Riot At SXSW Was More Than Just Fucked Up

A riot at Austin, Texas's South by Southwest festival early Saturday morning on the Lemar Pedestrian Bridge forced fans to jump into the river below to escape chaos.

Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up and pals No Age were playing an unofficial gig at around 4 a.m. CMT that about 1,000 fans congregated to watch. A mosh-pit was created that was reported about 30-people wide. The bridge could not handle the weight and began to buckle and bounce, prompting fans to jump off the bridge and into the river. Police arrived at the scene, but were powerless to stop the frenzied pit.

"I could feel the bridge going up and down — it was crazy," Fucked Up guitarist Mike Haliechuck told NME.com. "The police couldn’t do anything, so they just had to wait."

There are no reports that any fans were hurt during the riot.

Fucked Up played a showcase Friday evening at Scoot Inn with World/Inferno Friendship Society, Man Man, and The Unsane.

In case you're curious about the bridge riot, it was documented and uploaded to YouTube: