As bands slowly come out of hibernation from the holidays and the cold weather moves towards spring, new m
Every year, bands get ready to spend a few months on the road, and the scene gears up to throw copious amounts of money into concert tickets, merchandise, and more. Now that it's about time to get back into the crowd, we need to talk about a code of ethics for the pit.
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Obviously, this could vary based on the type of show you go to, and you should be wary of the types of crowds associated with different bands before jumping in (see: Code Orange). Ultimately, though, you have the right to be safe and have a good time, regardless of the crowd's intensity. So, whether you're the type who holds your spot in the crowd and enjoys the music, or a professional hardcore ballerina, or a crowd surfing-stage-diving-son-of-a-gun, it is time to lay down the laws of the pit.
1. If somebody falls down, pick them back up.
I do not know how you can be a concert goer and not know this rule. It is said at almost every show by at least one band in attendance. No one wants to get knocked down and then trampled on while they are trying to enjoy the music they paid to see. This is especially important in circle pits. I have personally seen someone getting trampled in a circle pit at Warped Tour back in 2013. Do not let this happen. People can face serious injury or even death. Knowingly trampling people is a cardinal sin.
2. Catch the crowd surfers.
Crowd surfing has been the cause for one of the biggest debates in the scene in recent years, with bands like Joyce Manor taking anti-crowd surfing and stage diving stands and even shaming fans for doing so at their shows. This split in the scene has become a huge division, as more and more people have come out with complaints of crowd surfers at shows.
If you do not like it, so be it. But if you are at the front of a crowd that is sure to have crowd surfing (e.g. The Story So Far, Beartooth, etc.), expect that it will happen and do not let them fall. Crowd surfers are at the show to have fun just like you, and crowd surfing is how they choose to do that. Their fun does not deserve to be ruined because people at the front in a pop punk show's crowd chose not to catch them, leaving them to land on their heads, drop and crack their phones, or get hurt in any other way.
3. Crowd surfers, know your crowd and surroundings.
With all that we've said about taking care of crowd surfers, it is absolutely a two-way street. As a person who loves crowd surfing, I know that I have to be aware of the intensity of the crowd and who is around me. While the two dudes that are big enough to give me a good jumping off point could be standing right in front of me, if there are 3 rows of girls half my size surrounding them, I should probably find somewhere else to go. That is how it should be for crowd surfers as a whole. Obviously, there comes a point where you lose control over where in the crowd you end up - but do what you can while you can to stay in an area where you know you will not be risking hurting anybody.
4. If someone is not in the pit, it is for a reason.
Even if that person was moshing to the last band, if they are not moshing to the band playing, it is because they do not want to mosh. If someone is on the edge of the pit simply because it opened near where they were standing and you start running into them, you are doing it wrong. Your space is in the space that opened up specifically for you to mosh. Do not start playing Red Rover and fling yourself at unsuspecting people. Leave them be, and mosh in the mosh pit, not outside of it where people are avoiding it. And do not pick people up and throw them into pits or forcibly bring them into pits. Again, if they are not in there already, it is for a reason.
5. Do not get angry at people for moshing in the mosh pit.
I see this way too often at shows. A couple of people start pushing to try to open the pit and others who do not want to be involved start angrily shoving (or even hitting) the people who were trying to clear the space. They are trying to give fair warning that this is where things are about to go down, so move out of the way and enjoy the show the way you want to, the same way that they will.
6. If someone is clearly trying to get out of the pit, let them out.
Oftentimes, a person will go into the pit, take a beating or get worn out, and then try to get back out and return to their regularly scheduled concert watching. I am one of those people, and I can not tell you how many times I have gotten in the pit, done what I wanted to do, and then moved on my way back into the crowd, only to be rammed into at full speed when I was clearly walking out of the way. If someone is done, they are done. You do not keep giving someone CPR once they are stable and breathing again. So, you do not keep moshing with someone who is leaving the mosh pit--you are just being a tool.
7. When you are swinging freely, stay in your bubble.
If you are someone who likes to mosh, I know how you feel, and I know that sometimes you just have to let loose and throw punches or swing your arms and get all of that aggression out. But try to at least be somewhat aware of who is around you. Sometimes you may start on one part of the floor but end up drifting over into someone else's way and knock them out without even realizing you were near anyone. This is especially a problem when you end up hitting someone who, as aforementioned, is not in the pit and does not want to be.
For those people, you can help keep them in their space by sticking out your fist to let them know that they are getting too close if they make contact with it. Just avoid punching or kicking people who are actively avoiding your physical contact. I do not know how else to put this.
8. Keep your iPad out of the pit.
Special thanks to my fellow Odyssey writer Victoria Skelton for telling me about this one. I personally have never seen this happen and nearly condemned it to be a strictly Nashville-concert problem. Then, I searched "iPad at concert" on Google, and boy, oh boy, is this an issue. Look at that picture! Do not do this.
9. Try to let considerably smaller people stand in front of you.
I am torn on this one. While I am a believer in earning your spot, the "You snooze you lose" idea, I am also 5 foot 8 and occasionally have issues with seeing the stage from where I am in the pit. But I can move around, which makes that even less of an issue. I always find a way to see the band. However, there are those 5-foot tall people who struggle with this much more than I do, and they deserve to get their money's worth just like anyone else. I understand that being barricade is like, totally the most important thing in the world, but if you paid $25 plus fees and then stared at somebody's shoulders all night, you would be upset too. Give the short people the chance to enjoy the show!
10. Keep alcohol away from the pit.
If you want to drink at a show, go for it. But please do not bring your full cup of liquid into the pit and start swinging your arms or trying to crowd surf, especially if you are drunk and can not control yourself. No one wants liquid getting flung all over them. This is pretty much a general "please drink responsibly" PSA for the pit. Do not ruin other people's fun by getting sloppy drunk.
11. Respect others' bodies.
This should not be something we are still having to reiterate. Stop inappropriately grabbing people, regardless of what gender either party involved is. Everyone has a right to their own body, and should not fear that they will be groped or harassed while crowd surfing, moshing, or just in the crowd in general. This definitely goes for the band members as well. If a band member jumps into the crowd from the stage, hold them up, do not use this as an opportunity to cop a feel. That is an easy way to make a band stop coming to your town or significantly decrease their fan interaction in general. Respect. Respect is so important.
Simply put, respect is the key to all of these rules. Respect for your surroundings, for each other, and for yourself will all go a long way at shows. Have fun, take care of each other, and remember that everyone is there for the same reason: to enjoy music that we love. No one should have such a traumatic crowd experience that it keeps them from ever going to another show. Have fun out there this concert season and in all the months and years of shows to come.
