Pride of the Pacific 2009 – Night Concert Photos

Images/A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Hi all,

Above are a few of the photos I snapped at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 night time benefit concert for Tonga which was held at Finnegan's Irish Bar in Royal Oak this past Saturday night.

The performers featured are DJ Willie, Chase, the Babylon Riddim Band, Jah Make Yah, Fob Squad, Devolo & Mareko and 6 Pound.

What I said about the day concert previously applies to the night concert as well; if you missed this one you missed a real treat! As a matter of fact, I found the night concert to be even more enjoyable as it was an R18+ event and everyone really let loose! ;)

Just as a side note: After the concert was over there were a number of young people that had gathered in the parking lot across the road from Finnegan’s. Well, wouldn’t you know, in their infinite wisdom the New Zealand Police decided to implement Operation Booze Blitz on the crowd.

I was outside well prior to the police showing up and I can assure you that there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on; there was no violence happening; no crime and no one was overly drunk or disorderly.

It was just a bunch of young people whooping it up as young people tend to do. Hell, I frequently whooped it up myself in my late teens and early twenties!

Anyway, within seconds of the first police car showing up, and the officers harassing the young people for no apparent good reason, a beer bottle got thrown, and then another! That did it! Within the space of five minutes we had six police cars and twelve officers on the scene and the crowd was quickly dispersed.

The whole thing was totally unnecessary and the police caused a problem where none actually existed! So much for Operation Booze Blitz!

Kind regards