THE SHOW MUST GO ON….
So if you’ve seen the news, you’ll know that upon the loss of game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, the downtown core of Vancouver became a total war zone. Before the Boston Bruins had even left the ice, cars had been overturned and set a blaze on the streets surrounding Rogers arena as ignorant rioters began destroying everything in their path.
I had been scheduled to play at Cinema for what was to be a victory celebration. Although the desired outcome wasn’t achieved, there was still a tonne of people downtown so I came in to spin anyway. I was already downtown watching the game at a friends apartment, so I made my way on foot from the West End to Granville St. As I arrived at Granville, it was pretty clear that things were about to get as bad there as they were over on Georgia with fights beginning to break out all over.
Fortunately I got inside Cinema unharmed just before things really started to heat up, literally. After playing for about 40 minutes, I noticed everyone rushing to the windows. The street had gone from full of rowdy people to a full blown battle between rioters and police. A dumpster was on fire outside of the bar, people were getting slammed up against the windows, it was complete and utter chaos. And then came the tear gas…
I guess someone had opened the front door because all of sudden everyone in the bar was covering there face as the burning sensation of tear gas took effect. I had an extra shirt, so I quickly covered up my face, got some water and kept the music going. Fortunately the air cleared after about 10 or 15 minutes and things returned to normal in the bar with only a slight hint of the gas remaining.
What happened next was something I didn’t expect. Not having the option to leave due to the turmoil directly outside, everyone inside chose to make the best of the situation and we got a full blown dance party started. It was really cool because it actually aided in putting some of the more concerned staff/patrons at ease. We had food, drinks and were safe with no place to go so why not enjoy ourselves? I wish I had a photo to capture the surreal scene as people inside danced their hearts out while on the other side of the glass police clashed with rioters and attempted to put out fires amidst clouds of tear gas.
All in all, its pretty sad that this kind of chaos can erupt from a sporting event. However, politics aside, I have to say that is was a pretty special moment to see people enjoying themselves while in the middle of such madness. I am happy to know that I was able to contribute something positive in a night filled with so much negativity. Party on!
