Face Down outline new measures at Scala venue following bouncer incident with Wargasm

15 November 2021, 15:39 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

(Wargasm)

Rock club night Face Down have uploaded a final statement regarding an incident at Scala earlier this month with former bouncers and Wargasm, which outlines new measures that will be used going forward to "make it a safer space".

Earlier this month Wargasm shared a statement on socials calling out the bouncers at London venue Scala for their "unnecessary use of force" following their performance. The statement claimed that band member Sam Matlock was "dragged" into the backstage toilets after bouncers were being "verbally aggressive to our female tour manager", and two of the bouncers allegedly "slammed his head against the toilet seat and held his head in the toilet bowl while the third bouncer held the door closed with his foot."

After Scala confirmed the venue was "conducting a full scale investigation" on the incident and fired the three bouncers, Face Down, an independent promoter who have a partnership with the London venue, have shared a final statement about the events on Instagram, outlining new measures that their team, along with Scala, will implement at future events.

In the statement, Face Down wrote that "the easiest thing for both sides to do would be to walk away, but we decided it is only right to address these issues head on and forge forward with positive change."

Some of the points that Scala will change in the future include "changing venue security team", introducing "a dedicated backstage security team", a "monthly catch up after every event to ensure everything went well and things are changed when required", and more.

Face Down also posted their own measures for events moving forward, one of which is to give feedback to Scala each month "with any concerns and to drive change with their security team and venue to make it a safer space for the artists and people". Face Down will also be introducing Google Forms for visitors and artists to give feedback about their experience with the venue and security, and will be checking on artists more frequently "at their dressing room". They will also make sure someone from their team is attending the "load out/in" alongside security to escort artists.

The club night also thanked "everyone that came forward and told us about your experiences with the security and venue," and added that "both teams are 100% committed to these changes for the better."