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Friday, July 29, 2011

Single Tweet Draws Rowdy Ravers to Hollywood

When a deejay sent a Twitter message Wednesday telling people to come to a concert in Hollywood celebrating the release of a movie about raves, he wrote: "Let's see if the magic of social networking will work today."

Well, it did — in ways he never imagined.

His tweet brought hundreds to Hollywood Boulevard, creating a near riot that closed off a busy section of the thoroughfare in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre for hours. The Los Angeles Police Department arrested three people on suspicion of felony vandalism in connection with damage to three police cruisers.

Officials said they were still considering criminal or civil actions against those who organized the event.

"Our personnel are working in conjunction with LAPD to investigate this incident. Once we receive the files and review everything we will make a determination about whether there was any criminal behavior," said John Franklin, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.

The deejay, known as Kaskade, did not return calls seeking comment. But he released a statement Thursday saying he didn't mean to incite trouble.

"I'm incredibly disappointed that last night ended the way it did," the statement read. "It's unfortunate that a few disrespectful people turned what was supposed to be a celebration of music into a regrettable event.

Without music, crowds outside the cinema grew restive and found themselves facing baton-wielding riot police. Three people were arrested after things turned rowdy, with would-be revelers hurling bottles at police and some jumping on a squad car.

Police and city officials were investigating what prompted the unruly crowd to gather. It was too early to say if Kaskade would face any legal action by authorities, city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The crowds gathered soon after Kaskade tweeted: "ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC(equals)BLOCK PARTY!!!"

He apparently underestimated the appeal to his more than 92,000 Twitter followers. By 6 p.m., hundreds of people had gathered outside the cinema and were spilling onto the street. Police and fire officials soon closed the boulevard to traffic.

"They showed up because, allegedly, the DJ tweeted he was doing a concert," fire Battalion Chief Michael Bowman said. "People's expectation was they thought they were going to a free concert in the street."

Kaskade later sent tweets urging peace.

"Everybody CHILL OUT!!! The cops are freaking out. BE SAFE AND LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!" he wrote.

Kaskade was on a plane to play a show in Spain and could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Duddie said the after-party crowd at Supperclub was smaller than expected because people had a hard time getting to the venue.

Some ravers "planked" in front of riot officers — an Internet-driven phenomenon in which people lie face down in improbable places while their friends snap pictures.

Police were bracing Thursday for another large crowd in Hollywood, where Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform in a parking lot near the theater that hosts ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." But the performance went smoothly and no problems were reported, police said.

The melee outside Grauman's was the latest music-related disruption in Southern California.

In October, members of the Orange County band Imperial Stars climbed atop a truck that stopped on U.S. 101 near Sunset Boulevard. Three members of the band, which performed a song called "Traffic Jam 101," have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, creating a public nuisance and other charges. They could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

The Electric Daisy Carnival is the largest electronic music party in the U.S.

After it was banned from Los Angeles, it moved to Las Vegas. At an Electric Daisy event in Dallas in June, a 19-year-old man died and more than two dozen people were treated at hospitals for drug, alcohol and heat-related problems.

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