[Imc] Update on the 10/8/01 fisticuff outside the IMC.

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to update everyone on the fisticuff that happened after last 
night's show at the IMC.  Brian Hagy did an amazing job of coordinating 
efforts, keeping track of different folks, contacting me and others, 
getting the place cleaned, and otherwise keeping on top of everything 
during a fairly tense situation; he should be commended for his efforts (so 
give him lots of love next time you see him).  By the time I showed up, 
everything was fully under control, clean-up was well advanced, and 
everything was calm.

The police showed up and I talked with them and will be picking up a report 
later this week.  The police were still trying to track down the person who 
initiated the fight last night (apparently he was an unknown from 
Peoria).  Greg, who rented the place, has done a great job of making sure 
the place was cleaned up, and we'll be talking about ways to prevent 
anything of this sort from happening again.  Obviously, because it was a 
punk show, there is the tendency to blame either the music or the people 
involved.  My own experiences talking with folks last night is that they 
were all deeply concerned, and expressed a heartfelt desire that we not 
take the actions of one individual to be indicative of the type of things 
that happen at punk shows.  Greg also mentioned that he will not be 
scheduling further street-punk shows at the IMC (which are particularly 
uppity), and we will discuss procedures to insure that this does not happen 
at future shows.

I want to see us remain a venue for future punk shows, and by working with 
Greg I am confident that we will be able to create an environment that is 
both safe for participants and respectful of the IMC.

Thank you for your understanding, and thank you again to Brian who really 
went above and beyond the call of duty,

--Sascha Meinrath