As it turns out, the police are getting quite arresty—both in terms of protesters and acredited journalists covering protesters. Early on yesterday, we caught sight of a small but not insignificant act of protest. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra—a self-described "radical marching band and dance troupe" that takes to the streets to demonstrate against "union-busters and tip-garnishers, gentrifiers and privatizers, xenophobes, homophobes, and a host of other big uglies"—was warming up near the grassy knolls of Capital Grounds. Dressed in stripes and tatters of green and black, their sartorial aesthetic is some fusion of bike messengers and elves.

We followed them as they made their way across the bridge on John Ireland Blvd. Just up the block, at the corner of John Ireland and Kellogg, sat a small cluster of angry chanters with signs declaring that "God hates fags” among other equally presumptuous damnations.

The Orchestra marched in the direction of the small mob, all the while playing music, all the while dancing. Dozens of SWAT team members lined the intersection, wearing body armor and being generally imposing.

The band crossed the street and surrounded the mob, who brandished their signs with defiant taunts. Each group's demonstration was ceaseless, but the horns, drumbeats, and claps of Rude Mechanical Orchestra drowned out the hateful shouts of the lesser cluster. After a few minutes, the Orchestra marched on. It was peaceful, but it was nowhere near silent.