Moshing and local venues

[atomicfront]

the club has no signs that say "absolutely no moshing." 

if the band does not make any requests regarding moshing, our policy is on a sliding scale.  if a pit breaks out at a show, we will monitor the area.  there are some behaviors that are always unacceptable, but the crowd determines the acceptability of others.  what is ok at a metal or hardcore show would not be ok at a pop punk show.  it's a subjective decision, but the staph has many years of experience and we do our best to determine the appropriateness of any moshing activity at any show.  if the participants aren't out to hurt anyone and the crowd is ok with it, moshing will be allowed at some shows.

there are plenty of spots in the club that patrons can watch the show from if they do not want to be in the vicinity of a mosh pit.
     

I think that is a terrible policy.  I was at the 30th anniversary show and 3 idiots started "moshing". It was annoying.  We had been there all day.  If they want to "Mosh" let them do it in the back of the club. 

I can see slam dancing at the hardcore shows in the 80's when nobody cared about the music anyway.  But really at a Wolf Parade show.  This is basically a way of keeping the females from the front and is really a sort of sexism.  If someone shoves themselves into me at a show like that expect to be shoved back in the face.

[thatguy]

I think that is a terrible policy.  I was at the 30th anniversary show and 3 idiots started "moshing". It was annoying.  We had been there all day.  If they want to "Mosh" let them do it in the back of the club.

that's the thing about a standing room venue.  they have just as much right to enjoy the show the way they want to up front as you do.  if the crowd decides that there's room for a mosh pit up there, it can happen.  if they don't, it won't.  power in numbers really does work.

like i said, it's a sliding scale.  that means it goes from no moshing allowed all the way up to some pretty heavy stuff.  if it's totally out of place for the show, we'll stop it.   

i can't remember more than a handful of times over my tenure at the club where a mosh pit broke out at a wildly inappropriate show.  i'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that in my experience it doesn't happen very often.  when it has, we shut it down.

This is basically a way of keeping the females from the front and is really a sort of sexism.

you lost me completely here.

 

If someone shoves themselves into me at a show like that expect to be shoved back in the face.

or, you could alert the nearest door staph member.

[sweetcell]

This is basically a way of keeping the females from the front and is really a sort of sexism.

you lost me completely here.

i believe the intent of that statement is that women, being smaller/not as strong/shorter/etc are intimidated by the aggressive nature of mosh pits.  fearing for their own comfort & safety, they need to keep their distance, thus they find themselves excluded from the front section of the floor where mosh pits usually take place.

so, all you big mean ogres who like to mosh: stop it, you sexist pigs.  you're oppressing women.  again.

[azaghal1981]

The only "pit" that I know of that broke out during the Melvins was a tiny one on the right side in the very front. I missed most of the Isis set, though so I can't comment on that. As far as the "oppressing females" thing goes, the female friend I was with was also annoyed with the DC crowd for not moshing at that show.

[wml7]

The only "pit" that I know of that broke out during the Melvins was a tiny one on the right side in the very front. I missed most of the Isis set, though so I can't comment on that. As far as the "oppressing females" thing goes, the female friend I was with was also annoyed with the DC crowd for not moshing at that show.

you should have pushed her to the ground, so she didn't felt left out 

[bearman🐻]

Kind of funny...I think that moshing is totally appropriate at certain shows. Watching Iggy Pop or David Yow launch themselves off the stage can only really happen if the crowd is receptive, and moshing usually will convey that the audience is into it. I'm not sure that I agree with the level of moshing I saw at some Oasis shows in the mid-90's, and I certainly didn't appreciate being caught in a horrid crowd surge at a Ned's Atomic Dustbin show (I was nearly trampled), but I certainly expected it at Helmet or even the Beastie Boys. Frankly, I'm glad it's not something you see much anymore, but that Prodigy show last year was a LOT of fun.

[azaghal1981]

That statuesque Jesus Lizard crowd at the club in '09 was disgraceful.

[Unsanity]

The Baltimore Jesus Lizard show was amphetamine n' acid fueled chaos. David even made fun of the DC show and called DC the new San Francisco haha. Now that was a moshing acceptable show if there ever was one. Moshing as sexism? Was anyone at that Drunkdriver show at Goldenwest Cafe? It was pretty much only girls moshing! I expect that upcoming Boris show to be a mosh zone. Their Black Cat shows had aggression bubbling under the surface.

[azaghal1981]

My missing those TJL and Drunkdriver shows are wounds that will fester forever.

Especially Drunkdriver because I thought for sure they would be around for years. . Only got to catch them once when they played Velvet. TJL sounded like it was an exponentially better experience in Baltimore.

[atomicfront]

I think that is a terrible policy.  I was at the 30th anniversary show and 3 idiots started "moshing". It was annoying.  We had been there all day.  If they want to "Mosh" let them do it in the back of the club.

that's the thing about a standing room venue.  they have just as much right to enjoy the show the way they want to up front as you do.  if the crowd decides that there's room for a mosh pit up there, it can happen.  if they don't, it won't.  power in numbers really does work.

like i said, it's a sliding scale.  that means it goes from no moshing allowed all the way up to some pretty heavy stuff.  if it's totally out of place for the show, we'll stop it.   

i can't remember more than a handful of times over my tenure at the club where a mosh pit broke out at a wildly inappropriate show.  i'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that in my experience it doesn't happen very often.  when it has, we shut it down.

This is basically a way of keeping the females from the front and is really a sort of sexism.

you lost me completely here.

 

If someone shoves themselves into me at a show like that expect to be shoved back in the face.

or, you could alert the nearest door staph member.

I don't like uncontralable crowds.  If you are moshing go to the back as you aren't interested in seeing the set anyway.

Back when the place was WUST at a Dead Kennedy's show I saw people jumping off the upper level and getting up bleeding and then be escorrted out.  Skinheads fighting with people in the pit.  Jello challenging the skinheads to fights.



Anyway at virgin a couple of years ago they had some wooden structure not to far back from the stage.  Some kids started jumping off it and having me catch them so they could crowd surf during Bloc Party.  I had a huge line of people waiting for me to catch them and put them on there way.  I think I lifted about 75 people or so people up or caught them..  Then the 930 security guards came out and put two security personal around the structure so that people couldn't do that anymore.  I don't see what the big deal was in that situation.  As they weren't hurting anyone. 

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

If you mosh and are over the age of 19 or so, you are a loser.

[nkotb]

Sez the guy with his own photo blog 

If you mosh and are over the age of 19 or so, you are a loser.

[Thousand Made-Up Loves]

i can't remember more than a handful of times over my tenure at the club where a mosh pit broke out at a wildly inappropriate show.  i'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that in my experience it doesn't happen very often.  when it has, we shut it down.

Seth will tolerate moshing and assorted behavior until someone gets paralyzed and sues his ass

[sweetcell]

If you are moshing go to the back as you aren't interested in seeing the set anyway.

can't agree with you there.  moshing is a form of interacting with the band, and the moshers want to show the band their enthusiasm/energy/etc. 

and some bands want to see moshing, etc (re: yow's mocking comments at the lack of energy of the DC crowd - i doubt he would have said the same things had a mosh pit broken out during the show).

[andyrichter]

i was embarrased by the showing at the DC show.  the jesus lizard even cut their set short a few songs and i don't blame them.  i'm sure the baltimore crowd was great, they always are.  although to be fair, there have been some shows this year where i've seen the dc crowd go off (buzzcocks, jello biafra).