A few days ago, I embarked on an adventure never yet taken in my life. Not a huge adventure, but one all the same. I went to a concert to hear Sevendust, Three Days Grace and Avenged Sevenfold. For those who are not familiar with these bands, they would be categorized somewhere in the heavy metal/alternative rock/mosh genre of music. And I had a fabulous time!
My date had gotten floor seats, and warned me that he likes to be close to the stage, so I knew I would be right in the midst of it all. I have to admit I was slightly nervous, but still excited. I repeatedly told him, "Just bring me back alive!" which he gladly agreed to do. The crowd was an eclectic and interesting mix of people, most of whom had numerous, eclectic and interesting tattoos, body piercings and hair styles. There were plenty of fishnets, big ol' "hooker" boots, ripped jeans, A7X T-shirts and black leather. Everyone was fairly tame (as tame as you can be at a concert such as this) for Sevendust and Three Days Grace. Don't get me wrong, people were enjoying themselves, and there was plenty of headbanging and fist pumping, but not a lot of moshpit action.
Enter Avenged Sevenfold, aka A7X. They started the show with someone "hanging" himself from the rafters in a noose, and he was forced to stay there, supposedly dead, for the entire first song. Immediately, I was fascinated by the theatrics, and had already been staring at the sound boards for a half hour while we waited for the concert to begin. Then began the pyrotechnics. If I remember correctly, there were no less than 6 flames burning across the front of the stage for most of the show. The music was loud, the crowd was loud, the flames were hot (and yes, we did indeed move closer to the stage after the first two bands played), the band members were all very intense and the energy was huge and infectious.
Then came the moshpits. One started just a few people away from where we stood. This was fascinating to me, as I had seriously never seen a moshpit in live form before. I knew the basic concept - people "dance" by throwing themselves against others, and the ring of people at the outside of the pit keep the dancing going by pushing the dancers back into the middle of the pit. We were just outside the ring, and naturally got bumped a few times. We moved to our right, the pit moved with us. I was still admiring the theatrics of the stage performance, but found that I couldn't fully enjoy the show because every time I took my attention away from the pit I got bumped.
I watched the pit closely and realized there was, indeed, somewhat of a method to the madness. If someone fell, two or three people were immediately on top of him (I saw one female mosher, the rest were guys) to pick him up off the floor. People rammed into one another, then shook hands. If someone got bumped just a little too hard, apologies were given. There was no animosity whatsoever. Aggression, yes. Anger, no. And standing on the outer ring, I realized the physics of a moshpit were extremely simple. If you could brace yourself and watch what the people in the pit were doing, chances were much higher that you would be able to catch an oncoming mosher and push him back before he knocked you off your feet. It was a game, and a fun one to most of those involved.
My date was very protective of me, and stood between the me and the moshers. Still, I braced myself for the times that he got pushed just a little too hard and bumped into me. At one point, two moshers came toward us. He moved to his left to guard me from one mosher, and the other mosher bounced to the right, hitting another guy in front of me, who in turn knocked into me, hitting my chin with his shoulder. The moshers got pushed back to center, and the guy who bumped me apologized. I laughed it off, and wasn't the least bit upset. However, we moved far away from the pit after that, and just in time. Before starting the next song, the lead singer invited the whole floor to turn ourselves into one big moshpit. Which most people were happy to do. I was quite thankful we left our spot when we did.
There's always so much more that goes on than what we may first realize. Looking at the stage and the band members, we may initially only see big flames, headbanging rockers and mayhem. But if we break it down, there's an infinite number of things that have to happen both before and during the show to give it the look it's suppose to accomplish. The pyrotechnics have to be 100% absolutely perfectly perfect. All of the music boards, gear and instruments have to be tuned and tested out. There's a kind of choreography that happens between the band members so they can all move around the stage gracefully without getting in one another's way. That poor guy who had to hang "dead" through an entire song... there was definitely some prep work that went into that stunt. And I don't know about you, but I can only headbang heavily for about 30 to 60 seconds before coming close to unconsciousness, so there's something to be said about the musicians who can play correctly while headbanging to a 5 minute or more song.
And of course, the intermingling and psychology of the moshpit crowd. Prepare yourself for what you know will inevitably come and it won't be a surprise when it does happen. You'll be able to react and bounce back from the shock very quickly, with very little effect. Don't pay attention, and it will knock you down. Even if you don't ask to be a part of it, sometimes you inadvertently get dragged into it. Have an escape route planned. I told my date as soon as we got there that if I were to go missing, he should check the sound boards, because that's probably where I would be hanging out. Not everyone who bumps you is trying to hurt you. That might just be their way of having fun, and just because it's different than yours is no reason to get upset with them. It's ok to play along a little.
Life is like a moshpit. Be prepared. Bounce back. Don't assume people are out to get you. Play along. Push nicely, and only when you have to. Pick someone up when they fall. Shake hands and hug, even after knocking each other around. I had an incredible time with my date, listening to and analyzing the concert. And I did enjoy the music... at least most of it! It was a fascinating learning adventure, to be sure!
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