Free Rapper Concert At Roxy, House Of Blues Canceled After Crowd Loses Control

WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Portions of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood were shut down Thursday after large crowds got aggressive and unruly outside the Roxy and later the House of Blues.

Sunset Boulevard between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevard was shut down just before 2 p.m. as hundreds of people gathered for a free concert late Thursday featuring rapper Future at the Roxy.

People began lining up at the venue as early as 9 a.m. , hoping to score a seat at the 500-seat venue, according to reports. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were called out when the crowd of more than 700 became rowdy at about 1 p.m., when wristbands were handed out for the show.

The midnight show, which was the last in a series of four free shows from the Atlanta rapper to promote his recent release, "Dirty Sprite 2," was canceled as of 3 p.m.

LA County Sheriff's deputies in helmets lined Sunset Boulevard and called in reinforcements from as far as Santa Clarita before ordering the crowd to disperse at about 3:45 p.m.

Sunset Boulevard was reopened to traffic by 5 p.m.

The Ataris, which was scheduled to headline The Roxy Thursday night, tweeted that their 8:30 p.m. show is going on as scheduled.

KCAL9's Peter Daut said the Future planned to move his show to the House of Blues.

He said a crowd outside the HOB was also eager. At one point someone set off what appeared to be fire extinguishers into the crowd causing momentary panic.

Many people ran into the street. Daut quoted a police officer who said it was a miracle no one was injured.

The concert at HOB was set to go on as planned but officers monitoring the scene canceled that show after the crowd there also got unruly.

"He's Future Hendrix. He's the hottest rapper out right now. so yeah it's worth it," said Vorsper Aiwizi.

The crowd at HOB was less rowdy said one concertgoer.

"A lot of pushing and shoving, water being thrown, snacks being thrown, cops telling us to leave, it's just been a bunch of chaos instead of happiness," said fan Alex Clemmons.

"We didn't have to use any force, didn't have to touch anybody," said Sgt. Richard Bowman with the LA County Sheriff's Department about the unruly but ultimately compliant crowd.

Many fans who waited outside the Roxy for most of the day left disappointed.

"I'm really upset because we came out here hoping to see Future, but that did not happen," said Monty Burks.

In the House of Blues incident, Sunset was closed between Kings and La Cienga while police dispersed the large crowd.