"Apparently the city of Las Vegas isn't working too hard on bringing their "Sin City" image back. The Vandals headlined the skate stage at the annual "Red White 'n' Boom" 4th of July festival, but were shut down about 40 minutes into their set by the Las Vegas Police Department for profanity, despite the fact that nearly all of the 10+ bands on the skate stage had been cursing throughout the day. (It was a punk show, after all.)" (Kung Fu)
Click below for the rest of the story.
The officers took the stage in mid-song, had the sound cut, and stopped the band right there. As confusion took over, the audience began chanting a certain famous N.W.A. song title. The band, management and crew were threatened with arrest before eventually being let go. While the potential for rioting was there, only a few fights amongst the crowd took place before the LVPD drove their squad cars into the audience area, dispersing the crowd and threatening them with pepper spray. Eventually the crowd left, The Vandals hightailed it out of town, and the damage had been done. It's kinda weird that you can gamble, drink, and buy a hooker in Vegas, but God forbid you say a few curse words on stage at a punk show. Isn't it also ironic that The Vandals were censored on the very day we celebrate the freedoms we have in this country, like freedom of speech? So to the fans in Las Vegas who stuck it out in that nasty heat all day, we apologize. Maybe next time we'll play in Henderson where we can be threatened with arrest for making fun of all the mullets.