Winnipeger's Riot over Stupid, Stupid Bouncers

Keith from Epitaph sent us a press release about the near-riot in Winnipeg at the kick off of the Canadian Punkorama Tour. The Dropkick Murphy's handled the situation well, and kept things under control. Click below for the whole story.

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2000 - 1:30 pm EDT
RIOT KICKS OFF CANADIAN LEG OF PUNKORAMA TOUR

The first date of the Canadian leg of the Punkorama Tour ended early with approximately 100 uniformed police officers shutting down the show before the headliners, the Dropkick Murphys, could take the stage. Several witnesses at the Winnipeg venue, Le Rendezvous, concurred that the bouncers? consistent manhandling of young fans caused the initial flashpoint. In response to the altercation between a young fan and three bouncers during the Dwarves set, friends of the 15 year old became involved in a melee with several more of the bouncers, ending in punches, thrown tables, and at least one fan being pinned to the floor. The brutality of the ?football player-sized bouncers? against teenaged kids created an increasingly angry and unified crowd, causing the volunteer bouncers to quit their posts, and left the club owners fearful enough to call in the authorities.

Police arrived and the houselights were turned on while the co-headliners, the Bouncing Souls were finishing their set. The authorities attempted to clear the hall, to which about 500 hundred fans responded by sitting on the floor and chanting ?Sham 69,? hailing the late ?70s English punk group whose anthem was ?If the Kids Are United?? (They Will Never Be Divided.) After an officer told the crowd, through the P.A. system to, ?Be quiet,? the crowd started chanting ?Be Quiet!? During the fracas, the Murphys? bagpipes were destroyed by panicked bouncers and police, cameras were confiscated, and eventually, beginning with the loudest protesters, police escorted fans, one by one, out of the hall.

The Dropkick Murphys tried to negotiate with police to be allowed to play their set so as to pacify the angry crowd. In a statement, Ken Casey, bassist of the Dropkick Murphys reported, ?Due to the obvious amount of tension in the air, the police threatened to arrest us if we played, charging us with inciting a riot. What were we to do? In our eyes the only way to settle the hostile crowd was to give them what they wanted. If we couldn?t play in the building, the next best thing seemed to be the parking lot. We invited the kids outside and played a brief acoustic set in the rain. It went over really well and all the kids seemed happy; ironically, so were the police. It?s hard to be thrown into a situation where you?re the spokesperson for 500 angry kids who paid $18 to see the show. We handled it the best way we could.? The acoustic set in the Le Rendezvous parking lot created a gleeful sing-a-long between the band and about 250 fans.

In the end, it appears that no one was seriously injured, all four bands played (albeit not onstage), and a warm Canadian welcome was given to the American performers. Many witnesses have said there were easily over 100 police officers on the scene, but the situation was handled without batons, pepper spray, or unnecessary violence.

For more information, firsthand sources (fans or bands), please call Tonni Maruyama or Keith Maurik at Epitaph Canada: phone (416)868-4848 or fax (416)868-4544. tonni@epitaph.com or keith@epitaph.com