses these themes to draw isolated, troubled people in and recruit them for hate.

When Virginfest came to Atlanta, Dirty South Right Watch reporters covered the event and the bigots it attracted. DSRW told us that Incelcore’s “ironic” racist and sexist imagery and aesthetics make it attractive to those who sincerely hold those beliefs, and creates a path where irony can easily transition to sincerity.

“The scene represents fresh potential recruits for organized far-right groups. For decades, music has played an important role in linking young people to the far right and incelcore follows that pattern. Negative XP livestreamed on Nick Fuentes’s Cozy TV platform. Andy Nowicki attended Virginfest. Organized far-right groups have noticed the scene and recognized the use of it for their own gains,” DSRW told us.

As previously mentioned, at least half of the six artists listed on the poster for Rockangels 2 were also at Virginfest. But a few have also used social media to publicly make their hate known. Esoteric-incel Gjallarhornit, who played at Virginfest, posted a photo of himself wearing a confederate flag at a concert in Kalamazoo. Pacific Purgatory, who also played Virginfest, and Steakfry have previously worked with neo-nazi incel musician “Negative XP,” aka “School Shooter.”

Once Vegas locals became aware of the mass shooter-glorifying bigots set to play in their town, they began to reach out to the venue and vendors listed on the poster. The response was precisely what they had hoped for. Several vendors posted public apologies for not being aware of the event’s nature, announced they wouldn’t be attending, and urged the venue to cancel as well. Shortly thereafter, 11th Street Records announced the event’s cancellation via an Instagram story post.

Notably, one local band on the lineup, Napalm Star, has publicly acknowledged the cancellation, apologized, and promised to be more conscientious in the future.

The “real” incelcore artists, meanwhile, have begun blaming the lost venue on each other’s bad optics.

“i live in vegas and have played a bunch of shows here. nobody has any idea what incelcore is cuz they’re normal […] but i forgot gjallarhornit makes dumbass loser tweets and wears confederate flag shirts.” Pacific Purgatory tweeted after the cancellation.

In the aftermath of the shutdown, Gjallarhornit posted an incoherent rant blaming others in the scene for the show getting cancelled, then deleted his Twitter account. But traces of his bigotry are still around online, like fanart he did of another Virginfest artist, ‘Gezebelle Gaburgably,’ which depicts her standing naked in front of a Nazi sonnenrad symbol. LCRW archived the artwork, but won’t link to it because Gaburgably only recently turned 18.