[paintingravens]

I went to a Flogging Molly concert not this past friday, but the friday before -- the 19 of February.

First of all, lemme just say it was EPIC.

Secondly, I moshed my face off. Like, I dove into that mosh pit like a BAMF. And it was AWESOME. Got in a bit of good crowd-surfing as well.

I know I'm by no means the only one to receive some kickass bruises from a mosh pit -- I DID get some kickass bruises, but I view them as signs of a killer night, and I displayed them with pride. Hmm... do you think moshing could be considered maybe a different form of self injury? I mean, I would repeat that night again in a heartbeat, but I don't think I would simply to hurt myself... maybe the desire to receive pain was there somewhere in the back of my mind, but the main intent at the time was to just go all out and have fun. I wasn't completely reckless—there's a technique to moshing, especially if you're 5'4” skinny-*** Filipina and everyone around you is a guy that's twice your size and width; to me, it's all a matter of keeping the arms up protecting the face (I don't particularly want to go home with a huge black eye, lol) and avoiding the big, really crowded clumps of moshers consisting of gargantuan 20-something year old dudes, but still throwing yourself in there enough to add plenty of momentum to the pinball-like mosh cycle... :P

I think there's a philosophy to moshing... a concert is a place where tons of people gather to have a good time and release any of that stress that's been building up throughout the week. We gather, we fling ourselves into eachother, we may fall a couple of times but we pick each other back up, we may inflict a few good bruises on each other, but it's done unintentionally and playfully (albeit, intensely playfully), and it's all in the spirit of rocking out. I think moshing is symbolic of the ideal human connection. We gather together to share a similar experience. A concert is a place were we can throw ourselves into each other as hard as we can (release all that daily frustration), and we take it, we share it, we laugh about it. We knock each other down, but we help each other up; possibly analogous to sharing each others pains and problems and helping each other through them? To me, it seems that moshing brings people together—not nearly as much as simply attending a concert only to stand in one place for hours just to listen to the music. While moshing, no one gets pissed at the other because you accidentally got elbowed in the face, and no one tries to start a fight because you got punched in the gut (both blows I received during this concert...:P); you take it in stride and laugh about it (plus, the adrenaline's pretty pumped already, so it's not like you feel much of it; I remember the first concert I went to, I went up to go crowdsurfing, and for some reason, no one noticed I was up in the air -- I fell on my back pretty hard, but I didn't feel it much, lol).


Idk, I'm just rambling. Fellow moshers, feel free to add to it. This thread is pretty useless. :P

This is totally foreign to me.

[Typo]

hrm I'm not much of a mosher, but I can see what your saying, and other friends I have that mosh say close to the same thing

lol the only injury I received from a concert was getting my foot stuck in the gate (I had proped my foot up in the space between the bars inbetween bands then almost couldn't get my foot back out,)

[Junerain]

MOSH ON, MOSHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moreta]

I don't like moshers.....or people that crowd surf....since I usually position myself in the front row. I enjoy stepping out of the way so crowd surfers fall to the floor. I was at a Saliva concert one time, in the front row, and people were moshing behind me, and this huge dude slammed right into me, which led to having 3 bruised ribs from hitting the metal railing. Not fun. Which reminds me, there was this girl there that was like 4'10" or something, that wanted to fight me at the end of the of the show b/c one of the security guys gave me one of the set lists from the stage. I just laughed at her and pushed her out of the way, and she was so drunk, she fell down. It was hilarious.

[paintingravens]

Originally Posted by QueenAccountant

I don't like moshers.....or people that crowd surf....since I usually position myself in the front row. I enjoy stepping out of the way so crowd surfers fall to the floor. I was at a Saliva concert one time, in the front row, and people were moshing behind me, and this huge dude slammed right into me, which led to having 3 bruised ribs from hitting the metal railing. Not fun. Which reminds me, there was this girl there that was like 4'10" or something, that wanted to fight me at the end of the of the show b/c one of the security guys gave me one of the set lists from the stage. I just laughed at her and pushed her out of the way, and she was so drunk, she fell down. It was hilarious.

lol, I'm just picturing this tiny person trying to pick a fight... like a little weasel, or something, haha...

If you don't like the mosh pit, perhaps in the future, you should consider finding a spot that is not directly in front of it. The mosh pit is not going to move out of the way for you. :P

[Indie'sOK]

I'd like to try moshing Yeah!! We young people gotta do this together!

[nvr_mnd]

I don't mosh, haha.

Saying that though I've only been to small venues, but I'm really more subdued than I even thought I was.

[Moreta]

Originally Posted by paintingravens

lol, I'm just picturing this tiny person trying to pick a fight... like a little weasel, or something, haha...

If you don't like the mosh pit, perhaps in the future, you should consider finding a spot that is not directly in front of it. The mosh pit is not going to move out of the way for you. :P

I don't really go to concerts anymore, because a.) nobody worth seeing ever comes here, and b.) I don't feel like driving 4 hrs to either DC or Atlanta (which I have done before).

The last concert I went to was to see NIN in Nov '08.

If you don't like the mosh pit, perhaps in the future, you should consider finding a spot that is not directly in front of it. The mosh pit is not going to move out of the way for you. :P

Oh? So before you buy a ticket you get a seating chart that designates mosh pit here?

To think it is cool to trample and bruise those who thought they were going to a concert and not a rugby match is quite telling.

[paintingravens]

Originally Posted by QueenAccountant

I don't really go to concerts anymore, because a.) nobody worth seeing ever comes here, and b.) I don't feel like driving 4 hrs to either DC or Atlanta (which I have done before).

The last concert I went to was to see NIN in Nov '08.

There are some good concerts that come to Charlotte, especially at the Verizon Wireless amphitheater (Warped Tour 2010 is there on July 22 ), and it's not too far from Winston-Salem--like, an hour and a half away from here (well, it'll probably be much slower with concert traffic, but if you leave early, who knows?) Definitely easier than driving for 4 hours. The last concert I went to was in downtown Charlotte at the Fillmore, and I went to one at Amos' Southend, also in downtown Charlotte, but Verizon amphitheater is also MUCH MUCH MUCH larger... and there's an actual seating chart there, lol, with YES designated mosh pits, haha (or so I've heard; I've never actually attended a concert at Verizon). It's much easier to avoid the mosh pit when you got lawn seats.
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Originally Posted by TheByzantine

Oh? So before you buy a ticket you get a seating chart that designates mosh pit here?

To think it is cool to trample and bruise those who thought they were going to a concert and not a rugby match is quite telling.

Depends on the place. Like I said, the one I went to was much smaller than the Verizon amphitheater, and there was no seating chart, so it was a pretty fight-for-your-spot place, and there was no "designated mosh pit".
The mosh pits generally start up in the same area (usually front-center area), and there's not much one can do about it once they start. They gain momentum fast. And standing up in the very front is just asking to get pummeled by moshers... (sorry Queen ...) There are always other places to stand that are safe from the frantic blows of excited moshers.

So what you are saying is that anyone who wants a front row sit is fair game to be bruised and battered?

[paintingravens]

Originally Posted by TheByzantine

So what you are saying is that anyone who wants a front row sit is fair game to be bruised and battered?

These "designated mosh pits" are full of standing people. If you manage to make it to the front row, chances are, most everyone else in the concert is standing too (unless it's like Verizon Amphitheater and has seating arrangements). Here, there are no "front row seats"; it's pretty much a free-for-all, position-wise.
No, they're not "fair game". It's not a hunting range. The people in the mosh pit are not targeting the unfortunate people in the front row. But if you make it to the front row and expect to be completely safe and bruise free by the end of the concert, then you are sorely mistaken. The mosh pit extends to the front row, and it's filled with a bunch of people who are literally throwing themselves into each other. There is much pushing and shoving and flailing of limbs. Bruises happen in the front row. It's just the way it is.

[chosenseclusion]

Good choice for Flogging Molly. Love they're music in lot of different ways. Moshing is a definitive reason to go a concert. I enjoy going to the Warped Tour, but I don't go to shows as often as I hadd. Last one I seen was Incubus in June of last year. Amazing. No moshing there. The adrenaline high and the music waves having everyone fueling the intensity, sharing that experience, I'd say it helps on several different levels. That's what the band wants you to do. Music in Motion.

[Lady_Chaos]

I used to enjoy a good mosh back in the day....
These days i position myself to the rear of the pit and watch the band instead.

[paintingravens]

Originally Posted by Lady_Chaos

I used to enjoy a good mosh back in the day....
These days i position myself to the rear of the pit and watch the band instead.

Lol, love the "emoticombination" :P... I like keeping a good balance between mosh-time and watch-time. Go crazy, take a break and rest, listen, then jump back in, repeat...

[jahrderglad]

Last time I moshed, it was last April, when I went to an all-day ska festival in my hometown. I walked out of there with a sprained wrist and broken foot (I'm a five and a half-foot-tall, 100-lb female, and I was twice trampled by a huge, clumsy guy whose shirt aptly read "CORN-FED JOE"), but I sure had a good time! They took quite a few people away in ambulances (despite the fact that not a single fight broke out), so I consider myself lucky. But there are always people standing around on the side, so (most of the time) it's easy to keep from getting involved in the mosh pit (though they still come frighteningly close, causing you to have to keep moving around to get away), but once you're inside, good luck getting out!

So, a sprained wrist and broken foot is a good time. I suppose when many people are taken away in ambulances it is a sure sign that a good time was had by all. It is comforting to learn everyone must have been polite while maiming each other since no fights broke out. I get it. How wonderful.

[Naturefreak]

Originally Posted by TheByzantine

This is totally foreign to me.

Agreed

[lynn P.]

Sounds like a good excuse to hurt someone with out getting arrested. I would be afraid of bullies and people going there for that purpose - "yeah lets go hurt someone."

[paintingravens]

Originally Posted by lynn P.

Sounds like a good excuse to hurt someone with out getting arrested. I would be afraid of bullies and people going there for that purpose - "yeah lets go hurt someone."

Lol, mostly everyone is there to have a good time. If someone every gets seriously hurt and knocked to the ground and can't get up, people notice and make a clearing for him/her; they help him/her up, make sure he/she gets out of the crowd without any more damage... I have yet to see someone point and laugh at any fallen, seriously injured comrades; I've never seen anyone as these events as sadistic as that. I'm sure there are people like that somewhere in the crowd, but I think it's safe to assume it's a small minority. Those are the people that would most likely be booed from the crowd; not everyone in the crowd is an inconsiderate punk, you know...

Originally Posted by chosenseclusion

Good choice for Flogging Molly. Love they're music in lot of different ways. Moshing is a definitive reason to go a concert. I enjoy going to the Warped Tour, but I don't go to shows as often as I had. Last one I seen was Incubus in June of last year. Amazing. No moshing there. The adrenaline high and the music waves having everyone fueling the intensity, sharing that experience, I'd say it helps on several different levels. That's what the band wants you to do. Music in Motion.

Precisely. It's really quite an intensely poetic experience when viewed that way.

Originally Posted by TheByzantine

So, a sprained wrist and broken foot is a good time. I suppose when many people are taken away in ambulances it is a sure sign that a good time was had by all. It is comforting to learn everyone must have been polite while maiming each other since no fights broke out. I get it. How wonderful.

It's also not for everyone. It's a shame you don't see any glimmer of meaning behind it, but I guess it's all a matter of perspective. To each their own, right?

For the record, if I received a sprained wrist and a broken foot from a concert, I probably wouldn't shut up about it for a while; it'd make an awesome story...