HUNTINGTON BEACH : Concerts Blocked by Council Member

Outdoor rock concerts scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at an alternative clothing store have been canceled after objections from a City Council member.

Councilwoman Grace Winchell said she appealed the concert permit given the store, the Electric Chair, because she felt that “special events and things taking place downtown really need a good review.”

But the store’s controller, Patricia Bushman, says the issue is censorship of art and discrimination against youth.

The Electric Chair, which also houses a body-piercing service, had received a permit to feature rock bands in its parking lot.

“We think the whole thing is unfair and prejudicial,” Bushman said Wednesday.

Councilman Ralph Bauer applauded Winchell’s action at Monday’s council meeting. He said bands that have played at the Electric Chair before have been “an outrage to the city.” He said band members used obscene language that is not in keeping with a “family fair.”

The concert would have coincided with this weekend’s Main Street Festival, a fair that features fine arts, crafts, food and live music.

Promoter Chris Fahey called Winchell’s appeal “ridiculous” and said the concert would have benefited Share Our Selves, a direct-aid charity in Costa Mesa.

“We’re raising food for the homeless. It seems they’ve got bigger things to worry about,” he said.

Some of the bands that were scheduled to play at the Electric Chair will play at 8 p.m. Sunday at Our House, a coffeehouse and bar in Costa Mesa. They are Dirt Clod Fight, John Boy and F.H. Hill. Admission is three cans of food to be donated to SOS.