Every Picture Tells A Story: In Seventh Heaven

The following text is taken from my book "DANCEFLOOR THUNDERSTORM: Land Of The Free, Home Of The Rave". It's about the 1996 L.A. New Years Eve rave "In Seventh Heaven", which was shut down by the Los Angeles Police Department, triggering a riot that was one of the most memorable music-based disturbances in L.A. since the 1970s.

"Although the rave scene was loved and embraced by its fans, that sentiment was not shared by most American law enforcement. There had already been a long history of antagonism between the scene and police, particularly in Los Angeles when the parties proliferated further than the L.A.P.D. was willing to accept.  Raves had been stopped by local authorities in the past, but most of these were smallish events that didn’t have the proper permits and the like.  Thus, nobody who attended the now-infamous In Seventh Heaven party at the very mainstream Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown L.A. really expected anything terrible to happen.  It was just supposed to be another big New Years’ Eve party, but it sadly ended up turning into the mother of all rave busts."

"The event began calmly enough at 8:00, when promoters CPU 101 and GoVentures opened the doors to the large and excited crowd waiting outside the gates. Eventually, about 10,000 people had made their way in before things began to go wrong, primarily due to the efforts of one completely unexpected villain. Lurking within the vendors inside the event was a would-be vitamin entrepreneur determined to cash in on the burgeoning Herbal Ecstasy market. Lacking the proper ingredients to make the stuff, he instead decided to lace his “Herbal fX” concoction with an industrial solvent, and then give samples of his creation away for free to members of the crowd as a promotion. As a result, many people who had ingested it soon began getting sick and dropping to the ground. At 9:15 the fire department was called, and soon ambulances began arriving to treat the affected partygoers even as the promoters repeatedly warned the fans over the PA system about the “Herbal fX.”  In total, thirty-one people ended up being taken to local hospitals by the night’s end."

"Meanwhile, the L.A.P.D. had also been summoned. They found the freeway interchanges surrounding the Grand Olympic jammed with cars trying to get to the event, and several thousand fans outside the auditorium waiting to get in. As I watched with a growing sense of dread from the top of the main stage, nearly 150 officers decked out in riot gear approached the gates. From their body language, one could tell that these guys meant business. They closed the doors, interrogated the promoters and some time after 11:00pm shut the party down, much to the displeasure of the thousands outside the gates holding tickets still waiting to get in.  Before long, the displeasure turned into violence as the cops forcibly tried to disperse the crowd with concussion grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas and nightsticks.  As the confrontation on the street escalated into a riot, the officers inside the parking lot began forcing the fans out of the venue…directly into the violence.  It was utter chaos, and naturally the mainstream media had a field day with the whole thing, damning the rioters and the rave scene alike."

"For causing this debacle, Mr. “Herbal fX” was arrested, eventually pleading guilty to federal charges of mislabeling a food or drug product, and served a grand total of three months in prison.  That’s right.  Three whole months."

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A truly ridiculous scenario, and an even more ridiculous outcome. I sometimes wonder what happened to that guy. Considering the number of people he sent to the hospital and the amount of damage that was done during the riot, IMHO the punishment did not fit the crime. But maybe that's just me...what do you think?