WELCOME TO THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITOL OF THE WORLD
You're under arrest. For violating the noise ordinance.For performing without a permit.
Unloading your equipment in a no parking zone ( oh, wait, I forgot, they put in ONE loading zone a month or so ago...ONE ) or illegally parking in an alley behind the club you need to load out your equipment into.
The police patrolling 6th street have volunteered for this watch... why? Because they get free stick time. They stand around flexing their muscles and adjusting their cups just waiting for a chance to club or pepper spray a person into submission.
2AM-The witching hour...Pepper spray at the ready, austins finest encountered an aberration...The dreaded CONGA LINE.Some cops train all their lives and never see one,the stories of past conga lines echo through police break rooms whispered in secret...
In the end, in the wee hours of thursday morning, three members of Grammy winning band Ozomatley were in jail for leading a CONGA LINE out into the (blocked off to traffic) street in front of the club, as they looped around and headed back into the club, our crack riot squad nipped it in the bud Barney Fife style,only in riot gear and with pepper spray.
After the melee, the arrested subjects were marched single file (i.e;Conga line) to jail.
Live music capitol of the world indeed.
(gonz contributed to this entry)