A standoff between rock fans and police led to 102 arrests Wednesday night when fired-up concertgoers took to the streets after a Rage Against the Machine show.

Several hundred fans of the band, whose songs include “Take the Power Back,” and “Bullet in the Head,” marched through downtown Minneapolis after the band finished its set at the Target Center arena.

The show ended at roughly the same time as the third night of the Republican convention across the Mississippi River in St. Paul. Fans of the politically radical band mixed with exuberant Republicans headed to exclusive parties where they toasted vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speech.

As police in riot gear faced shirtless rock fans in the streets, Republicans looked on from the rooftop deck of the exclusive R. Norman’s steakhouse, where bigwigs like Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman pressed the flesh.

Many of those at the party were not impressed with the spectacle.

“They’ll claim police brutality, then sue and win and make enough money to come to the next convention,” one partygoer said.

“They can sit there all night because they don’t have jobs,” said another.

The protesters didn’t sit there all night, in fact. Police arrested 102  after they occupied an intersection and refused to leave, said Bill Palmer of the Joint Information Center.

Most were ticketed for presence at an unlawful assembly, but two were booked on assault and obstruction of legal process, Palmer said.

A reception in Minneapolis Tuesday night for Indian Americans who support Republican presidential candidate John McCain went well: the food was tasty, the drinks flowed, and everyone touted McCain’s informal support of the U.S.-India civil nuclear accord.

But then people tried to get to the Republican National Convention.

“We thought it was in Minneapolis, so we decided to stay at the Hilton here. Now it’s very hard to go back and forth,” said Sambhu Banik, an attendee at the last five Republican conventions.

Like many others, Banik mistook the billing of this year’s convention, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, to mean Minneapolis. In fact, almost all official proceedings are taking place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, 10 miles and at least a $20 cab ride away.

The Twin Cities made a combined bid for the RNC because neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul could hold such large crowds on their own, making this the first political convention hosted simultaneously by two cities. They have a long-running sibling rivalry, and the compromise “Minneapolis-St. Paul” billing has left some St. Paul residents feeling “punked but good,” in the words of Rubén Rosario, a columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Back at the Indo-American dinner, a few of the attendees chose not to make the trek back to St. Paul for the evening convention speeches. Banik said he catches whatever rides he can.

“I’m really popular because I’m the only one with a car,” said fellow attendee Rudy Pamintuan.

The travel logistics haven’t dampened Banik’s enthusiasm for McCain. The situation could even bring him closer to the candidate, who is booked into the very same hotel.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Joe Skipper