People have been rioting in Hollywood on Wednesday and I did not know it!
For the premiere of the film about the Electric Daisy Carnival techno music festival, which is a large rave-type event attended by a huge crowd, several hundred people gathered outside the Grauman’s Chinese theater, threw bottles to the LAPD, and even jumped onto a squad car. Dozens of police patrol were sent on the site and Hollywood boulevard was shut down,
The LA Times is reporting that people began lying down on the street in front of a row of police officers. As people were not leaving, police slowly pushed the crowd and some people began jumping on a police car, shattering its windshield. The LAPD riposted by firing non lethal beanbags to disperse the large crowd around 7:30 pm.
The film screening was a private one, by invitation only, but this large crowd had gathered following a special invite by DJ Kaskade launched on twitter, encouraging them to do an improvise block party on Hollywood boulevard. This is what he twitted:
‘Today @6pm in Hollywood @Mann’s Chinese Theater. ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC=BLOCK PARTY!!! RT!’
And that was enough for some of his 90,000 followers to gather there,… later on he twitted again:
‘News choppers overhead. The man trying to shut us down. Hang on I am coming!!! This is crazy.”
Shortly thereafter, he wrote,
‘EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW! I DON'T WANT THIS TO REFLECT BADLY ON EDM OR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. BE RESPECTFUL AND CHILL OUT!!!’
But as a result, two people were arrested ‘on suspicion of felony vandalism in connection with damage to the windshields and roofs of three police cruisers’.
The movie, which features the most popular DJs in the world, with stunning performances by Deadmau5, Kaskade and Will.I.Am, is supposed to document the largest electronic dance party of the nation, which has become very controversial after the death of a 15-year-old girl who overdosed on Ecstasy.
All this fuss for nothing! The screening went on but the block party never happened, and that Kaskade guy looks sooooo irresponsible to have set up such a thing.
But, during the day, there were a lot of updated articles about it, and a lot of confusion. The LAPD is currently still investigating, and the LA Weekly is reporting that a permit service source said organizers had planned to have DJ Kaskade as part of the premiere, and the Electric Daisy Carnival promoter had said the screening would ‘include a Wonderland-flavored, red carpet extravaganza complete with carnival sensations, performers and world-class acrobats’.
However EDC promoter Pasquale Rotella declared:
‘I want to make clear that while this film showcased an Insomniac event, Insomniac had nothing to do with the supposed "block party," which was not a part of the premiere. The crowd issues that arose were a result of individuals responding to social media information, which mistakenly led them to believe they could see artists perform.
And Tamar Aprahamian, spokeswoman for Supperclub/Kaskade, said it was Kaskade's choice to do a free show for his fans, as he tweeted about it.
I read a little later that a representative who was in charge of permit service, said the permit was taken by Supperclub, and Kaskade was supposed to arrive in a large truck, with women dressed as the dancers usually hired to perform at EDC.
I bet you are as confused as I am, who exactly planned the block party? There were so many updates through the day, I couldn’t follow everything. The DJ appearance may have been part of a red-carpet event organized by the EDC, and now they are blaming him? It all sounds like a big and costly publicity stunt, and I hope they will get the note.