Yes, if you're going to do an audience participation piece (in this case making images on a screen move as people in the crowd walk this way and that carrying glowsticks) it's probably not a good idea to yell at your audience to shut up when you first get up on stage. New York audiences are swine but you have to get them to like you--throw them a handful of corn or something. Getting testy won't work.
Update: Bailey claims this was a staged meltdown, a la Zach Galifianakis (Andy Kaufman?), and that audience reaction or non-reaction related to the war and hostility themes of the piece. O-kay.