Toronto is in the global spotlight this week, and not just because of the World Cup. The world also seems transfixed on a man in a banana suit. And it hasn’t been going well for the banana.
On June 5, a hardcore band called Terror headlined a show at Lithuanian House on a tour supporting their album, Still Suffer. Also on the bill was End It, a hardcore band from Baltimore. When they took the stage, they couldn’t help notice the giant banana in the audience, or, more correctly, a man in a sparkly banana suit.
This was Banana Man, a guy named Scott who has made a habit of going to rock gigs dressed this way. He’s been spotted crowd-surfing at a Rise Against Show (his second time) and in a giant circle pit at a gig by System of a Down. He clearly loves what he does and has connected with moshers all over the city at hardcore, metal, punk and emo gigs.
His banana suits take a beating, but he considers it normal wear and tear. He’s gone through three so far.
Back to the show on June 5. End It frontman Akil Godsey would have none of Banana Man’s fun, so he basically put a bounty on him.
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“We’re just gonna address it. Do you want to do this now or later?” Godsey said. “Banana Man, what the f–k is you doing?”
The crowd cheered. The reaction annoyed Godsey.
“No, no, no, no, no, you don’t get rewarded for doing that sh-t. He wanted the attention, and now he has it.”
At this point, the bassist stepped in.
“And now, everyone here has to kill you.”
Godsey then said, “And now, if you strip the banana, you get this lovely set list,” as he brandished a big handwritten set list. “I’m just saying, he was asking for attention. Now you got it.”
Those closest to Banana Man immediately set on him like rabid wolverines, and the banana suit was destroyed in seconds. The headpiece was later tossed around through the crowd like some bounty in Game of Thrones.
Banana Man was, of course, angered and hurt. A Reddit poster said, “I saw banana guy outside between sets. Poor dude was sulking, said he was beat up and sore. He said he was more sad about not having the costume anymore 🤷🏻♂️.”
He issued this statement:
“@enditbaltmore two of your band members crossed the line…and I’m obligated to speak on it. F–k the police? While, policing what people wear? Take off, hoser. The message last night; Conform or get called out, exactly the opposite of what Hardcore is supposed to be. I was an unwilling participant, attacked and clothing removed at the direction of a band I paid to see… What would you do?”
Those I’ve talked to say that the Banana Man situation has split (sorry) the Toronto hardcore community. Some people say Banana Man is just a sad attention-seeker, while others are celebrating this expression of non-conformity and getting lost in the joy of music.
People have been wearing strange and dumb costumes to gigs for years. This is not a new thing created by Banana Man. Audience members have been dressing outlandishly for gigs since at least the punk days of the mid-’70s. A guy in a banana costume? Cool cool cool.
Today, it’s not uncommon for fans to wear bald caps to Pitbull shows. Been to any gig by Sabrina Carpenter? How many people were wearing sparkly costumes? For decades, Kiss fans spent hours on their makeup for heading out. Ever been to a goth show? Superman and Santa Claus outfits have been seen at metal gigs. I once got bumped by a T. rex on its way into the pit. They had to elbow a couple of Pikachus and a SpongeBob out of the way. And let’s not even start on the clothing/costuming prep that faces a hardcore Taylor Swift or Beyoncé fan. In fact, when the latter played Texas in 2023, the result was a shortage of silver clothes in the northern part of the state.
Here’s a wild stat from Censuswide: More than 7.5 million “single-use outfits for concerts or festivals” are purchased every year in the U.K. alone. That’s an expenditure of around 2.7 billion pounds (about $5 billion) just this summer.
Listen, if this cosplay isn’t hurting anyone, what’s the problem? And isn’t the fun of Banana Man a-peeling? (Sorry again.)
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