A few dozen local teens gathered at Collision — a Christian youth center on South Lexington Avenue — Saturday afternoon for what was scheduled to be an all-ages battle of the bands. But as the growing crowd began spilling into the streets, they caught the attention of the Asheville Fire Department, who quickly arrived to pull the plug.
As organizers pleaded their case, the anxious teens mulled around in the street, chatting on cell phones and waiting for a decision. For a moment it seemed the event might go on, but after nearly 10 minutes of deliberation, the fire marshals emerged with organizers who simply said, “It’s over guys.”
The visibly irritated crowd did leave the building, but they were not quick to disperse. Before long, in a short-lived act of defiance, one band took their show to the street, performing a percussion routine on spray-painted trash cans and shouting, “You can’t shut us down!” That didn’t last though, and organizers were left scrambling to accommodate the increasingly impatient crowd.
Photos by Jonathan Welch
As organizers pleaded their case, the anxious teens mulled around in the street, chatting on cell phones and waiting for a decision. For a moment it seemed the event might go on, but after nearly 10 minutes of deliberation, the fire marshals emerged with organizers who simply said, “It’s over guys.”
The visibly irritated crowd did leave the building, but they were not quick to disperse. Before long, in a short-lived act of defiance, one band took their show to the street, performing a percussion routine on spray-painted trash cans and shouting, “You can’t shut us down!” That didn’t last though, and organizers were left scrambling to accommodate the increasingly impatient crowd.
Photos by Jonathan Welch
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No background or explanation in this story? Is this journalism? Impossible to tell what the incident was about.
By Media Watcher
07/25/2010
There was no act of defiance at or after the concert by any members of the participating bands or the people gathered to watch them. The percussion duo mentioned in the article were street musicians totally unrelated to the concert or gathering at Collision. When they saw the crowds outside of Collision, they moved down Lexington from the Chocolate Lounge area and began playing. They did shout "You can't shut us down!". They also shouted out information about how to buy their CD on-line. The bands and gatherers dispersed peacefully and respectfully.
By cheryl mimken
07/26/2010
It is only a matter of time before this is construed by a minister or christian leader as an attempt to silence Christians.
By LOKEL
07/26/2010
christians do not deserve special treatment ... the fire marshalls were just doing their job.
By dpewen
07/26/2010
who is saying that christians deserve special treatment? of course they don't. and who is saying that anybody thinks that the fire marshalls were doing anything wrong? i don't see that implied in the article or any comments. i was there and no one was protesting that they get special treatment or protesting against the fire marshalls. the above article is inaccurate and attempts to create drama when there actually was none. bands played, fire marshalls arrived, bands and crowds dispersed. end of story. no drama.
By john
07/26/2010
My comment was a general statement "christians do not deserve special treatment"
By dpewen
07/26/2010
Just so you know, the band is Submission Red, a christian band who played a concert at the prayer gallery(which is where this is at). I'm not sure if they were related or not. Seeing as one of the Organizers for Collision knows the band and had set up a previous youth group trip to see them play at the Prayer Gallery, leads me to believe that they were involved. Submission Red look em up
By ThatGuy
07/26/2010
Hey everyone! I am the bass player for the last band that was able to play that day aka "All In A Day." To clear a few things up, there was a good 150 kids packed into a little space and over flowing into the street, and with the type of music that was going on you can bet a pretty penny that it was LOUD! This is why the show was brought to the fire marshalls attention, considering there was only one accesesable exit that was the main reason the show was shut down. On the other hand the police and fire marshall came up with a story that we needed a permit through Bele Chere to play that day, BUT there were literally hundreds of street musicans that day...did they not need a permit? Just a thught. But this was in no way an attack on chrisitans! The fire marshalls were just doing there job, but in my opinion they also came up with some bogus stories to have it shut down just because of the type of music being played. So there you have it, an eye witness comment from someone who was personally involved!
By Vince Riddick
08/04/2010