The Brookdale “B5” Boyband Riot

November 12, 2005: A day that will live in infamy in Brookdale Mall lore.

Ever heard of a pop group called “B5”? Yeah, me neither. But if you have heard of this boyband, you probably don’t remember their music. You remember the mall riot.

Some boyband called “B5” made an appearance and all hell broke lose. This was kind of surprising, in two ways –

1: By 2005, boybands had pretty much faded away from the scene and were mostly irrelevant. Hell, the Backstreet Boys tried making a comeback that year, and they couldn’t even climb the charts.

2:  This “band” was virtually unheard of – WTF was all the fuss about? Were these boys that OMG CUTE? Plus, this was a Disney-sponsored event; it wasn’t like Suge Knight was there promoting NWA. You can pretty much expect a brawl at a 2-Live Crew or C-Murder show, not an obscere boyband concert in a shopping mall.

But this is Brookdale. ANYTHING can happen. Gotta watch your back.

A  reader of this blog directed me to his website, where he snapped photos of the brawl – absolutely worth checking out. Before I saw these pictures, I had no idea how much commotion there actually was.  I figured, maybe a few squad cars and the sheriff. No, they had what looked like fucking SWAT teams in full-on riot rear, guns drawn, and hundreds of paddywagons & Crown Vics surrounding the shopping center. The reader even said he saw a “Water Patrol” vehicle there, boat and all!

http://www.mindformation.com/brookdale_disturbance.html

Yep. Just your ordinary day at the Brookdale Mall.