ANAHEIM : Celebrity Won’t Ban Alcohol, Rap Groups

An attorney for the Celebrity Theatre and city officials agreed Monday to tighten controls and increase security at future shows, but not to ban alcohol or rap concerts.

Mayor Fred Hunter, who called the meeting, had proposed both a ban on beer and wine sales at the downtown concert hall and a rule prohibiting rap groups.

But the attorney representing the theater, A. Raymond Hamrick III, sent a letter to the city last week that fell short of supporting a ban on rap groups, but said the theater would begin screening performers.

Hunter would not talk about Monday’s meeting, and Hamrick could not be reached. Councilman Tom Daly, who did not attend, said that banning alcohol also was no longer an issue and that “beefed-up security” seemed to be the priority.

“I don’t think anyone’s talking about that anymore,” said Daly about cutting off the theater’s alcohol flow. “The particular instance had nothing to do with beer and wine sales. It had to do with security.”

Daly was referring to the melee that broke out during a Dec. 27 concert and an unrelated shooting outside the theater that night as fans were waiting to attend performances by rappers Ice Cube of Los Angeles and Too Short of Oakland.

Los Angeles resident Willie Baker, 16, was shot in the abdomen by an unknown gunman, setting off panic and chaos among those still in line. Police said gunfire did not cause the reckless behavior inside the 2,500-seat concert hall, which eventually forced cancellation of the concert.