Pam and Dave Swan hosted another of their big annual new year's day bashes at their beautiful East bay home. I thought I'd report on the event, which was, as every year, eventful.

It started at 12 noon, as every year. The early crowd has more of the relatives and non-music friends than later. I arrived around 4:45, in time for the singing and tune session to begin. It was a bigger crowd than usual this year. Pam and Dave are great hosts. Dave cooks his legendary vegetarian pizzas, and Pam makes her equally legendary Thai vegetable soup. It's a great schmooze party as well as a music party. Eat, sing, play, talk, eat more, sing more, talk more....

It started to get eventful around 8pm. Pam was bringing out a fresh tureen of soup when she accidentally tripped over BSeed's outstretched legs, sticking out from his 6'8 frame as he played a tune on his banjo. Half the soup went on Seed's lap, the tureen flying away and landing on top of Riggy's head while he was taking out his concertina. Unable to see anything or remove the tureen, which fit his head like a surgical glove, he tried to use it as a battering ram in order to break it. He aimed for nothing in particular and charged ahead. Fearing for his life, as he was charging straight towards him, Dave opened the front door and watched as Riggy charged through it and out onto the front porch, knocking over Pam's best friend as she was reaching for a bottle of ale from one of the coolers. In a panic, Pam ran outside and wheeled Riggy around towards the open door. Riggy charged back inside and ran, head down, straight into Seed, who pushed him back against another singer, who promptly flung her guitar down and put Riggy in a headlock. Thinking Riggy was being attacked, Radriano, who just entered, grabbed hold of the guitar player, who still had Riggy in the headlock, and tried to pry her loose. Other guests joined the fray, some grabbing Riggys legs and puling him in one direction, others grabbing Radriano and the guitar player and trying to pull him in the opposite direction. Spilling out onto the porch, the growing tug of war attracted about 30 neighbors who heard the commotion. Never wanting to miss a Swanfest, the neighborhood joined in the fray, choosing between the guitar pullers and the concertina pullers. One of the neighbors was wearing his 49ers jersey, and as he grabbed the shirt of a Raiders fan in front of him, rumors began to spread throughout the neighborhood that 49ers fans were invading an Oakland Raiders fan's party and causing a ruckus. Calls went out to the "Raider Nation" (hardcore Raiders football fans) and a Raiders rescue posse was quickly formed. In only fifteen minutes, a mass of over 500 fans in silver and black jerseys and face paint converged on the Swan home. This ofcourse angered the 49er fan, who decided to even the odds, and, going to the Swan' computer, put out an e mail alert to the "49er Faithful" to rescue him. Braving the bridge traffic, a red and gold 'niners fan battalion arrived and joined the battle, which now raged over several blocks. The police and fire departments were alerted, and an all-points announcement brought a force of 600 police officers to quell the disturbance. Several 49er fans, also being folk musicians, decided to e mail the 2,000-strong mailing list of the city's folk music club, accordion club, and Scottish fiddle club. Brandishing accordions, pipes, didgeridoos, bodhrans, and copies of Rise Up Singing, the folk music club's elite SWAT team headed for the melee. Not to be outdone, the Bay Area Country Dance Society contacted the West coast Morris teams who were in town for an ale. Shouting "Wassail!" and Huzzah!" the Morris dancers gleefully danced into the now full-fledged riot, trying desperately to rescue any accordionists they could spot.

Then all hell broke loose.

Silver and black jerseyed fans lunged for red-tinted Paolo accordions, bodhrans were flung into backyards, handkerchiefs flew through the air, police and firefighter's bullhorns were stolen, and they tried desperately to calm the crowds by speaking through abandoned didgeridos, which only further inflamed the mob. Word quickly spread to the Governor's mansion in Sacramento, where the Governor called in reporters and declared Berkeley a disaster area (even though the party was in Oakland). Arriving on the scene and forming two contra lines, the 5,000 plus National Guard soldiers arranged the rioters into "ones" and "twos" couples, and executed a perfect California Twirl, swinging the rioters around and sending them through the lines and into the awaiting trucks. Order was finally restored at 4:00am.

Thanks, Pam and Dave, for hosting another fantastic party. I hope Riggy finds a way to return your tureen.

Chanteyranger