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i was trying to talk randy into going to last night’s yah mos def / amateur party / little light show but he had a party to go to. after seeing how the evening turned out, i can’t decide whether or not i’m glad i didn’t. here’s the repost of maria’s repost of steve of amateur party’s myspace bulletin:

Man, Jersey Cops.

So last night Yah Mos Def played a show in Williamstown NJ. The show was put on by this dude Alan who has been putting on great all-ages shows in the area for a long time. This was at a new venue that was owned by some other older dude. So during the course of the night some kid stole a sign from the bathroom. This was fucked up, because anyone knows we have to respect these places if we want to be able to use them as show spaces. But this was not Alan’s fault, just some stupid kid being funny. But the guy who owned the place flipped out and called the cops.
So while Amateur Party is playing, Alan comes in and says one more song. I guess the cops told him to wrap it up, and he came in to do so. So Amateur Party starts playing the shows last song, and one of the cops says “no, no more music”. It is a confused situation. So Alan kind of just stands there and does not say anything, not knowing how to react. Captured in this picture:

So from here on out I have it on video. Since Alan does not respond, the cops says “that’s it your under arrest and grabs Alan. He says something like “fuck you” cause the cop just grabbed him so hard by the neck, but did not resist or anything. All the sudden 2 other cops run and, and they all jump on the kid. I was fucking insane. People start taking out their phones and cameras and taking out pictures. One of the cops starts yelling “put away your phones”, and a kid in the crowd says “this is America” and the cop responds “I don’t care, you’re in my town now. WTF! He gets in my face and starts telling me to put away my camera or I will get locked up. I tell him to F’ off, and that I work for a Law Firm (which I of course don’t), but that I know my rights. The kid next to me, who I don’t know, spits out the amazing line “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we have the responsibility as citizens to record this”. I love that kid.

Anyhow, if anyone has pictures of info from last night please put them in a file and hold on to them. Even if you have memories you should jot them down in a word document incase Alan wants to sue those fucks.

Man, Jersey Cops.

See the video here: Youre_in_my_town_now

the video is pretty ridiculous (ha, i just realized it’s named “FTP.MPG”). could you imagine if this cop had to bust a show where there was actual danger involved? he probably would have started shooting! we’ve all seen cops shut down rowdier shows and parties than this with way less drama. way to throw your weight around and bully a bunch of kids who are having a good time drinking WATER AND SODA, guys. as far as i know, alan’s ok (in fact, little light is playing at lasalle tonight). he is one of the nicest guys i know and there is absolutely no reason for him to be treated like that. what an embarrassment.