It seems dance parties have become a threat so severe to this city that it takes a SWAT team with shotguns to shut it down. No point in re-hashing details, browse MySpace or head here.
The video should be quite shocking. But then again, this is Detroit — where it’s all right for the mayor to kill hookers, but dancing white kids wearing neon must be stopped. If you were there last night, please get in contact with The CAID. Lawyer-type things are in the works.
So I guess someone should mention the CAID SWAT fiasco.
This is all hearsay, because I wasn’t there. But let me piece together calls and text messages the best I can to come up with someone that will at least come off as ‘inspired by true events.’ There is a comment section for anyone who was there to fill in the gaps, or correct misunderstandings.
If I understand correctly, it was early this morning when SWAT stormed the CAID in such a way that the people inside had thought they were after one specific individual. Riot gear on, guns drawn, faces covered.. this would soon turn into an approximately 3+ fiasco in which everyone there was asked to do things like lay face down on ground, put all their personal belongings into plastic bags, and sign some paper that referenced every car being towed and impounded.
This impound is a little different than a traffic ticket impound, I hear.. to the tune of $900. That is on top of having to appear before a judge to be arraigned on some charge of attending an illegal event. Ouch.
I think everyone kind of assumed that the CAID was operating within some loophole. You can make the argument that those types of arrangements HAVE to seem a little ‘off’ to those who attend, and I wouldn’t disagree. However, I do think that the police thought they were going to hit illegal afterparty gold of drugs and prostitution and guns and whatever else. When 20 police bust in with full riot gear to find a room of dancing kids and… well.. that’s it. A room of dancing kids. No huge drug stash, no prostitution, no weapons. It kind of sounds like a failure in that capacity, and that the $900 impounds were just a consolation prize to recoup the money that goes into planning this type of sting.
I know my mother has always told me that I’m just as guilty by association, to be careful who I run with, and that nothing good happens after 1am. Fair enough. If this raid would’ve turned up ANYTHING of substance I wouldn’t defend the CAID or it’s patrons. It didn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if along with these ridiculous $900 impounds, and “being somewhere bad” tickets that they didn’t bust out the “serving food without a license” and “no dance license” tickets as well. Sure it’s the law. I’m not going to fight anyone on that. I just think you have to look at the bigger picture. 200+ kids dancing at an art gallery until they pass out doesn’t seem like it should matter, and since it’s been happening for years with it never escalating into some drug haven, or crime hideout.. what’s the problem? “It’s just a matter of time..” isn’t really a justified statement since, well, it has been a matter of time.
I feel for every kid who now has to somehow pony up the cash for doing something I believe they didn’t know the severity of, and to the kid(s) who allegedly required police to use force to restrain. I know Mom, ignorance is no excuse.
What about Art F*g? Who knows. I think I have SWAT immunity since I was DJing a party they were having once. Maybe The Nice Device can just play every one.
So it’s the weekend and you probably got paid. Great, because I have somewhere you should put your money.
The last few months, and the next few months The Pop Project have been throwing pre-Art Fag bashes at Alvin’s. This month, though, you can come pick up their new record!
http://www.subsprawl.com - buy it here
http://www.popproject.com - website
It’s a certified banger. If you like Pop, why not invest in a whole project dedicated to it?
People in Dayton, Ohio are amazed by Tally Hall. I know this, because they have blogs in Dayton, Ohio.
A band named Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! has to be good, doesn’t it? Click that link and thank me tomorrow. You can put it right after that idiot tells you that it sounds like everything else. If you do end up sounding like one of the pack, you should call yourself Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! because that automatically makes you better.
Beggars tonight at The Belmont, Marco Polio and Broken Spindles in the Pike Room.. If you don’t make it to any of those, the Northern Lights show tomorrow with Scarlet Oaks, Birdgang, and The Volebeats is going to be the weekend hot spot.
You know what’s gay? Having a Commitment Ceremony at 11am on a Saturday. Who in their right mind is up that early on a Saturday morning? I always figured queers slept-in like the rest of us — isn’t that why they invented brunch? I honestly would’ve liked to have checked that out, maybe married my dog or something. We’re both dudes. That counts, right?
The Motor City Pride Celebration is this weekend in Ferndale, a city known for both its queers and hipsters [insert hipster dudes wearing women's jeans joke here]. I figure a lot of you reading this might be in that area, which is sweet because the whole thing is outside and there will be food and beer and people having fun and it’s a great excuse to get out of your house during the day. All the gays I’ve ever known (one) are pretty tolerant of straight people, so I’m assuming they’ll let us drink a mimosa, eat a Popsicle / Choco Taco and dance to Bear Force One with them. Most of the activities are Sunday afternoon, so head down there after church and homo it up.
Here’s the list of performers (Blair comes highly recommended). All the performers aren’t gay are they? Because I’d totally put it in that Alex Winston chick. Not that I still wouldn’t if she was gay, but that kind of convincing takes a little extra effort and I’m usually pretty tired on Sundays.
If you have a television, and one step above two left feet.. then you’ve seen the new Mitsubishi Outlander commercial, I’d bet. If you happen to be standing when that commercial is on, I dare you not to attempt a few moves.
Here is the full track, I asked google for it. Put it on the next mix for your significant other and they will think you are upper crust since it’s in French. If you want to be at the absolute top of your game, then tell them the title means “I do not know you.” Google told me that, too.
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On July 2, Small’s will have live screenings of all the Yacht Rock episodes AND (fake) Kenny Loggins and (fake) Michael McDonald will be in attendance. Outstanding! But seriously, how odd is it getting Hamtramck news from fucking Stereogum? And where the hell were these guys when they were casting that new Weezer video?
My original plan this weekend was to head to Chicago to see The Presets. I mean, shit, they’re from Australia — what are the chances they ever play Detroit? When the New York show sold out, I got tickets for the Chicago performance, but eating that $15 is nothing compared to the $600 in gas it’s going to take to get me there. I ordered a few of these, but they haven’t arrived yet. I’d figure out a way to lock your gas cap if I were you.
The Gutter Twins have scheduled one of those We’re Our Way To Lollapalooza And Might As Well Play This Shithole Along The Way dates (see also: The Go! Team, more to come). If, for some reason, you don’t already know, The Gutter Twins is Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age). Whether you got into their album or not, those two voices together live is one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard. They play St. Andrews on August 1 and tickets are already on sale. You’re mildly retarded if you miss this.
Every year there are two or three movies actually worth paying to see. Here’s one of this year’s. Funny how the trailer doesn’t even mention the whole choking scam. And speaking of Palahniuk, has anyone made it through Snuff yet? Do any of you read books?
So I spent the day with two musicians. There are a whole lot of things happening on the back end that I can’t tell you about quite yet.. but rest assured there is progress being made that will soon make your life THAT much better.
Does anyone want to go to The Hazel Park Raceway next Saturday to bet on The Belmont Stakes? Casino Drive at 7/2 looks like the go to. Bet Casino Drive on the win and Big Brown to show, guarantee yourself some money. I have no idea what I’m talking about, won’t this be fun? On the real tip, let’s do it.
This weekend is pretty wide open. Do I go back to Pontiac for Marco Polio and Broken Spindles? The Belmont to see The Beggars? I do not function properly without people telling me what to do. That is very unfortunate after having a real conversation today about The Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram Experiment. I told you, musicians are nuts.. this is what they talk about.
Kwame Kilpatrick vetoes resolution to oust him. Politics are confusing.
Also, a sincere thank you to Champions Of Breakfast for thanking me in the liner notes of their new disc. The packaging of the disc is alone worth the investment, and the illustrated story ices the cake. Oh, yeah.. there is also a disc with the best electropop this side of Pleasure Mountain. Listen.
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Friday feels like a long time ago. I went to that benefit at The Crofoot that I’d mentioned last week. Remember? The one with all the bands and the music and the Pontiac? It was great. A little too great, in fact. When Deastro is the first act, it means I actually show up on time — and showing up on time meant 7pm. Do the math. Seven hours of drinking. Which wasn’t a problem at the time, but I sat out Saturday night’s activities in favor of an IASIP marathon…and my Movement photographer was still out of commission on Sunday. Jackass.
So Friday night…the bands played. And if you like the bands, then you liked the bands. If you hate the bands, then you hated the bands. Outside of the fact that Johnny Headband made a killer comeback and my realization of not having the latest SSM album, I don’t have anything to say that you haven’t already heard from me.
Honestly, and this isn’t meant to be a jab at any of the bands, The Crofoot was the night’s MVP. Outside of the Eagle Theater, all areas were open and accessible — the Ballroom, the patio, outside balcony, Vernor’s Grill, that whatever it’s called front bar, even the Pike Room upstairs where another show was taking place (I caught some of The Subways headlining set up there). There are places to sit and drink where you wouldn’t even know you’re at a show or a venue and, once the kitchen opens, I’m going to see about renting a space and moving in. Yes I know it’s in Pontiac, but so are all the sluts. I don’t see the problem.
Saturday night — remember that Holy Ghost! show at Oslo I told you to go to? Well, after Holy Ghost! finished their set, Moby did his. I heard it was a blast and that he was being a pretty cool dude to all the freaks who wanted photos with him. Sounded like a good time. Don’t you wish you listened to me more often?
Sunday I finally picked up my press pack for Movement. The thing about me and press credentials is I usually don’t use them. All I’m after is the free admission. Who wants to stand on stage with a camera pretending they’re taking part in the event? That’s dumb and it feels like work. And you look like an idiot getting in everyone’s way. So while I don’t have any up-close photos of Girl Talk, I can tell you first hand that the people packed in to see that performance created the most uncomfortable crowd I’d ever been stuck in the middle of. I can tell you that the chick next to me gave me the best lap-dance I never paid for. I can tell you that some dude couldn’t break through the crowd and had to piss in his empty beer cup, which he then ended up setting on the ground for people to knock over. And I could count how many lobotomized-looking overdose-kids were carried past me by their friends (three).
I know that’s nothing really ground-breaking — sounds like the DEMF / Fuse-In / Movement crowd every year, but this performance had that insanity doubled, at least. The security, who ended up taking center-stage, looked downright frightened. Piles of kids on stage, hanging from the support pillars, dancing on the speaker stacks. It was the most appreciation I’ve had for CHAOS in quite some time. There’s a rumor going around that Girl Talk will be back at The Crofoot complex sometime in the near future. Could be total bullshit, but I’d look out for that.
I also caught The Cool Kids, who’ve been hyped up everywhere lately. They’re live hip-hop, and even the best live hip-hop sometimes sounds, I dunno, not that great. Fortunately for them, they can fucking work and pwn a crowd and I’d pay to see that live act again despite the fact that I’d probably never play their disc in my car. I saw some other stuff there on Sunday, too. I’m not really “techno guy” so a lot of it just sounded like generic oompts oompts oompts to me. In fact, I listened to a bit of Carl Craig after Girl Talk and thought “Isn’t this guy supposed to be good or something?” I guess I was on the wrong drugs. I did enjoy Kill Memory Crash — actual instruments and a live singer go a long way. And I thought James Zabiela’s set was pretty rad.
I know you’re waiting for me to make fun of the people there, but I’m not going to do it. The only thing I’ll mention, and I’ve seen this before elsewhere, is the girlfriend-on-a-leash thing. This shit. If there was ever a more literal translation of “the old ball and chain,” I’d be shocked. I do get it — it’s some submissive goth fetish, and that’s fine. Whatever bloats your goat, and all that. I just don’t know why you’d want to drag your girlfriend around everywhere you went. If that were me, I’d tie that leash to a fence and go enjoy the festival. Just once I’d like to see the chick freaking out and trying to hump some dudes leg or attempting to bite someone — something to justify putting her on that leash. Because when you’re both calmly standing in line for a lemonade, discussing whether or not to share a corn dog…it takes all the sexy out of it.
I was gonna go back to Movement on Monday, but ended up at The Detroit Zoo instead. The similarities between the two places, especially the smell, were staggering.
