Labels

On this Day in 1979 - Elks Lodge Riot in LA

alley-cats72

The Elks Lodge Auditorium was at 607 South Parkview in Los Angeles, across from MacArthur Park.

On Saturday March 17, there was scheduled an All Ages show with a cover charge of a big $5. The following bands were booked to play:

Alley Cats (pictured above)
X, Go Gos, Plugz, Zeroes and, according to the flyer, "another group."

But as every punk rock aficionado knows, the cops brought that show to a grinding hault.

Diane Chai of the Alley Cats


Here's the poster for the gig where the famous/infamous Elks Lodge Riot happened - image courtesty of Flipside Fanzine online.

The Go Gos got a chance to play before the melee broke out. Belinda and Karlos from the Dickies seen here at the Masque:
karlo and belinda at the masque

And this link is another Punk Turns 30 memoir about the night... complete with links to other memoirs.

john and exene96
X is on tour right now... in 2008... tour dates are here

I believe that Ann Summa and Ed Colver have the best photographic coverage of this event. This is Ann Summa's Punk Archive.

Enjoy your green beer today. Don't let the cops shut you down!
Email Post
Labels:

Comments

daddymonkey said…
My wife and I had our wedding reception at the Elk's Lodge on March 17, 1979. This concert helped make it an unforgettable night for our guests, although at the time it was kind of crazy. We were noted in the LA times as being the "Mexican wedding reception" in another part of the building. Anyone remember us? btw- still married after 30 years
2:54 PM
dexterbaxter said…
Damn right I do (remember the wedding group)..we all figured it was you guys called the cops. After being shoved down the stairs by unruly police with batons drawn, I remember the incongruity of it all, looking into that part of the building, where you wedsters were cavorting. - The 'other band' was the Wipers, by the way. - Great to hear you're still solid, you guys. I always figured you'd remain anonymous...since your names were never reported in the news. But you were a major part of what happened, natch...I often wondered just what effect it had on you guys! :-)
2:15 AM
BONE CREEK PRODUCTIONS said…
I was there...I was 18...on the corner..cops chased me up the street hitting me with their clubs...smashed my hand....broke it...I was able to hide. I remember seeing the wedding guests being beat up as well. When I ran away from the cops my brother disappeared into a phone booth to call the police to report a beating. I ended up at the hospital with the likes of Darby crash and Lorna Doone..I still have no knuckle on my little finger from the beating.
8:02 PM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts