AUDIO FLIES - The Metropolitan

Violent Society
By Megan Carneal
mcarneal@mscd.edu

     There I was, standing on stage at the British Invasion 2k6 tour, watching the band Broken Bones play in front of a crowd of thousands of punks. It was my first experience as a member of the working press at a major event, and will probably become my most memorable.
     The British Invasion 2k6 Tour was held at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on March 4. The 2k6 tour was the third installment of the British Invasion tour. Since the tour’s recent inception, it has become one of the biggest and most respected punk-rock festivals. Thousands of devoted punk-rockers traveled miles out of their way to attend the event.
     The tour featured 21 bands with two stages, one inside and one outside, and was scheduled to start sometime after 2 p.m. and run until midnight. The headliners for the tour were The Adicts, GBH, The Varukers, and Vice Squad. Most of the bands performing were from the United Kingdom, but the tour also showcased some of the best punk bands the United States has to offer.
     I was about to take some pictures of the band when I saw a surge in the crowd. People began to scream and run for the exits. I figured there might have been a fight outside, and being an overeager journalist, but still a young, dumb kid, I ran after the panicked crowd hoping to get some great pictures. I ran halfway across the venue and was met with the worst burning sensation I have ever experienced. My eyes swelled and my nostrils burned. It was tear gas; it overwhelmed me and I couldn’t breathe or see. I fell to the ground. Two arms grabbed me from behind and a female voice shouted out, “C’mon girl, we gotta run.” She picked me up off the ground and we ran together toward the backstage exits.
     Once we were backstage, I hugged her and gave her the most sincere thanking of my life. I realized I had lost my boyfriend in the crowd and the confusion and chaos began to set in. After a few tense minutes, I found my boyfriend. His eyes were red and swollen, too. He ripped off a bandana from his wrist and I tied it around my face hoping it would shield me from any more tear gas exposure.
The backstage area was now packed with around 2,000 disoriented, confused and angry people. The reports started to fly about what, exactly, had happened and why we had suddenly been tear gassed.
     The trouble started when a group of Nazi skinheads showed up looking to cause trouble and provoke fights, a common occurrence, according to a local woman who has attended several similar events. This time, they got more than they bargained for.
     The show was packed with thousands of punks from different sub-cultures, including a decent percentage of S.H.A.R.P.s, which stands for skinheads against racial prejudice.
     During one of the sets, the Nazi skinheads invaded the pit and started chanting, “white power.” The obvious racism in a group of multi-racial punks infuriated the crowd and they countered with their own louder, more heated chant of, “fuck white power.” A major brawl ensued between the Nazis and the S.H.A.R.P.s resulting in one of the Nazis getting stabbed. At that point, the police were called in and the tear gas was deployed.
     The news was shocking and frustrating. I have seen Nazis come to shows to cause trouble before. This time, they broke up a show I traveled almost 3,000 miles to see, and I was pissed.
     I also heard stories that while people were trying to leave the event, they were being beaten by the cops. I was now trapped backstage.
     Helicopters circled over the arena and were met with hundreds of middle fingers raised up toward the sky. At the time, I didn’t understand why so many helicopters were circling over the area. Little to my knowledge, a violent riot had spilled into the streets of San Bernardino, Calif.
     Amid the chaos, there were a few moments of pure bliss when I stood shoulder to shoulder with my idol, Monkey, the lead singer of The Adicts. We spoke long enough for me to become entranced by his thick cockney accent and have someonr take a quick snapshot of me with a punk legend.
     Feeling more than satisfied after my chat with Monkey, and with the danger of running out of cigarettes looming, we decided to try to leave. Once we walked into the parking lot we were met by droves of police, some in full riot gear. Sitting next to the cops was the most pathetic police car I have ever seen. Every light and window was broken out, the sides of the body had been kicked in, even the hood of the car was severely dented.
     On the way back to our hotel room we met one of the rioters. He had a video camera with him and he showed me the chaos he had caught on tape, including the same police car I had seen, except it was swarming with punks. They ripped off their bondage gear and studded belts and were thrashing the car with them. The dents in the sides of the car were from steel-toed boots pounding the body of the car. It was an awesome sight to see police being overrun by punks.
     The next day, we traveled back to the scene of the riot. There was a Jack in the Box across the street from the venue. Every window was shattered and the drive-thru was completely torn apart. Up and down the street there were broken windows and graffiti; the punks had torn that town apart.
     According to San Bernardino’s newspaper The Sun, 10 different police agencies were called in to control the riot. Two police cars were destroyed and four cops were injured. About 1,500 rioters had overrun the streets and left San Bernardino in a state of emergency.
     Seeing the aftermath of the riot left me with mixed emotions. I felt bad for the local businesses, but I also had a strange sense of pride knowing the punks had fought both the police and the Nazis in one night and won.
Either way you look at it, for that night the true, violent spirit of punk rock was alive in the streets.There I was, standing on stage at the British Invasion 2k6 tour, watching the band Broken Bones play in front of a crowd of thousands of punks. It was my first experience as a member of the working press at a major event, and will probably become my most memorable.
     The British Invasion 2k6 Tour was held at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on March 4. The 2k6 tour was the third installment of the British Invasion tour. Since the tour’s recent inception, it has become one of the biggest and most respected punk-rock festivals. Thousands of devoted punk-rockers traveled miles out of their way to attend the event.
     The tour featured 21 bands with two stages, one inside and one outside, and was scheduled to start sometime after 2 p.m. and run until midnight. The headliners for the tour were The Adicts, GBH, The Varukers, and Vice Squad. Most of the bands performing were from the United Kingdom, but the tour also showcased some of the best punk bands the United States has to offer.
     I was about to take some pictures of the band when I saw a surge in the crowd. People began to scream and run for the exits. I figured there might have been a fight outside, and being an overeager journalist, but still a young, dumb kid, I ran after the panicked crowd hoping to get some great pictures. I ran halfway across the venue and was met with the worst burning sensation I have ever experienced. My eyes swelled and my nostrils burned. It was tear gas; it overwhelmed me and I couldn’t breathe or see. I fell to the ground. Two arms grabbed me from behind and a female voice shouted out, “C’mon girl, we gotta run.” She picked me up off the ground and we ran together toward the backstage exits.
     Once we were backstage, I hugged her and gave her the most sincere thanking of my life. I realized I had lost my boyfriend in the crowd and the confusion and chaos began to set in. After a few tense minutes, I found my boyfriend. His eyes were red and swollen, too. He ripped off a bandana from his wrist and I tied it around my face hoping it would shield me from any more tear gas exposure.
     The backstage area was now packed with around 2,000 disoriented, confused and angry people. The reports started to fly about what, exactly, had happened and why we had suddenly been tear gassed.
     The trouble started when a group of Nazi skinheads showed up looking to cause trouble and provoke fights, a common occurrence, according to a local woman who has attended several similar events. This time, they got more than they bargained for.
     The show was packed with thousands of punks from different sub-cultures, including a decent percentage of S.H.A.R.P.s, which stands for skinheads against racial prejudice.
     During one of the sets, the Nazi skinheads invaded the pit and started chanting, “white power.” The obvious racism in a group of multi-racial punks infuriated the crowd and they countered with their own louder, more heated chant of, “fuck white power.” A major brawl ensued between the Nazis and the S.H.A.R.P.s resulting in one of the Nazis getting stabbed. At that point, the police were called in and the tear gas was deployed.
     The news was shocking and frustrating. I have seen Nazis come to shows to cause trouble before. This time, they broke up a show I traveled almost 3,000 miles to see, and I was pissed.
     I also heard stories that while people were trying to leave the event, they were being beaten by the cops. I was now trapped backstage.
     Helicopters circled over the arena and were met with hundreds of middle fingers raised up toward the sky. At the time, I didn’t understand why so many helicopters were circling over the area. Little to my knowledge, a violent riot had spilled into the streets of San Bernardino, Calif.
     Amid the chaos, there were a few moments of pure bliss when I stood shoulder to shoulder with my idol, Monkey, the lead singer of The Adicts. We spoke long enough for me to become entranced by his thick cockney accent and have someonr take a quick snapshot of me with a punk legend.
     Feeling more than satisfied after my chat with Monkey, and with the danger of running out of cigarettes looming, we decided to try to leave. Once we walked into the parking lot we were met by droves of police, some in full riot gear. Sitting next to the cops was the most pathetic police car I have ever seen. Every light and window was broken out, the sides of the body had been kicked in, even the hood of the car was severely dented.
     On the way back to our hotel room we met one of the rioters. He had a video camera with him and he showed me the chaos he had caught on tape, including the same police car I had seen, except it was swarming with punks. They ripped off their bondage gear and studded belts and were thrashing the car with them. The dents in the sides of the car were from steel-toed boots pounding the body of the car. It was an awesome sight to see police being overrun by punks.

     The next day, we traveled back to the scene of the riot. There was a Jack in the Box across the street from the venue. Every window was shattered and the drive-thru was completely torn apart. Up and down the street there were broken windows and graffiti; the punks had torn that town apart.
     According to San Bernardino’s newspaper The Sun, 10 different police agencies were called in to control the riot. Two police cars were destroyed and four cops were injured. About 1,500 rioters had overrun the streets and left San Bernardino in a state of emergency.
     Seeing the aftermath of the riot left me with mixed emotions. I felt bad for the local businesses, but I also had a strange sense of pride knowing the punks had fought both the police and the Nazis in one night and won.
Either way you look at it, for that night the true, violent spirit of punk rock was alive in the streets.