At 7 a.m. Saturday, Fifth Street will be shut down between Central and Copper avenues.
At 5 p.m. Central will be shut off between Second and Sixth streets and at 9:45 p.m., it will be shut off up to Seventh Street - all for the 2004 Alibi Fall Crawl.
Fall Crawl, a night featuring over 100 national and local bands, happens every August. Its counterpart, Spring Crawl, is every April.
Carl Petersen, Alibi general manager, said attendance fluctuates greatly year to year, but he expects a crowd of more than 10,000 Saturday.
The streets will be full of bar hoppers, music lovers, drunkards and party animals - as well as security, Alibi employees, firemen and police officers.
"The whole thing is pretty much loaded with responsible people," Petersen said.
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But they run into common Downtown problems, he said.
"Basically there are always some fights, and there are a few problems," he said. "But they (officers) say on the whole, there aren't any major problems."
The crawl also draws many UNM students.
Sophomore Erin Loder is not passing up the chance to go this year. She said the best part about it is all the bands, but she was quick to warn going alone is not a good idea for safety reasons.
"It would be kind of ignorant for someone to go by themselves," Loder said. "And if you do, have faith in your ignorance."
After each crawl, Petersen said he calls Capt. Ron DeBuck from the North Valley substation to make sure there weren't any large incidents.
DeBuck said there will be reserves along with officers on duty.
"There has been an upswing in violence Downtown, but there will be a huge police presence," he said.
About 45 police officers are scheduled to work the crawl, including the mounted horse unit, SWAT team and police chiefs.
DeBuck said for the most part, people will behave.
"Ninety-five out of 100 people are good people even when they are drunk," he said.
That leaves the other five.
"You are going to get your share of people who will cause problems, and they do," DeBuck said. "I'm sure we'll break up some fights and take some people to jail."
There have been minor changes to the crawl such as adding all-ages venues, a security switch from last fall and tables for people to sit at before the bands.
Petersen said only the few lucky, quick people will get those tables or seats.
He said he would be resistant to make any big changes, because he and the city have a formula, which includes permits for the event and shutting down the streets at certain times.
"If I have a formula the city likes," he said, "I wouldn't deviate from that formula."
Wristbands are on sale for $15 in advance. They will go up to $20 Saturday. They are available at the Alibi office, Natural Sound, all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.alibi.com.
