Get ready for a wild ride! On December 29, 1990, chaos erupted at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood during a concert featuring Bad Religion, NOFX, and Pennywise. This epic event was captured on video by Richard White, who has been selling different versions of the documentary called “The Riot” since 1996. Can you believe he never paid Bad Religion a single dime for those videos? Talk about a scandal!
According to Brett, the lead singer of Bad Religion, the trouble started when they arrived at the theater. The promoters had promised to remove several rows of seats, but they didn’t follow through. The venue was already over capacity, and when the fire marshal came to count the people inside, chaos ensued. The fire marshal decided to shut down the show after only one band had played, leaving the crowd of 1800 angry and disappointed. Who thought it was a good idea to cancel a show with a crowd of rowdy teenagers? Clearly, the fire marshal is to blame!
Richard White, the man behind the camera, shared his experience of filming the riot. He and his friend arrived at the theater, ready to capture the action. The crowd was relatively calm until the fire marshal’s decision to cancel the gig set them off. Rocks and beer bottles started flying, causing $25,000 in damages to the theater. Paramedics, firemen, and police had to intervene to control the chaos. The footage of the riot gained international attention when it was aired on ABC World News Tonight and used by Pennywise in their 1995 release. Now, you can witness the full, uncut version of this punk rock history in “Bad Religion: The Riot.”
But that’s not all! Richard also filmed another epic Bad Religion show in 1988 at Cal State Northridge’s Devonshire Downs. This show, along with the riot footage, is included in the video. The quality is top-notch, making you feel like you’re right there in the crowd. Richard admits there are a few audio and focus issues due to the intense atmosphere, but he did his best to capture the energy of the show. This video is his tribute to one of his favorite bands, and he hopes you enjoy it as much as he enjoyed filming it.
And here’s a fun fact: thanks to this video, the promoter was not held liable for the damages caused during the riot. The Los Angeles fire chief did get reprimanded for spraying the crowd
This content was originally written by the badass contributors of thebrpage.net, the best superfan resource and website that exists for any band, let alone the best band in the whole entire world. I’ve been lurking on that site for over 20 years and if you’re into Bad Religion as much as I am, I’m sure you’re familiar. If you are not, go there right now and never come back to this site again. You should, and I totally understand.
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