The South by Southwest Scuffle

Nothing ruins a perfectly good conga line like when the long arm of the law joins in.

Austin's annual music biz confab, South by Southwest, got some controversy mixed in with the good times when two members and the manager of the Los Angeles Latino funk and hip-hop band Ozomatli were arrested after the band was accused of breaking a city noise ordinance and subsequently battling with police.

During an opening-night gig Wednesday at club Exodus, the Grammy-winning band and audience poured into Austin's crowded 6th Street for an end-of-show conga line, a regular practice of the vibrant live players. It was after 2 a.m., and the ordinance doesn't authorize loud music outside without a permit after 2 a.m. during South by Southwest.

When police asked the group to boogie back into the club, a scuffle broke out. The details depend on who you ask, but in the end percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi, bass player Willy Abers and manager Amy Sue Blackman-Romero were taken to jail, the most serious charge against Yamaguchi, who was accused of hitting a police officer with his drum, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The three were released on personal recognizance bonds, and the manager announced that the band's SXSW Saturday night opening slot for Los Lobos would be their last in Austin, ever.

"Aw, no, we're coming back," Ozomatli guitarist/singer Raul Pacheco told E! Online before the Saturday show, where hastily produced "Free the Ozo 3" T-shirts became the week's must-have souvenir. "[Blackman-Romero] said that she was just freaking out at that moment. She didn't mean that."

"A few officers made some bad decisions, they just made a mistake. None of that needed to happen...The most important thing is that we want [the charges] dropped, especially against Jiro," said Pacheco, who was still excited about their show at open-aired venue Stubb's. "We're going to blow it out tonight."

The charges have not been dropped, but one thing was for sure: All crowd participation stayed inside the club that night.

Other than that, it was music business as usual at SXSW during the five-nights of musical showcases.

Keynote speaker Little Richard gave an animated speech, warning bands to keep track of their finances, even though he spared no expense during his wild Wednesday night gig, donning a white rhinestoned jacket and playing with a massive band.

Panel discussions about digital downloading rights and with titles such as "The End of the Record Store?" painted a grim picture of the record industry. But you couldn't tell it by the crowd in the streets: Thousands of concertgoers attended over 1,200 shows at over 50 venues, attempting to tell the difference between the Thrills and the Stills, gathering info for their blogs and mingling with celebs Johnny Knoxville, Carson Daly and others.

Actors-turned-singers failed to amaze: Julie Delpy's set of plodding songs dragged on and Minnie Driver's pop-rock never quite got in tune, even though she wore a cowboy hat and everything. But hyped bands such as sassy 19-year-old Nellie McKay, thunderous New Yorkers the Secret Machines and Scottish imports Franz Ferdinand answered the call, playing over-stuffed shows and turning many away.

Keeping the musical offerings diverse, hip-hop overtook the popular club Emo's, featuring members of the Rhymesayers crew on Wednesday; Aesop Rock with El-P ruled on Thursday. Clipse played on another much buzzed-about bill with N.E.R.D. at the Austin Music Hall.

Veterans of the industry--such as Dwight Yoakam, Los Lobos, the B-52's and Kris Kristofferson--proved they still had the spunk to be respected.

Political chatter even snuck its way into the event. Punk label Fat Wreck Chords and youth voting organization Punk Voter took over Emo's club Friday night. NOFX headlined the show (their upcoming album is appropriately-titled War on Errorism) while comedian David Cross peppered an incendiary stand-up set with political talk.

"I'm completely wiped out. I've had about nine hours of sleep since Thursday," Cross said in the Austin airport on his way home. "And I didn't end up in jail."

Good, 'cuz have you ever seen that guy do the conga?