Tales from the Trail

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.

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.