Slow news day, so we found ourselves glazing over the dozens of civilian cell phone videos of horses riding around outside the surprise DFA 1979 show at Austin's Beauty Bar, where people were not supposed to be standing. Below is a tiny fraction of the actual video documentation of what went down, seeing as every other person in these videos is not participating so much as standing inert and filming it on a cell phone. The gist: Austin's finest tried to disperse a loose crowd of enthusiastic DFA 1979 stragglers outside the venue after the crowd happened to pull down a portion of a chain link fence divider. In an actual riot, the crowd storms a broken barrier. During a DFA show, the crowd helps prop it back up. Cue the horses.
There were reports of cops using pepper spray, which is a pretty mean thing to do, though cops have feelings too. What would you do if a heckler called you “second rate”, or “not even a real cop”, or if he suggested you “try a real city” to do your policing work? Pepper spray them in the face, probably.
As the videos show, the dismounted bike brigade of police were no match for the sea (or maybe small pond) of middle fingers and “fuck the police” and “we're just trying to watch music, sirs.” So the cavalry was called, and the horses walked back and forth and the crowd didn't really disperse until DFA 1979 were done with their set. Great job, Austin PD!
A sampling, if you're having trouble sleeping:
Good footage of the gate being crashed, literally:
And the one video that seems to show the cops possibly pepper spraying some excited kids:
