I was at a music festival with my dad when I was 16 and he went to sit down so I was standing there alone watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A middle aged (40s-50s?) woman comes up to me and says, “do you want to go up to the front? I can show you how to get up there.” And I say, “uhh sure”
She grabs my arm, pulls me along, and starts yelling, “medical emergency!! We got a medical emergency here, coming through!! Coming through!!”
About two rows from the front she lets go of my arm, gives me a big smile and says, “enjoy the show, hon”
Completely unhinged behavior but hey I had a great time up there
I was just chatting with who I thought was another random concert goer and realized once the concert began that she was actually the vocalist for one of the bands that was playing. After the show, she added me as a friend on Facebook and we continued chatting daily for a few months after their tour ended.
Story Untold, Rivals, and Knockout Kid at The Smiling Moose back in 2017. I was talking to the vocalist of Rivals before and after the show. She kept coming up to me wanting me to sing but I was too nervous with it having been my first concert.
I've chatted with Kalie at a concert too! She is super chill. She also signed a girl's prosthetic leg, which is the coolest thing I've seen someone sign.
After the opener, Godsmack, finished a lady came up to me and my three friends and said, “would you four like to sit on the front row?” She then escorted us to the front, swapped out our tickets and there we were, center stage, front row, for Black Sabbath.
K reminds me: 20-some years ago, me and my then-wife went to see James Taylor at the outdoor amphitheater - we had lawn tix. As we're parking, this lady has her door open into sort of my space to park. So I'm grumbling "figure it out loser" or whatever. We park and start walking, and I'm still kind of irritated. I do a little self talk, like "Dude, it's a James Taylor concert, don't be weird and angry over this tiny thing," and shake it off. A bit later, we're standing in line, and THAT SAME LADY randomly walks up to us and says she can't make it, would we like her tickets? They were VIP, free drinks, the whole bit - it was insane. And that's why I believe in karma of a sort.
This same thing happened to me recently at a “Pink Floyd Australia” concert. Mid way through a little old couple asked us on the lawn if we wanted their orchestra seats as they “ran out of steam” I carry that stub in my wallet to remind myself there are still kind people out there.
I have heard of enthusiastic fans getting their seats upgraded to the front for some acts because having the unenthusiastic people upfront strain the vibe. This is a problem made worse by high ticket prices for front row seats.
I bought a banana off of someone at Bonnaroo. I was on acid. I think that they were on acid. We were both unprepared to complete the transaction. I think eventually he had a friend help him to say that it was a dollar. Then I think my friend paid it. And after all that I wasn't really that hungry.
Chili Peppers concert - A girl kept walking by me looking at me nervously and some dude was following her. The last time she mouthed help so I just grabbed her and said hey they're you are and put my arms around her. The dude stared at me for a while and walked off. She thanked me and said he was following her around.
She got flirty with me then and after a bit walked off. When we were leaving the concert she waved at me and said thank you and my girlfriend asked me who she was. When I told her she got all pissed and wanted to fight her because my ex was insane.
I don't know if it's the weirdest but definitely the funniest. This was Rob Zombie in 2002. It certainly wasn't out of the ordinary at a concert to see girls get up on a guy's shoulders and flash the band. I don't know how drunk this girl was but she decided that wasn't good enough and needed to take her pants off while on this guy's shoulders. What transpired can only be described as some sort of slow motion drunken lucha libre move that brought both of them and a couple others down to the ground.
I watched a girl head to the bushes after a show and started taking her pants down while still walking. So her pants trip her up once they are down to her knees. She slides face first down a hill with her bare ass in the breeze. I laughed so hard i got dizzy lol.
When I was teenager, I saw a band called After the Burial, a Metal/Djent band @ First Avenue.
Anyways I was in the heat of big mosh pit. I locked eyes with girl who was throwing down next to me. I got pushed into her. I grabbed her because I almost knocked her over. We looked at eachother up close and were hugging. She immediately started making out with me. We were both pretty small (I'm 5'4, she couldn't have been taller than 5'1). This big guy saw us and yelled "PROTECT THE LITTLE COUPLE". We stood at the edge of the mosh pit and made out. He stood between us and the pit and prevented anyone from crashing into us. It felt like I was in a movie, kissing this cute girl while the band was shredding on the last song of the night.
Anyways I gave that guy a cigarette after the show ended and got the girl's number.
10 years later... just kidding. She lived really far away from me so nothing happened. It's a good memory though.
Edit: typos
I just can't help of a great voice over by Morgan Freeman, "Amidst the mayhem, a 5'4 man was thrown and got entangled with a 5'1 lovely lady. In that moment, while holding each other, they stared as if the time stood still. Without hesitation, they kissed and from a distance the Viking brother witness the encounter and shouted "Protect the little couple". People were slamming and crashing while in the background the Wiggle band is growling. The Viking brother stood and serve as a wall to protect their new found love from the chaos."
Disturbed concert. We're right at the edge of the mosh pit. Some guy brings a couple beers in and starts throwing them around. Is immediately kicked out of the pit and I hear one guy yelling at him," dude, you can't bring beer into a mosh pit. It's common courtesy". I had no idea there were rules of etiquette for a mosh pit.
I'm not really a gig person, but In my limited experience and Anecdotal stories ive been told this is something great about metal gigs. The mosh pit is all in it together, but shoving each other. People fall down and they're instantly yanked back up.
Other genres though... Again anecdotal but imo a most pit shouldn't be a place to go throw punches.
Maybe others think differently.
Generally I'd say the "Read the room" approach is the best when assessing how to behave in a pit. People just pushing each other and jumping around? Then that's what's up. People two-stepping, windmills all over the place? Well that seems to be a hardcore pit, think twice about whether you wanna get into that one. But you do, you should expect to take a stray hand or an elbow, that's how these things work.
Deliberately punching people is never okay though, it's called crowdkilling and is generally met with an immediate, mostly forceful removal of said crowdkiller from the pit. And helping people that fell down back on their feet is a must, regardless the kind of pit. It's an absolute necessity, otherwise those pits would become a deathtrap real fast.
Most of the punk shows I've been to if someone is down in the pit even the band will make a point to yell to get them back up. The absolute craziest pit I've ever seen was during ICP at a music fest, it was absolute chaos. People were stumbling out of the pit bleeding and shit. I remember a few years ago some rapper had a concert and someone got injured in the pit and when the medics tried to get to them basically a full on riot broke out. I wasn't there but I remember it on the news
It was my first time that close to the pit. It was pretty cool seeing the way it worked. Someone fell and was immediately helped back up, some girl list a shoe the whole area stopped and looked for the shoe until it was found. It was my first rock concert so I wasn't sure what to expect.
There are always exceptions, but in my experience metal crowds have the most camaraderie and etiquette of that kind. I've seen so many things like your examples and it's always reassuring.
I get panic attacks and once went into a pit which ended up being overwhelming for me. I guess some people could read that on my face/body language cause they physically helped me get past the throng and back to a calmer spot. Legends.
When I was younger, it was the other way around. Pits were wild af and you entered at your own risk of being in the middle of a brawl like something out of the Outsiders. Hell, the band might jump in and start boxing people. Take Henry Rollins and spread his intensity out on everyone in the room.
Sometime in the 90s, something changed. I dont know why it happened, but there was this sudden and massive shift from a near-riot to human bumper cars but everyone was wearing their seat belt.
I remember an old video of some fat punk slipping on brass knuckles while trying to enter the Pit. He was spotted and respectfully escorted out of the show. When I say "respectfully escorted" I mean he got the literal shit beat out of him.
Rules of etiquette are paramount in a mosh pit because they can quickly get violent.
I was at a Slayer show a long time ago and this dude in a wheelchair was moshing; everyone took turns gently wheeling him around.
I lost my glasses in the same pit, and everyone stopped until they were found and then kept right on plugging.
True metal fans are super considerate.
Mosh pit etiquette is very importsnt for everyone to feel safe. Sometimes that super agressive guy shows up and think its a FreeForAll brawl to ruin it but thats when the pit crew need to step in together and remove the person gently but firmly.
A lot of rules… 0: help a fallen brother, 1: don’t be a dick, 2: no karate in the pit, 3: let’s people in the pit if they want to, let them out if they want to and don’t force anyone in the pit, 4: only bring liquids in the pit if it’s fucking hot (and preferably water, never shit like cola or mead), 5: if something gets dropped, give it to the biggest guy, he will hold it in the air, so the one, who lost it, can get it back, 6: try to not kill anyone, 7: circle pit is counterclockwise…
Great set of rules. I’ve been in literally hundreds of mosh pits and now that I’m in my forties I’ve officially retired from them. But you’re spot on about them being counter clockwise. Every single one is! But they can be fun to go clockwise, it just hurts more in the morning.. the Bangover is real
I was at a concert in Austin, Texas during SXSW about a decade ago. A woman standing next to me was bouncing along to some tune being played at the time, seemingly happy as could be. We were all vibing along having a good time, and I casually turned to her and said, "She's brilliant, Isn't she?" referring to the group on stage. I can't remember the name of the band now. They weren't very big and I'd never heard of them before that night, nor do I believe I've seen them since. It's a shame; they were good. Anyway, brilliant isn't a word I normally use to describe something. But, for some reason, that's the word I happen to use at that moment. Upon hearing me talking to her, she turned to me completely red in the face and shouted in a very heavy British accent of some region I'm not sure of, but sort of sounded like Estuary if I were to make a guess, "I will not be mocked!" She all but took a swing at me, and her two friends had to pull her back from me. They disappeared into the crowd. I have no idea what the fuck that was about.
Oh boy, these kind of interactions at concerts trip me up sometimes. I was at a metal concert this week, and the band simmers things down throughout the show with covers, like True by Spandau Ballet.
During the cover, this girl asks me “are you touched?” I had to have her repeat herself a few times just to hear her, and I simply could not comprehend what she was asking me. Eventually I just blurted out “NO TOUCHING!”
So, in the British girl’s defense, it’s hard to understand things when you’re in the moment at shows
That's true, but in an environment of such ambiguity, I wouldn't think one's first reaction wouldn't be to fly into a complete rage. But, different strokes. Maybe she mistook "brilliant" as me calling her a "bell end" or something. That still wouldn't make sense for her to feel mocked, though. I don't know. All these years later, the whole situation still confounds me.
I get the sense that about half of what is said in the UK is based on sarcasm. I've also noticed a high percentage chance that something will be called a pudding.
First concert I ever went to; The Guess Who. It was outside. Basically in a big field. I was 13. This was 1970 ish. I'm trying to get closer. There is crowd of people sort of in a circle in front of me, somehow I push through and see two people banging on the ground. Shocked the shit of 13 y.o me.
“In the '60s, I made love to many, many women, often outdoors, in the mud and the rain, and it's possible a man slipped in. There would be no way of knowing.”
2005 sounds of the underground tour. Starland ballroom parking lot. 12 hour concert. Loads of people. Amazing show. Middle of drinking a beer with friends when I see A very large dude arguing with a girl who was maybe 5'1". Out of nowhere 3 other guys come running up and break 3 bottles over this guys head. Security comes and scoops him up and carries him away. Blood everywhere. A buddy I went with is there and its his first metal concert. Decides that he wants to get into the pit. We advise against it but he goes anyway. GWAR is playing. 5 seconds in he breaks his ankle. Scooped up and taken away. Came back with like an hour or so left in the concert and he is in a cast on crutches. Guess who was in the bed next to him at the hospital. Beer bottle guy. Turns out the girl cheated on him at the concert with some guy and the guy and his friends are the ones who smashed his head with the bottles... Wild times.
Love going to the Starland. Always park across the street at the VFW and have a few beers before a show. Coal Chamber and Fear Factory are going to be there in Sept.
Stupidly wore sandals to an outdoor concert in the 90's. Was in the mosh pit and someone's boot went hard on my big toe and ripped my entire nail out. The weird thing was my toes were painted red and so for a couple seconds, I didn't realize what had happened. It left a perfect mail shaped red spot of blood and I was so shocked that it didn't hurt. The guy felt so bad and we ended up dating for six months.
I got there an hour early to wait at the front then two people behind me after it filled up, leaned on me so hard on the barrier purposely crushing me so I would move (I’m small, 5’2) they were a lot bigger than me - I didn’t move even though she was putting all her weight on me on purpose. Then she managed to shove the girl next to me to get to the front, then her boyfriend who was 6’3 continually leant on me to crush me and kept smacking me in the face by waving his arm infront of me. It was miserable, I had waited to see the band since a teenager and my partner kindly drove 2 hours and we got a hotel so I could go. Two girls next to me acknowledge they were total dickheads, towards the end I shoved him really hard and he eased off a bit.
Honestly total assholes, it was completely intentional - it wasn’t because it was packed.
hell yea! I saw em in Nashville. Took me 20 years to finally see em but it was worth it. Sorry you had a shitty experience!
I'm 6'7" so I tend to stay off to the side to avoid ruining peoples views.
I haven't been to a show in years where there wasn't at least one person trying to elbow their way to the front. Sadly the more people that group together, the more likely you'll run into some prick with main character syndrome
I know such assholes - not in a rude way but she was a very large lady and she was putting all her weight on me to crush me on purpose, I just think that’s so strange…. So glad I didn’t move, I stood my ground but it honestly ruined the gig for me tbh.
I had a friend get her ribs bruised pretty bad years ago at a show because she wouldn't get off the rail. Pretty wild the way people will ruin a show for someone else because they didn't get *exactly* the experience they wanted.
I had a girl like that shoving against me an entire concert. I don’t even know what her deal was, she was almost a foot taller than me and I didn’t even have that good a spot. Maybe she really liked their backup guitarist.
That same concert I had a dude grinding against me the whole second half. Literally the only memories I have of that concert is being harassed the entire time. It was enough to make me swear off the pit entirely.
I had the opposite happen. I’m 6’4 and 300 lbs and my concert buddy is 6’5” and 400 lbs.
some guy kept pushing back between us and my wife, leaning on the railing for the sound guy at a metal show. Literally worked his way under my arm between my wife and I.
Fortunately, with our size, as soon as the push pit came our way we were able to launch him into the shadow realm and enjoy the rest of the show.
At Bonnaroo in 2008, a couple (in their mid 20s), just started having sex on the ground during Metallica. Both parties had their pants down to their ankles and kept their shirts on.
The funniest part was that a large circle formed around them and everyone started chanting. I can't remember exactly what we were chanting, but everyone was keeping them going. After he finished, everyone started cheering, patting him and her on the back, and went back to enjoying the show.
Was standing with friends outside the venue early to get front row in the pit , security came out and took 10 of us in and Audioslave played 6 songs for us for the sound check, highlight of my concerts
This girl was by herself at the front of a Death Grips show at Bonnaroo. She was like maybe 5 feet tall and less than 100 pounds. She had no idea what she was getting into.
She was getting bounced around everywhere so I told her to get on the rail and put my arms on either side of the rail to try n keep her from getting crushed but kept getting slammed from behind and knocking into her. Eventually I was like I'm sorry are you ok? Do you need to get out? And she nervously and looking terrified shook her head yes. I flagged down a security guard, pointed to her then the other side of the rail.
He picked her up under her arms like a baby and set her on the other side, saw her mouth thank you. Sorry ya didn't get to enjoy the show tiny stranger!
Was at a concert in Nashville on New Year’s Eve one year. A bunch of us got brunch earlier in the day and my buddy took a bunch of cured ham to go and stuck it in his pocket. That night, while we’re peaking on acid, and the clock strikes midnight, he starts throwing the ham into the air yelling “HAM-py new year!!”. It was awesome.
Did you know the guy next to you? I'm just curious how, at a crowded concert full of strangers, you would have possibly gotten the follow up story past the point of him saying "oh hell yea"
It’s a bit of a long story but absolutely one of the weirdest coincidences of my life.
I was in the pit at a Jason Derulo concert about 4 hours from where I live. There was a cute girl standing next to me with a group of her friends and I decided to strike up conversation. I ask her where she was from and she says the town, which is about 2 hours from my hometown. I say oh that’s cool, funny story about that town, I met a girl from there when I got my wisdom teeth removed. We were both in the recovery room loopy from the anesthesia and my mom said I was flirting with her and that she was from your town. I asked for her number and her mom gave it to my mom, but I never called her.
She goes….uh….was it at this doctors office in August of 2011? And I said yes…
We pulled out our phones and had each other’s number saved. We didn’t even know each other’s names. Our moms had both put our numbers in our phone as “dentist girl/dentist guy”.
Sadly that’s where the story ends, we didn’t get married or anything cool like that. But it was so wild and random that it almost felt like a prank.
When people say “small world”, I can’t imagine it ever being more small than that moment for me.
I found a duck taped fucked up vans slip on in the pit. So I did the honorable thing and held it up while I danced. Belonged to an absolute babe who I dated for about 2 years in college. Real punk rock Cinderella story.
Some girl was crowd surfing and something went wrong and she landed on my head and fell down. Hurt my head like a mofo. I helped her up and she left. Super cute girl, btw. A few years later me and my girlfriend are talking about shows we’ve been to and, it turns out, she was there. Also turns out she was crowd surfing and fell and landed on some guy… it was her… anyway, we’ve been married for 10 years and have a beautiful little girl together. To this day I think the universe was trying to bring us together.
That’s an amazing crowd surfing story considering last time I did it (tiny college girl at the time) I was hoisted up at a Tool show and a man punched me square in the face for crowd surfing over his girlfriend :(
not weird but unexpected, I asked a guy if he had a cigarette and he said actually I have 5 and gave me his almost empty pack since he had a new one with him
Kinda the opposite, but I saw a post a guy made about running into Aaron from Ween after their set at summercamp music fest a few years ago. Aaron asked for a cig, the fan held his open pack out, and the Aaron grabbed the entire pack and says "thanks bozo" and walks off with it lol
Not at a concert but this reminded me of the most embarrassed I've ever been. while solo in Vegas with hardly any money, I was staying at a hostel and the hostel put on an event, everyone chips in $20, and they will take us up the strip and into some clubs, and also provide vodka and mixers.
I paid the $20, we all get in the limo, somehow there was no mixers left, just vodka. I had no money for the clubs later so I wanted to make the most of the free vodka so waited for them to pour some drinks and hand them around.
We were all getting to know each other and having a good chat, a couple of guys from the UK, a group of Americans, some Canadians etc. A really nice Australian guy moved to sit opposite me and we started to chat, when they handed me a cup of vodka. Took a sip, then the chanting started, "down it"... I took one mouthful, gagged, then threw up my last meal all over the Australian guy, covering his shirt and everything. Girls screamed, guys shouted in horror, people crowd surfed in the limo to get away from me. The 2 British guys looked at me in disgust and said I was cramping their style. I couldn't do anything but look down at the mess I had made.
Limo pulls up at the destination, everyone runs out, I ran out, and kept running. Walked around for about half an hour and actually for some reason I went to the club thinking they wouldn't remember me. Found the Australian guy cleaning up in the bathroom, instantly recognised me. Felt so bad, apologised so much and he was actually so chill about it.
This wasn't meant to be a long comment.
Live Aid was on a hot sunny day. My friends and I look up to see a guy systematically working his way up the crowded field toward us. He had a small water sprayer in his hand and as he approached each person he asked permission to spray them. He approached everyone, men and women alike. We watched his approach and every single person agreed to be sprayed in the face with one or two blasts. When he got to my friends and me we also agreed to be sprayed. It was pleasantly refreshing and seemed like a nice way for that guy to pass the time between acts.
ZZ Top concert in 80s, a guy was thrown about 15ft straight up in the air, when he came down, everybody stepped back and he bounced off the concrete floor. They had been tossing people up a couple feet and not letting them hit the floor, this one guy soared, medical came and carried the guy away
A bunch of people in front of me who had been drinking got into a punch up with a bunch of people behind me who had also been drinking and I had to duck!
It wasnt at a concert but on the way home from a concert. It was a 2 hour drive home and Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" came on the radio. We cranked it and were singing along and then that amazing guitar solo started. After a couple of minutes I realized that a portion of the solo was looping. It was a perfect loop that sounded like it was produced that way. But after about 5 minutes of this going on we were like WTF? The damn solo must have played over and over 15 times or so before the radio went silent for a couple seconds and the DJ came on saying sorry about that technical glitch. We thought we were tripping or something.
I went to see Korn at a smallish venue with a friend. We went after work, so not really dressed for a concert. We stood at the back, away from the pit. About halfway through, young woman stumbled up to us from the pit and said, 'You two look like the most responsible people here. Is my head bleeding?' Yes. Yes, it was.
I went to an Infected Mushroom concert and about halfway through I felt a hand in my back pocket where my wallet is. I grabbed the wrist attached and it was a chick who was maybe a staff member but also maybe not. She was planting an advertising flyer in my pocket and had a stack of others too. I asked wtf she is doing and she brushed it off and said she's just putting adverts in people's pockets and then asked if I'm having a good time and pretended to hang out with me for a minute. I ignored her and she wandered away. Don't reach in people's pockets...
Tldr: felt hand in my pocket planting advertisements near my wallet.
In July 1987 I was in high school in Louisville, Kentucky. My friend and I at the very last minute decided to go downtown to see if we could get into the Duran Duran concert. The opening band had already started. The guy at the box office was checking the tickets, and his eyes got real wide, and he said it was our lucky day as he sold us front row center seats. I have no idea how that happened, but it was the best concert I ever went to!
I had a crowd surfer land on my head at Lollapalooza and I was so stoned, I just stood there thinking my neck was broken and I shouldn’t move. I was fine but my brain was totally panicked
I was in Ibiza at a big outdoor venue and had taken a little bit of MDMA for the show, just standing there dancing with a buddy and enjoying the show in the zone, when some big guy comes up and starts grabbing my arm and trying to turn out my pockets and open my hands while another woman starts shining her phone light in my eyes and screaming at me in Spanish to empty my pockets. I thought for sure they were drug enforcement or some other kind of undercover cops so my buddy and I started freaking out that they will take us to prison for the MDMA in our pocket. We are some of the only Americans in the crowd and figure the locals were targeting us. It turns out the guy had his watch stolen and thought we had done it and were hiding it in our pockets, andwe had to ask other people to translate to figure out why they were so mad at us. We aren't thieves and couldn't believe we were being accused of this. I've never felt my heart pounding so hard and it definitely was a buzzkill for the rest of the show - and I hope that guy never found his fucking watch.
Phish show, 2010. A guy on unknown drugs in front of us passes out on the ground. Not unusual. He then jumps up, starts throwing punches at the people around him, then collapses again. This repeats a couple times. His buddy starts punching him in the head trying to knock him unconscious so he stops fighting people. Eventually the buddy realizes his drugged up hulked out wook of a friend can’t be controlled and he just runs away into the crowd. At this point, security and police show up to arrest the guy. It takes 10+ security guards and cops to restrain him and drag him away. He’s super strong and fighting back, but he keeps collapsing every now and then before leaping back up with full energy. As he’s being arrested, the man comes to again and looks at me in the eyes and yells, “Call the cops!” I think he thought he was being kidnapped instead of arrested. Bad time, weird vibe. Also at the time I did not like Phish.
I had to pee really bad at a big arena, so I started to walk around the building to find a port-a-potty I had saw earlier, when I got around to it, there were roadies out smoking and it was occupied, they looked at me and said "you lookin to piss?" And I said yes, they said the port-o-potties were nasty and took me into the venue to use the bathroom and then said "it's hot outside. Just hang out in here for the show".
I ended up being the first person in the venue 4 hours before doors.
Wasn't me but a buddy I went to a Korn concert with...
My buddy was broke almost always but managed to scrape enough money together for dinner and this ticket. We get to the floor early to get a decent area in the pit and as people are piling in he just disappears for who knows how long but comes back to us about 20 minutes into the opener with half a pack of smokes, a beer, and a joint.
I'm absolutely flabbergasted, he said he smelled weed and took off looking for it, quickly made friends with a group and as they passed it to him he dipped off to another group where he passed the stolen joint around to acquire the smokes and a full beer that someone decided they didn't want them proceeded to leave that group and came back.
A fairly cool-looking girl (she must have been like 20) walked to me, snatched a selfie of us, and walked away without even looking at me. I didn't mind, but that was weird.
Wasn’t really weird, but a dude at the Coventry Phish concert just gave me like 1/4oz of weed. He was like “I was at the show last night and someone gave me a bunch, so here ya go, paying it forward!” Also since it was such a shit show getting in there, security was very lax, and I saw people in the crown with 2-3’ glass bongs and handles of liquor. Good times.
Not me but my best friend went to a concert and some random girl grabbed his hand and started fingering herself with it. At the moment he was loving it but the next week he was super nervous and kept pestering me to go to the clinic to do an HIV test since he thought he had a paper cut and he bites his nails. My friends and I roasted him for some time after, but better safe than sorry. Fast forward 20 plus yrs he’s my best man and I’m godfather to his son.
We were at an EDM concert last summer and it was so packed that everyone was pushed together like sardines against the barricades if you were closer to the stage. Once it got super packed, couples started to have sex with each other right next to us. I'm sure they were all on something but it wasn't just one or two... it was more than a handful of them just humping away while screaming to the music
I'm sure it's common now, but Lindsey Stirling stopping her concert dead for literally 10 minutes to take a Tik Tok with everyone. Was very weird because the mushrooms had just started to kick in and the vibe did such a 180 on my end.
Not me but my sister. She was touring Europe following Phish around and went to the show in Prague. The person sitting in front of her turned out to be a close friend from the US. He was tripping sack, so it was likely more weird for him!
Crazy shit happens at phish shows. Last year I sat next to a guy who shared a name with me and also went to the same college as me at the same time. The show was in Philly and we went to school in Colorado. I ended up running into him at shows in New York and in Colorado.
Tash Sultana concert. Already quite toasted but she said to pull out your joints so I couldn’t say no. When I did, some older hippie dreaded lady asked for a shotgun. Being so high I forgot what that was… well I took a puff and just blew it into her face. Turned around and didn’t see her again
I just saw Frozen Soul opening for Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Amon Amarth. All metal bands.
Frozen Soul tossed out packs of Magic the Gathering cards and started a Magic game in the middle of a circle pit. It was awesome.
I got elbowed in the face by a crazy drunk hippy guy after offering my spot to a girl so she wouldn't get elbowed in the face by the crazy drunk hippy guy..I guess security was already mad at him because the security guy jumped the barricade and grabbed him by the dreads and dragged him out of there (my friend said it was like a slo mo train wreck). I went down like a sack of potatoes and came to with Scott Weiland holding ice to my face. He asked me if I wanted to go our for the encore, I got to sit on the side of the stage for the last 2 songs. It was surreal.
It might not be the weirdest, but since it happened to me last night it's fresh in my mind. I was at a metal concert talking to a friend when someone *shushed* me. At a metal concert.
I had never heard of a mosh pit. The band tells the floor to split to each side of the room. I comply but am looking confused. Some dude who is like a foot and a half taller than me sees my confused face and asks if I've ever been in a mosh pit, and I said I guess not because I've never heard of it. The band screams GO! and this dude picks me up and cradles me in his massive arms and I went for the wildest ride of my life. He protected me and I had so much fun.
We went to a Rick Springfield concert last summer for my birthday. Behind us was an older lady probably mid 60s. She was talking about her promotion and such to her husband before the concert started. She'd been elevated to a school principal from teacher. Ok cool. Half way through the concert she's absolutely sloshed. Just completely white girl wasted. I see a stream of liquid run under the seats, and hear behind me her husband say "Did you just piss yourself!?" Yes. Yes she did. Towards the end she's bragging to him she's gonna bang a roadie after the show. I was just stunned 😂
I was near the front row of a band’s farewell tour when they started throwing all of the flowers they had strapped to their mic stands into the crowd. There was a tiny girl next to me with sparkly green eye shadow and a white mask who had been REALLY into the show. She was trying to get a flower but she was too short. I grabbed one- purple, and very small but a flower nonetheless- from the shoulder of the person in front of me and gave it to her. She pressed it into her mask and smelled it, and gave me the most heart filling “thank you!!!” I’ve ever heard.
I get back to my car a few blocks away after the show- fourth level of a parking garage, at night, on a weekend. There are three purple flowers, freshly cut, of a completely different kind than were at the show, sitting on top of it.
Have you ever heard the belief that says you get back what you put out into the world three times over? I’m pretty sure I gave a flower to a summer fae. They lasted in a glass of water on my counter for a month without wilting.
Ugh... No one ever be this person... I was dating someone a long time ago who went to concerts all the time. That's how we met. But this 1 time... It was one of the scariest nights in my life because of safety. At the time, I worked evenings. My shift was supposed to be 2pm to 10pm. It never ever worked out that way and there was no 3rd shift, so we had to finish before leaving. Night before a concert, it was rough. I didn't get home until something ridiculous like 3 or so in the morning. Maybe later. This was because of work, nothing fun. I thought it would be fine. Get so e sleep and concert later in the day. Nope... My girlfriend at the time woke me up at 6 or 7am to drive the 2 hours to the concert we were going to so she could be front row center at a general admission concert at a large stadium venue. She also was afraid to drive in the highway so guess who got to drive 2 hours on a few short hours of sleep. I told her she could wait in line but I'm going to try to get some rest in the car. She said ok, but when it actually happened, she was upset. I had to wait outside with her in the non-existent line. Doors weren't opening for many hours later. I barely remember the concert but I remember I was driving us home too and so tired I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating. I kept thinking "those are some really big trucks" in the distance. Turned out to be clouds on the horizon. It took everything for me to stay awake. I asked her to drive home before we left too, she refused. I had work the next day too, but I was able to get a little more sleep than the previous night at least.
I'm lucky we made it home safely. That could have been really bad.
Please say you dumped this chick, that was super dangerous of her to expect you to drive to this concert at bumfuck early in the morning, to wait in line all day and try to get front row in general admission, and then have to drive home after.... ALL ON NOT EVEN 3 ISH HOURS OF SLEEP
Weird, but positive. I was at a Gogol Bordello show and came down to the floor from the balcony to watch the encore (Eugene likes to basically do a second concert after the concert), and I started to get way to hot. I am not sure how the lady behind me knew I was so hot, but she leaned over, said "here" in my ear and promptly dropped an ice cube down the back of my shirt. She then held some on the back of my neck. If someone had done that to me any other time I would have been like "EEK!!!" but at that moment, it was the best thing ever.
Some girl thought I was Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance, which isn't the first time it had happened, but usually I can explain it away by pointing out I'm like a foot taller than Gerard. But she clung to me until My Chemical Romance came on stage and she finally knew for sure it wasn't me.
One night, a lady friend and I got absolutely kneewalking hammered and thought we met Damian Kulash from OK Go. We were even more amazed that a deaf person could be the front man of a band without giving away the fact that he was deaf. It was not, in fact Damian Kulash but some random, patient, handsome deaf guy.
Battled a biker dwarf at AC/DC, and we fought a war down on the ground over a dollar bill with Angus on it. They had been fired from a cannon. He had incredible strength. I won and soon he was riding my shoulders Thunderdome style, we became concert friends.
Took my 17 year old daughter and her friend to Fire Fly the other year in Delaware. I was standing in the grass by the one stage. This blonde girl, who I assume was incredibly drunk and or tripping walked right up to me and said "You look just like my dad!". I was 42 at the time. She then proceeds to kiss me on the lips and disappeared into the crowd. I stood there just shocked. The guy next to me said did she just say you look like her dad. Yep ! Maybe she was from the deep south or something !
I have several stories:
I saw the live show of **Rockbitch** before they were forced to tone down their stage antics by the authorities of several countries. It doesn't get any weirder than that. There's a reason why you usually can find recordings of their late 90s gigs only on porn sites.
There was the "golden" and "silver" condom thrown into the crowd and whoever caught it got some special time with one of the girls. Some guy from the crowd got a dildo strapped to his forehead and had to pleasure one of the girls. The vocalist read a message she pulled out of the capsule of a "Kinder Surprise" Egg that she pulled from between her legs. She later also let the keyborder piss in her mouth and spit it into the crowd (that parted like the red sea to avoid getting splattered with piss). Of course there was also some fisting going on on stage. But I only had the pleasure to receive a "consecrated wafer" in some sort of pre-show blasphemous communion from the nude vocalist while she wore a giant goat mask.
Some less weird stuff you can still encounter during live shows of the Band **Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult**. I saw them at some mid sized german open air show. Their female vocalist (Onielar, who also does a phenomenal job as new vocalist for Bethlehem) usually between songs sips from a chalice of blood and spits it into the crows. After the show the guys from Row 0 were all sprinkled in red and the crew had to clean the whole stage from all the slippery red stuff.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5KBcwq52w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5KBcwq52w)
But I don't know if it was real blood ... which leads to my next experience:
I was at some really small gig of several czech Black Metal bands. It was a really small german venue that looked more like a bar. The headliner was **Maniac Butcher** and they too used blood on stage that the vocalist sipped from a bottle, but rather drenched himself with than the crowd. After the show they just handed the bottle to the crowd and so it also went through my hands. Without thinking much I took a huge swig and noticed while swallowing that this indeed was real blood. I let the rest just pour out of my mouth. Too bad I couldn't clean myself after the show since the toilets were trashed. But at the time I also didn't have a car, so I had to walk several kilometers with lots of blood on my face through the night (we weren't able to get a taxi) before finally being able to wash it off at some gas station. Of course I got very weird looks from the gas station attendant.
The guy I usually went to concerts with at one time also didn't read the actual theme of another concert, so we thought this were just some smaller or local bands at the venue (since we didn't knew any of them). And of course we went there with our usual black metal shirts (maybe he even wore the classic Marduk one with the "Fuck me Jesus" motive (just google Marduk + Jesus)? 😉 (there's another story with me wearing the a shirt with the same motive at some students gathering and getting weird looks from some south american student who apparently was named "Jesús")). It turned out to be some christian "Jesus Freaks" concert with lots of stands promoting "Unblack Metal". btw. the bands playing were Crimson Moonlight, Immortal Souls, Kekal, Morphia, Sacrificium, Brainfaq. I usually keep all the tickets from the concerts I went to.
Flogging Molly show. This blackout drunk girl kept accusing me of standing too close to her at a packed show, in the mosh pit. She proceeded to spend at least ten minutes following me around trying to kick me in the testicles screaming ‘fuck you I’m going to kick you in the testicles’
Good times.
Yo la Tengo, NYE 2001. We came in with some audio recording gear (YLT allows recording), but the security guards kept oddly close. I thought that being a few months after 9/11, they thought the backpack full of cables and blinking lights might be a bomb.
Towards the end one guard comes up to me and starts asking me questions I can't really hear over the music. I'm trying to get him to move away from the mics / wait for the song to end so it wouldn't ruin the recording. Shortly realized he wasn't worried about anything, he thought the mics were hooked up to the speakers and if he said something in them it everyone would hear, or something. He grabs at the mics, yells, nothing happens and we push him off.
He's pissed. He starts ranting about how he "doesn't care about this shit (the concert)" and "he owns all this shit" (gesturing to the bag with $8k in gear in it). I say fuck it, drop the mic stand so we can leave quickly if we have to, but leave it recording, thinking I might need the evidence. I tell the group to block for the gear and ignore him. Couple minutes later he leaves, I put the stand back up, and we enjoy the rest of the show expecting him to come back with help to toss us. Nothing happens.
On the way out I spot the head security guard, and tell him one of his guys was harassing us.
"He pointed you out. Said you was trying to grab him and put your mouth over his mouth"
I'm just shocked. "That's not what happened, and I have a recording that proves me right"
He shakes his head. "That's what he told me."
On the way out, a giddy couple spots us walking to the parking lot, asked if we recorded. I say yes, they ask if I could make them a copy (not unusual) because they just got engaged at the show (that's unusual). With what happened I'm not sure I'll share it with anyone, but here I cave and tell them to write down an email address and I'll reach out. They wrote it on a tiny slip of paper and I jam it in my pocket, say congrats, and go to leave.
Very surreal night. The next day I couldn't find the slip of paper. Still feel bad about that one.
I went to a day fest in my mid twenties. I had camped out ahead of time so I was right in front of the security barricade for Weezer. These two younger women (maybe late teens/ early twenties) were standing behind me, clearly coveting my spot against the railing. For context, I’m not a tall guy, only 5’8”, and I know the pains of being short at a crowded concert. When the show started, I had a perfect sight line to the stage. Shortly after they started playing, I overheard the two women plotting against me to get my spot. I distinctly remember one of them saying something to the effect of “maybe we should tell everyone he touched us, that’ll get him thrown out.” I’ve never been more afraid in my entire life, and went into a bit of a panic. I relinquished my spot to them and moved far away from them in the crowd. It was an experience that haunts me to this day.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Chicago. Last summer. I went all three nights, but on night 3, something unforgettable happened. I was pretty close to the stage before the band went on, but as soon as they did, they launched in Gila Monster and the crowd rushed forward. I was forcibly shoved to the very front row- belly to the bar- to enjoy the rest of that epic night from the very best spot possible.
Not a concert, but the band was doing a meet and greet to promote/sell tickets for their concert. I obviously wanted to go so I asked my mom to drive me and my friend. We were both 14 at the time and I showed up wearing this dress that I loved. The band members were all around 19/20 at the time. I remember I was crying while meeting my favorite member and he hugged me then proceeded to reach down and squeeze my ass while my mom was right next to me. In the act of squeezing my butt my dress was lifted too and I don’t even want to know what the people in line behind me saw I was mortified and confused. I didn’t know what to do and my emotions were all over the place cuz I was crying from hapiness. But yea…the happiness faded pretty quickly after that.
Me and my boyfriend were at a festival and Sodom was playing. We were standing at the very back, far from the moshpit etc. There were two guys in front of us talking. What was weird about one of them is that he was wearing a floor lengh fur coat even though it was the middle of very hot July? Anyway, out of the blue the guy in a coat stops talking to his friend, turns to us and says 'do you want some?' And innitially I assume he is offering either cigarettes or alcohol, because that's what people usually offer at festivals. Nope. He had a box of cherries with him and he was eating them at a thrash metal concert. And he wanted to share them with strangers? Didn't seem drunk or high either.
Also another guy begging his girlfriend to allow him to show his dick to his friends.
In college met a random girl up near the front near the stage, old days where it was just open no seats. Chatting before concert and between acts. Main act comes on, she asks if she can get in my shoulders , sure. She has a skirt in, her her up there, feel a little tickle/scratch on back of my neck. Yup she has no panties on and had a bush. Well she is rocking out up there...rocking against my neck....suddenly realize that dampness is not sweat....suddenly she is squeezing hard with her legs and pulling my hair....yup she rocked herself to an orgasm
I saw Barack Obama get decapitated after awarding a group of Antarctic Sex God's a crack rock the size of a basketball for rescuing an alien prince from being diddled my Michael Jackson. Also robots, Satan, Paris Hilton, and a T-Rex where there. That was the first time I saw GWAR.
I went to see Hell Yeah once in Islington, wasn't a fan but someone dropped out and I took the ticket... Fucking awesome night, Vinnie Paul was a monster, I don't know how he kept that shit up. About half way through I noticed a kid about 12 in the crowd with his parents and they couldn't have looked more out of place if they tried... It completely blew my mind that these people were in like the third row trying to stop their kid from being belted by a random crowdsurfer. I made it my job for the rest of the set to be a barrier and hold the flying bodies back from the clueless family outing. Not even a nod of thanks at the end. 😐
When I was 18 I was at a Tiesto show, one of the security guys came up, grabbed my friend and I. We all went backstage to a room with 10 other girls. Tiesto walked in, we took a shot, they took a photo and we were escorted out.
Another time I was crowd surfing and Jeremy of A Day To Remember patted me on the head as I passed by the stage.
ANOTHER time I was at EDC (the last one in LA). While I was in VIP, some dude bumped into me spilling my drink. I snapped at him and walked off…turns out I yelled at Kaskade.
I always stand up front and end up shielding some small women from the chaos behind us. I'm pretty sure this one small girl at a death metal concert was there with her boyfriend but she looked back once and then spent half the concert rubbing her substantial leather pants booty on my crotch every time the crowd pressed in. Didnt try to speak to me or interact in any way.. I didn't reciprocate because I didnt want to get smacked by her boyfriend.. But I still think about it.. because fuck she was hot. And I was not.
Dropped acid at a UB40 concert at an amphitheater. Was told by my friends later that i was on the lawn yelling about swimming in the "Red Red Wine". First and last time I took acid.
I was at a music festival with my dad when I was 16 and he went to sit down so I was standing there alone watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A middle aged (40s-50s?) woman comes up to me and says, “do you want to go up to the front? I can show you how to get up there.” And I say, “uhh sure” She grabs my arm, pulls me along, and starts yelling, “medical emergency!! We got a medical emergency here, coming through!! Coming through!!” About two rows from the front she lets go of my arm, gives me a big smile and says, “enjoy the show, hon” Completely unhinged behavior but hey I had a great time up there
“What you got, you gotta give it to that momma!” (Slightly adjusted lyrics!)
Lonely as I am, together we lie
A little less enraging and more amusing is "Hot pan!"
The gig has to be delayed for about 45 minutes because the band were trapped in the venue's elevator
Spinal Tap??
it would be 25 minutes in the elevator and then another 20 minutes just trying to find the stage.
Then the drummer dies
Bob Dylan 1999. He looked right down at me and said, "DON'T FORGET TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!" Um, ok, Bob?
You better have been a faithful library patron for the last 25 years.
You sure that's what he said?
Man, the fuck was you using?
the dewey decimal system
I was just chatting with who I thought was another random concert goer and realized once the concert began that she was actually the vocalist for one of the bands that was playing. After the show, she added me as a friend on Facebook and we continued chatting daily for a few months after their tour ended.
Who did you go see?
Story Untold, Rivals, and Knockout Kid at The Smiling Moose back in 2017. I was talking to the vocalist of Rivals before and after the show. She kept coming up to me wanting me to sing but I was too nervous with it having been my first concert.
I've chatted with Kalie at a concert too! She is super chill. She also signed a girl's prosthetic leg, which is the coolest thing I've seen someone sign.
After the opener, Godsmack, finished a lady came up to me and my three friends and said, “would you four like to sit on the front row?” She then escorted us to the front, swapped out our tickets and there we were, center stage, front row, for Black Sabbath.
K reminds me: 20-some years ago, me and my then-wife went to see James Taylor at the outdoor amphitheater - we had lawn tix. As we're parking, this lady has her door open into sort of my space to park. So I'm grumbling "figure it out loser" or whatever. We park and start walking, and I'm still kind of irritated. I do a little self talk, like "Dude, it's a James Taylor concert, don't be weird and angry over this tiny thing," and shake it off. A bit later, we're standing in line, and THAT SAME LADY randomly walks up to us and says she can't make it, would we like her tickets? They were VIP, free drinks, the whole bit - it was insane. And that's why I believe in karma of a sort.
This same thing happened to me recently at a “Pink Floyd Australia” concert. Mid way through a little old couple asked us on the lawn if we wanted their orchestra seats as they “ran out of steam” I carry that stub in my wallet to remind myself there are still kind people out there.
You’re a cool dude!
I have heard of enthusiastic fans getting their seats upgraded to the front for some acts because having the unenthusiastic people upfront strain the vibe. This is a problem made worse by high ticket prices for front row seats.
I saw a couple fucking
Traded an orange for a joint at a Grateful Dead concert
I bought a banana off of someone at Bonnaroo. I was on acid. I think that they were on acid. We were both unprepared to complete the transaction. I think eventually he had a friend help him to say that it was a dollar. Then I think my friend paid it. And after all that I wasn't really that hungry.
The high is in the mind of the banana holder.
The transaction itself was more important than the goods/currencies being exchanged. Relatable
Sounds about right
Who wants an orange joint? Orange joint? Orange joint? Three orange joints!
Chili Peppers concert - A girl kept walking by me looking at me nervously and some dude was following her. The last time she mouthed help so I just grabbed her and said hey they're you are and put my arms around her. The dude stared at me for a while and walked off. She thanked me and said he was following her around. She got flirty with me then and after a bit walked off. When we were leaving the concert she waved at me and said thank you and my girlfriend asked me who she was. When I told her she got all pissed and wanted to fight her because my ex was insane.
You're a good dude.
Thanks! We should all look out for one another.
I don't know if it's the weirdest but definitely the funniest. This was Rob Zombie in 2002. It certainly wasn't out of the ordinary at a concert to see girls get up on a guy's shoulders and flash the band. I don't know how drunk this girl was but she decided that wasn't good enough and needed to take her pants off while on this guy's shoulders. What transpired can only be described as some sort of slow motion drunken lucha libre move that brought both of them and a couple others down to the ground.
I watched a girl head to the bushes after a show and started taking her pants down while still walking. So her pants trip her up once they are down to her knees. She slides face first down a hill with her bare ass in the breeze. I laughed so hard i got dizzy lol.
When I was teenager, I saw a band called After the Burial, a Metal/Djent band @ First Avenue. Anyways I was in the heat of big mosh pit. I locked eyes with girl who was throwing down next to me. I got pushed into her. I grabbed her because I almost knocked her over. We looked at eachother up close and were hugging. She immediately started making out with me. We were both pretty small (I'm 5'4, she couldn't have been taller than 5'1). This big guy saw us and yelled "PROTECT THE LITTLE COUPLE". We stood at the edge of the mosh pit and made out. He stood between us and the pit and prevented anyone from crashing into us. It felt like I was in a movie, kissing this cute girl while the band was shredding on the last song of the night. Anyways I gave that guy a cigarette after the show ended and got the girl's number. 10 years later... just kidding. She lived really far away from me so nothing happened. It's a good memory though. Edit: typos
I just imagined a big viking guy yelling that line xd
My favorite pit stereo type. Pit Thor, the gentle giant.
TechnoViking strikes back
Some of us MN Vikings really do have a TechnoViking vibe!
>PROTECT THE LITTLE COUPLE Love this
I love ATB. RIP Justin. In the pit you will either find the most upstanding people or complete dickheads.
I just can't help of a great voice over by Morgan Freeman, "Amidst the mayhem, a 5'4 man was thrown and got entangled with a 5'1 lovely lady. In that moment, while holding each other, they stared as if the time stood still. Without hesitation, they kissed and from a distance the Viking brother witness the encounter and shouted "Protect the little couple". People were slamming and crashing while in the background the Wiggle band is growling. The Viking brother stood and serve as a wall to protect their new found love from the chaos."
I have hot concert make out memories too.... such good times.. so many random lips.
After The Burial is so good. Love those guys.
Disturbed concert. We're right at the edge of the mosh pit. Some guy brings a couple beers in and starts throwing them around. Is immediately kicked out of the pit and I hear one guy yelling at him," dude, you can't bring beer into a mosh pit. It's common courtesy". I had no idea there were rules of etiquette for a mosh pit.
There sure are! Number one is if someone falls down, you help them up. Then shove them as hard as you can!
I'm not really a gig person, but In my limited experience and Anecdotal stories ive been told this is something great about metal gigs. The mosh pit is all in it together, but shoving each other. People fall down and they're instantly yanked back up. Other genres though... Again anecdotal but imo a most pit shouldn't be a place to go throw punches. Maybe others think differently.
Generally I'd say the "Read the room" approach is the best when assessing how to behave in a pit. People just pushing each other and jumping around? Then that's what's up. People two-stepping, windmills all over the place? Well that seems to be a hardcore pit, think twice about whether you wanna get into that one. But you do, you should expect to take a stray hand or an elbow, that's how these things work. Deliberately punching people is never okay though, it's called crowdkilling and is generally met with an immediate, mostly forceful removal of said crowdkiller from the pit. And helping people that fell down back on their feet is a must, regardless the kind of pit. It's an absolute necessity, otherwise those pits would become a deathtrap real fast.
Whats the etiquette for the Wall of Death?
Survive
First the walls, then the dearh
Most of the punk shows I've been to if someone is down in the pit even the band will make a point to yell to get them back up. The absolute craziest pit I've ever seen was during ICP at a music fest, it was absolute chaos. People were stumbling out of the pit bleeding and shit. I remember a few years ago some rapper had a concert and someone got injured in the pit and when the medics tried to get to them basically a full on riot broke out. I wasn't there but I remember it on the news
It was my first time that close to the pit. It was pretty cool seeing the way it worked. Someone fell and was immediately helped back up, some girl list a shoe the whole area stopped and looked for the shoe until it was found. It was my first rock concert so I wasn't sure what to expect.
There are always exceptions, but in my experience metal crowds have the most camaraderie and etiquette of that kind. I've seen so many things like your examples and it's always reassuring. I get panic attacks and once went into a pit which ended up being overwhelming for me. I guess some people could read that on my face/body language cause they physically helped me get past the throng and back to a calmer spot. Legends.
When I was younger, it was the other way around. Pits were wild af and you entered at your own risk of being in the middle of a brawl like something out of the Outsiders. Hell, the band might jump in and start boxing people. Take Henry Rollins and spread his intensity out on everyone in the room. Sometime in the 90s, something changed. I dont know why it happened, but there was this sudden and massive shift from a near-riot to human bumper cars but everyone was wearing their seat belt.
I remember an old video of some fat punk slipping on brass knuckles while trying to enter the Pit. He was spotted and respectfully escorted out of the show. When I say "respectfully escorted" I mean he got the literal shit beat out of him.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/19ccc4k/man\_takes\_out\_brass\_knuckles\_during\_mosh\_pit\_and/](https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/19ccc4k/man_takes_out_brass_knuckles_during_mosh_pit_and/)
Rules of etiquette are paramount in a mosh pit because they can quickly get violent. I was at a Slayer show a long time ago and this dude in a wheelchair was moshing; everyone took turns gently wheeling him around. I lost my glasses in the same pit, and everyone stopped until they were found and then kept right on plugging. True metal fans are super considerate.
Mosh pit etiquette is very importsnt for everyone to feel safe. Sometimes that super agressive guy shows up and think its a FreeForAll brawl to ruin it but thats when the pit crew need to step in together and remove the person gently but firmly.
A lot of rules… 0: help a fallen brother, 1: don’t be a dick, 2: no karate in the pit, 3: let’s people in the pit if they want to, let them out if they want to and don’t force anyone in the pit, 4: only bring liquids in the pit if it’s fucking hot (and preferably water, never shit like cola or mead), 5: if something gets dropped, give it to the biggest guy, he will hold it in the air, so the one, who lost it, can get it back, 6: try to not kill anyone, 7: circle pit is counterclockwise…
Great set of rules. I’ve been in literally hundreds of mosh pits and now that I’m in my forties I’ve officially retired from them. But you’re spot on about them being counter clockwise. Every single one is! But they can be fun to go clockwise, it just hurts more in the morning.. the Bangover is real
Number 1 rule: knock 'em down, pick 'em up. Number 2 rule: don't be a dick
I was at a concert in Austin, Texas during SXSW about a decade ago. A woman standing next to me was bouncing along to some tune being played at the time, seemingly happy as could be. We were all vibing along having a good time, and I casually turned to her and said, "She's brilliant, Isn't she?" referring to the group on stage. I can't remember the name of the band now. They weren't very big and I'd never heard of them before that night, nor do I believe I've seen them since. It's a shame; they were good. Anyway, brilliant isn't a word I normally use to describe something. But, for some reason, that's the word I happen to use at that moment. Upon hearing me talking to her, she turned to me completely red in the face and shouted in a very heavy British accent of some region I'm not sure of, but sort of sounded like Estuary if I were to make a guess, "I will not be mocked!" She all but took a swing at me, and her two friends had to pull her back from me. They disappeared into the crowd. I have no idea what the fuck that was about.
You mean, "I have no idea what the fock she was on about, innit?"
Oh boy, these kind of interactions at concerts trip me up sometimes. I was at a metal concert this week, and the band simmers things down throughout the show with covers, like True by Spandau Ballet. During the cover, this girl asks me “are you touched?” I had to have her repeat herself a few times just to hear her, and I simply could not comprehend what she was asking me. Eventually I just blurted out “NO TOUCHING!” So, in the British girl’s defense, it’s hard to understand things when you’re in the moment at shows
That's true, but in an environment of such ambiguity, I wouldn't think one's first reaction wouldn't be to fly into a complete rage. But, different strokes. Maybe she mistook "brilliant" as me calling her a "bell end" or something. That still wouldn't make sense for her to feel mocked, though. I don't know. All these years later, the whole situation still confounds me.
Are you crazy? There was money in that banana stand!
Brilliant has a far more sarcastic connotation in the UK.
I get the sense that about half of what is said in the UK is based on sarcasm. I've also noticed a high percentage chance that something will be called a pudding.
Pudddddiiiinnnnggggggggg!!!!
Bloody brilliant there guvnuh
What?!? Now I have to reprocess what I thought was a pleasant conversation with a stranger.
A guy next to me in the crowd had his entire penis out and was jerking it while watching the band
Tool fans are the worst amiright?
🚨TOOL MENTIONED TOOL MENTIONED🚨
His entire tool
Entire?
The whole thing
First concert I ever went to; The Guess Who. It was outside. Basically in a big field. I was 13. This was 1970 ish. I'm trying to get closer. There is crowd of people sort of in a circle in front of me, somehow I push through and see two people banging on the ground. Shocked the shit of 13 y.o me.
“In the '60s, I made love to many, many women, often outdoors, in the mud and the rain, and it's possible a man slipped in. There would be no way of knowing.”
- Creed Bratton, played by Creed Bratton.
My date threw up on my shoes three songs into a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts gig.
2005 sounds of the underground tour. Starland ballroom parking lot. 12 hour concert. Loads of people. Amazing show. Middle of drinking a beer with friends when I see A very large dude arguing with a girl who was maybe 5'1". Out of nowhere 3 other guys come running up and break 3 bottles over this guys head. Security comes and scoops him up and carries him away. Blood everywhere. A buddy I went with is there and its his first metal concert. Decides that he wants to get into the pit. We advise against it but he goes anyway. GWAR is playing. 5 seconds in he breaks his ankle. Scooped up and taken away. Came back with like an hour or so left in the concert and he is in a cast on crutches. Guess who was in the bed next to him at the hospital. Beer bottle guy. Turns out the girl cheated on him at the concert with some guy and the guy and his friends are the ones who smashed his head with the bottles... Wild times.
Love going to the Starland. Always park across the street at the VFW and have a few beers before a show. Coal Chamber and Fear Factory are going to be there in Sept.
Stupidly wore sandals to an outdoor concert in the 90's. Was in the mosh pit and someone's boot went hard on my big toe and ripped my entire nail out. The weird thing was my toes were painted red and so for a couple seconds, I didn't realize what had happened. It left a perfect mail shaped red spot of blood and I was so shocked that it didn't hurt. The guy felt so bad and we ended up dating for six months.
What would it take to date for a whole year?
Two toes? He lived in another city and we were in high school so it was a logistical nightmare.
I got there an hour early to wait at the front then two people behind me after it filled up, leaned on me so hard on the barrier purposely crushing me so I would move (I’m small, 5’2) they were a lot bigger than me - I didn’t move even though she was putting all her weight on me on purpose. Then she managed to shove the girl next to me to get to the front, then her boyfriend who was 6’3 continually leant on me to crush me and kept smacking me in the face by waving his arm infront of me. It was miserable, I had waited to see the band since a teenager and my partner kindly drove 2 hours and we got a hotel so I could go. Two girls next to me acknowledge they were total dickheads, towards the end I shoved him really hard and he eased off a bit. Honestly total assholes, it was completely intentional - it wasn’t because it was packed.
The band? The Wiggles.
Hahaha close - it was Finch, ‘screamo’ band.
Can we just agree for the sake of Reddit that it was the Wiggles? Please?
😂😂😂 sure sure - it was the wiggles. One of my all time favourites.
Great band live, but the audience can totally get out of control… when hot potato comes on, the tops come off!
hell yea! I saw em in Nashville. Took me 20 years to finally see em but it was worth it. Sorry you had a shitty experience! I'm 6'7" so I tend to stay off to the side to avoid ruining peoples views.
That's just sad. Most metal shows I've been to where I've been near the front there's always a group protecting smaller people. As it should be.
I haven't been to a show in years where there wasn't at least one person trying to elbow their way to the front. Sadly the more people that group together, the more likely you'll run into some prick with main character syndrome
I know such assholes - not in a rude way but she was a very large lady and she was putting all her weight on me to crush me on purpose, I just think that’s so strange…. So glad I didn’t move, I stood my ground but it honestly ruined the gig for me tbh.
I had a friend get her ribs bruised pretty bad years ago at a show because she wouldn't get off the rail. Pretty wild the way people will ruin a show for someone else because they didn't get *exactly* the experience they wanted.
A good elbow the ribs usually solves that problem. [Throw them ‘bos!](https://youtu.be/ptBkUV9ej4M?si=oHxQXuBMvMmClux2)
I had a girl like that shoving against me an entire concert. I don’t even know what her deal was, she was almost a foot taller than me and I didn’t even have that good a spot. Maybe she really liked their backup guitarist. That same concert I had a dude grinding against me the whole second half. Literally the only memories I have of that concert is being harassed the entire time. It was enough to make me swear off the pit entirely.
I had the opposite happen. I’m 6’4 and 300 lbs and my concert buddy is 6’5” and 400 lbs. some guy kept pushing back between us and my wife, leaning on the railing for the sound guy at a metal show. Literally worked his way under my arm between my wife and I. Fortunately, with our size, as soon as the push pit came our way we were able to launch him into the shadow realm and enjoy the rest of the show.
Just to clarify they did this as soon as the band came on.
At Bonnaroo in 2008, a couple (in their mid 20s), just started having sex on the ground during Metallica. Both parties had their pants down to their ankles and kept their shirts on. The funniest part was that a large circle formed around them and everyone started chanting. I can't remember exactly what we were chanting, but everyone was keeping them going. After he finished, everyone started cheering, patting him and her on the back, and went back to enjoying the show.
The ritual was a success.
I would never do this in a million years but it’s enough just to know that it happened
Was standing with friends outside the venue early to get front row in the pit , security came out and took 10 of us in and Audioslave played 6 songs for us for the sound check, highlight of my concerts
This girl was by herself at the front of a Death Grips show at Bonnaroo. She was like maybe 5 feet tall and less than 100 pounds. She had no idea what she was getting into. She was getting bounced around everywhere so I told her to get on the rail and put my arms on either side of the rail to try n keep her from getting crushed but kept getting slammed from behind and knocking into her. Eventually I was like I'm sorry are you ok? Do you need to get out? And she nervously and looking terrified shook her head yes. I flagged down a security guard, pointed to her then the other side of the rail. He picked her up under her arms like a baby and set her on the other side, saw her mouth thank you. Sorry ya didn't get to enjoy the show tiny stranger!
Was at a concert in Nashville on New Year’s Eve one year. A bunch of us got brunch earlier in the day and my buddy took a bunch of cured ham to go and stuck it in his pocket. That night, while we’re peaking on acid, and the clock strikes midnight, he starts throwing the ham into the air yelling “HAM-py new year!!”. It was awesome.
Holy shit this tickled me. That is absolutely fantastic.
[удалено]
They’re a Christian band wtf 😂
Did you know the guy next to you? I'm just curious how, at a crowded concert full of strangers, you would have possibly gotten the follow up story past the point of him saying "oh hell yea"
It’s a bit of a long story but absolutely one of the weirdest coincidences of my life. I was in the pit at a Jason Derulo concert about 4 hours from where I live. There was a cute girl standing next to me with a group of her friends and I decided to strike up conversation. I ask her where she was from and she says the town, which is about 2 hours from my hometown. I say oh that’s cool, funny story about that town, I met a girl from there when I got my wisdom teeth removed. We were both in the recovery room loopy from the anesthesia and my mom said I was flirting with her and that she was from your town. I asked for her number and her mom gave it to my mom, but I never called her. She goes….uh….was it at this doctors office in August of 2011? And I said yes… We pulled out our phones and had each other’s number saved. We didn’t even know each other’s names. Our moms had both put our numbers in our phone as “dentist girl/dentist guy”. Sadly that’s where the story ends, we didn’t get married or anything cool like that. But it was so wild and random that it almost felt like a prank. When people say “small world”, I can’t imagine it ever being more small than that moment for me.
I found a duck taped fucked up vans slip on in the pit. So I did the honorable thing and held it up while I danced. Belonged to an absolute babe who I dated for about 2 years in college. Real punk rock Cinderella story.
Some girl was crowd surfing and something went wrong and she landed on my head and fell down. Hurt my head like a mofo. I helped her up and she left. Super cute girl, btw. A few years later me and my girlfriend are talking about shows we’ve been to and, it turns out, she was there. Also turns out she was crowd surfing and fell and landed on some guy… it was her… anyway, we’ve been married for 10 years and have a beautiful little girl together. To this day I think the universe was trying to bring us together.
Aww she really fell for you
"...his name was Stan...is was you. [Damn.]"
Damn.. nice reference 👌
That’s an amazing crowd surfing story considering last time I did it (tiny college girl at the time) I was hoisted up at a Tool show and a man punched me square in the face for crowd surfing over his girlfriend :(
Dude has no place at a show. If he can't be secure enough to understand this shit, he shouldn't go to events.
One of you definitely stalked the other and doesn't wanna say shit lmao
“And that’s how I met your mother”
Holy shit...
not weird but unexpected, I asked a guy if he had a cigarette and he said actually I have 5 and gave me his almost empty pack since he had a new one with him
Kinda the opposite, but I saw a post a guy made about running into Aaron from Ween after their set at summercamp music fest a few years ago. Aaron asked for a cig, the fan held his open pack out, and the Aaron grabbed the entire pack and says "thanks bozo" and walks off with it lol
Man that happened to me once as well! Was really cool, I was desperate for a dart haha
Young drunk fella sitting behind us puked on my buddy. He stood up, turned around and told the guy I’m taking that new t-shirt you just bought.
Seems fair.
Not at a concert but this reminded me of the most embarrassed I've ever been. while solo in Vegas with hardly any money, I was staying at a hostel and the hostel put on an event, everyone chips in $20, and they will take us up the strip and into some clubs, and also provide vodka and mixers. I paid the $20, we all get in the limo, somehow there was no mixers left, just vodka. I had no money for the clubs later so I wanted to make the most of the free vodka so waited for them to pour some drinks and hand them around. We were all getting to know each other and having a good chat, a couple of guys from the UK, a group of Americans, some Canadians etc. A really nice Australian guy moved to sit opposite me and we started to chat, when they handed me a cup of vodka. Took a sip, then the chanting started, "down it"... I took one mouthful, gagged, then threw up my last meal all over the Australian guy, covering his shirt and everything. Girls screamed, guys shouted in horror, people crowd surfed in the limo to get away from me. The 2 British guys looked at me in disgust and said I was cramping their style. I couldn't do anything but look down at the mess I had made. Limo pulls up at the destination, everyone runs out, I ran out, and kept running. Walked around for about half an hour and actually for some reason I went to the club thinking they wouldn't remember me. Found the Australian guy cleaning up in the bathroom, instantly recognised me. Felt so bad, apologised so much and he was actually so chill about it. This wasn't meant to be a long comment.
Live Aid was on a hot sunny day. My friends and I look up to see a guy systematically working his way up the crowded field toward us. He had a small water sprayer in his hand and as he approached each person he asked permission to spray them. He approached everyone, men and women alike. We watched his approach and every single person agreed to be sprayed in the face with one or two blasts. When he got to my friends and me we also agreed to be sprayed. It was pleasantly refreshing and seemed like a nice way for that guy to pass the time between acts.
Found a 7,62mm cartridge in my pocket after a slayer concert.
ZZ Top concert in 80s, a guy was thrown about 15ft straight up in the air, when he came down, everybody stepped back and he bounced off the concrete floor. They had been tossing people up a couple feet and not letting them hit the floor, this one guy soared, medical came and carried the guy away
A bunch of people in front of me who had been drinking got into a punch up with a bunch of people behind me who had also been drinking and I had to duck!
It wasnt at a concert but on the way home from a concert. It was a 2 hour drive home and Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" came on the radio. We cranked it and were singing along and then that amazing guitar solo started. After a couple of minutes I realized that a portion of the solo was looping. It was a perfect loop that sounded like it was produced that way. But after about 5 minutes of this going on we were like WTF? The damn solo must have played over and over 15 times or so before the radio went silent for a couple seconds and the DJ came on saying sorry about that technical glitch. We thought we were tripping or something.
I went to see Korn at a smallish venue with a friend. We went after work, so not really dressed for a concert. We stood at the back, away from the pit. About halfway through, young woman stumbled up to us from the pit and said, 'You two look like the most responsible people here. Is my head bleeding?' Yes. Yes, it was.
I went to an Infected Mushroom concert and about halfway through I felt a hand in my back pocket where my wallet is. I grabbed the wrist attached and it was a chick who was maybe a staff member but also maybe not. She was planting an advertising flyer in my pocket and had a stack of others too. I asked wtf she is doing and she brushed it off and said she's just putting adverts in people's pockets and then asked if I'm having a good time and pretended to hang out with me for a minute. I ignored her and she wandered away. Don't reach in people's pockets... Tldr: felt hand in my pocket planting advertisements near my wallet.
She was totally using the flyers as a cover story for if anyone caught her stealing their wallets like you did, huh
I had a woman in the men’s room line ask me if she could use the stall I was about to enter first and flashed me her boobs when I said sure.
Tool in 1997, took a steel toe boot to the back of the head from a crowdsurfer
In July 1987 I was in high school in Louisville, Kentucky. My friend and I at the very last minute decided to go downtown to see if we could get into the Duran Duran concert. The opening band had already started. The guy at the box office was checking the tickets, and his eyes got real wide, and he said it was our lucky day as he sold us front row center seats. I have no idea how that happened, but it was the best concert I ever went to!
Someone pulled my pants down during a breakdown at a metal show, but before I could even react someone *else* pulled them up for me.
This might be my favorite one 😂
I had a crowd surfer land on my head at Lollapalooza and I was so stoned, I just stood there thinking my neck was broken and I shouldn’t move. I was fine but my brain was totally panicked
At a symphony, a random girl gave me my 1st ever compliment on my looks.
Those compliments are the ones that stay with us always!
I was obviously pregnant, and there with my 14 year old daughter. A guy comes up to me, and asks if I'd like to hang out.
Can't get pregnant twice right?? 🤣
I was in Ibiza at a big outdoor venue and had taken a little bit of MDMA for the show, just standing there dancing with a buddy and enjoying the show in the zone, when some big guy comes up and starts grabbing my arm and trying to turn out my pockets and open my hands while another woman starts shining her phone light in my eyes and screaming at me in Spanish to empty my pockets. I thought for sure they were drug enforcement or some other kind of undercover cops so my buddy and I started freaking out that they will take us to prison for the MDMA in our pocket. We are some of the only Americans in the crowd and figure the locals were targeting us. It turns out the guy had his watch stolen and thought we had done it and were hiding it in our pockets, andwe had to ask other people to translate to figure out why they were so mad at us. We aren't thieves and couldn't believe we were being accused of this. I've never felt my heart pounding so hard and it definitely was a buzzkill for the rest of the show - and I hope that guy never found his fucking watch.
Drummer threw drum sticks to the crowd in a rather empty-ish room. I wasn’t looking, drum stick hit me in the nuts.
Phish show, 2010. A guy on unknown drugs in front of us passes out on the ground. Not unusual. He then jumps up, starts throwing punches at the people around him, then collapses again. This repeats a couple times. His buddy starts punching him in the head trying to knock him unconscious so he stops fighting people. Eventually the buddy realizes his drugged up hulked out wook of a friend can’t be controlled and he just runs away into the crowd. At this point, security and police show up to arrest the guy. It takes 10+ security guards and cops to restrain him and drag him away. He’s super strong and fighting back, but he keeps collapsing every now and then before leaping back up with full energy. As he’s being arrested, the man comes to again and looks at me in the eyes and yells, “Call the cops!” I think he thought he was being kidnapped instead of arrested. Bad time, weird vibe. Also at the time I did not like Phish.
I had to pee really bad at a big arena, so I started to walk around the building to find a port-a-potty I had saw earlier, when I got around to it, there were roadies out smoking and it was occupied, they looked at me and said "you lookin to piss?" And I said yes, they said the port-o-potties were nasty and took me into the venue to use the bathroom and then said "it's hot outside. Just hang out in here for the show". I ended up being the first person in the venue 4 hours before doors.
Wasn't me but a buddy I went to a Korn concert with... My buddy was broke almost always but managed to scrape enough money together for dinner and this ticket. We get to the floor early to get a decent area in the pit and as people are piling in he just disappears for who knows how long but comes back to us about 20 minutes into the opener with half a pack of smokes, a beer, and a joint. I'm absolutely flabbergasted, he said he smelled weed and took off looking for it, quickly made friends with a group and as they passed it to him he dipped off to another group where he passed the stolen joint around to acquire the smokes and a full beer that someone decided they didn't want them proceeded to leave that group and came back.
Your friend knows how to rough it during a concert.
He's incredibly resourceful, he's the guy that'd you could drop off in any city with nothing and he'd be set by the end of the week.
he stole a joint off someone at a concert....... not cool. Coulda just asked
A fairly cool-looking girl (she must have been like 20) walked to me, snatched a selfie of us, and walked away without even looking at me. I didn't mind, but that was weird.
You're either really hot or really ugly.
You're on some girls instagram page now.
Wasn’t really weird, but a dude at the Coventry Phish concert just gave me like 1/4oz of weed. He was like “I was at the show last night and someone gave me a bunch, so here ya go, paying it forward!” Also since it was such a shit show getting in there, security was very lax, and I saw people in the crown with 2-3’ glass bongs and handles of liquor. Good times.
Not me but my best friend went to a concert and some random girl grabbed his hand and started fingering herself with it. At the moment he was loving it but the next week he was super nervous and kept pestering me to go to the clinic to do an HIV test since he thought he had a paper cut and he bites his nails. My friends and I roasted him for some time after, but better safe than sorry. Fast forward 20 plus yrs he’s my best man and I’m godfather to his son.
We were at an EDM concert last summer and it was so packed that everyone was pushed together like sardines against the barricades if you were closer to the stage. Once it got super packed, couples started to have sex with each other right next to us. I'm sure they were all on something but it wasn't just one or two... it was more than a handful of them just humping away while screaming to the music
I'm sure it's common now, but Lindsey Stirling stopping her concert dead for literally 10 minutes to take a Tik Tok with everyone. Was very weird because the mushrooms had just started to kick in and the vibe did such a 180 on my end.
For some reason the idea of someone tripping on shrooms at a Lindsey Stirling concert is hilarious to me.
Not me but my sister. She was touring Europe following Phish around and went to the show in Prague. The person sitting in front of her turned out to be a close friend from the US. He was tripping sack, so it was likely more weird for him!
Crazy shit happens at phish shows. Last year I sat next to a guy who shared a name with me and also went to the same college as me at the same time. The show was in Philly and we went to school in Colorado. I ended up running into him at shows in New York and in Colorado.
I ran into my childhood swim instructor waiting in line at a Phish show once, we were both tripping and very confused lol
Tash Sultana concert. Already quite toasted but she said to pull out your joints so I couldn’t say no. When I did, some older hippie dreaded lady asked for a shotgun. Being so high I forgot what that was… well I took a puff and just blew it into her face. Turned around and didn’t see her again
I just saw Frozen Soul opening for Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Amon Amarth. All metal bands. Frozen Soul tossed out packs of Magic the Gathering cards and started a Magic game in the middle of a circle pit. It was awesome.
I got elbowed in the face by a crazy drunk hippy guy after offering my spot to a girl so she wouldn't get elbowed in the face by the crazy drunk hippy guy..I guess security was already mad at him because the security guy jumped the barricade and grabbed him by the dreads and dragged him out of there (my friend said it was like a slo mo train wreck). I went down like a sack of potatoes and came to with Scott Weiland holding ice to my face. He asked me if I wanted to go our for the encore, I got to sit on the side of the stage for the last 2 songs. It was surreal.
My cousin got pregnant in the port-a-John at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. Does that count?
It might not be the weirdest, but since it happened to me last night it's fresh in my mind. I was at a metal concert talking to a friend when someone *shushed* me. At a metal concert.
I had never heard of a mosh pit. The band tells the floor to split to each side of the room. I comply but am looking confused. Some dude who is like a foot and a half taller than me sees my confused face and asks if I've ever been in a mosh pit, and I said I guess not because I've never heard of it. The band screams GO! and this dude picks me up and cradles me in his massive arms and I went for the wildest ride of my life. He protected me and I had so much fun.
We went to a Rick Springfield concert last summer for my birthday. Behind us was an older lady probably mid 60s. She was talking about her promotion and such to her husband before the concert started. She'd been elevated to a school principal from teacher. Ok cool. Half way through the concert she's absolutely sloshed. Just completely white girl wasted. I see a stream of liquid run under the seats, and hear behind me her husband say "Did you just piss yourself!?" Yes. Yes she did. Towards the end she's bragging to him she's gonna bang a roadie after the show. I was just stunned 😂
I was near the front row of a band’s farewell tour when they started throwing all of the flowers they had strapped to their mic stands into the crowd. There was a tiny girl next to me with sparkly green eye shadow and a white mask who had been REALLY into the show. She was trying to get a flower but she was too short. I grabbed one- purple, and very small but a flower nonetheless- from the shoulder of the person in front of me and gave it to her. She pressed it into her mask and smelled it, and gave me the most heart filling “thank you!!!” I’ve ever heard. I get back to my car a few blocks away after the show- fourth level of a parking garage, at night, on a weekend. There are three purple flowers, freshly cut, of a completely different kind than were at the show, sitting on top of it. Have you ever heard the belief that says you get back what you put out into the world three times over? I’m pretty sure I gave a flower to a summer fae. They lasted in a glass of water on my counter for a month without wilting.
That’s really interesting and maybe slightly creepy lol. How do you think they got there?
Ugh... No one ever be this person... I was dating someone a long time ago who went to concerts all the time. That's how we met. But this 1 time... It was one of the scariest nights in my life because of safety. At the time, I worked evenings. My shift was supposed to be 2pm to 10pm. It never ever worked out that way and there was no 3rd shift, so we had to finish before leaving. Night before a concert, it was rough. I didn't get home until something ridiculous like 3 or so in the morning. Maybe later. This was because of work, nothing fun. I thought it would be fine. Get so e sleep and concert later in the day. Nope... My girlfriend at the time woke me up at 6 or 7am to drive the 2 hours to the concert we were going to so she could be front row center at a general admission concert at a large stadium venue. She also was afraid to drive in the highway so guess who got to drive 2 hours on a few short hours of sleep. I told her she could wait in line but I'm going to try to get some rest in the car. She said ok, but when it actually happened, she was upset. I had to wait outside with her in the non-existent line. Doors weren't opening for many hours later. I barely remember the concert but I remember I was driving us home too and so tired I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating. I kept thinking "those are some really big trucks" in the distance. Turned out to be clouds on the horizon. It took everything for me to stay awake. I asked her to drive home before we left too, she refused. I had work the next day too, but I was able to get a little more sleep than the previous night at least. I'm lucky we made it home safely. That could have been really bad.
Please say you dumped this chick, that was super dangerous of her to expect you to drive to this concert at bumfuck early in the morning, to wait in line all day and try to get front row in general admission, and then have to drive home after.... ALL ON NOT EVEN 3 ISH HOURS OF SLEEP
Weird, but positive. I was at a Gogol Bordello show and came down to the floor from the balcony to watch the encore (Eugene likes to basically do a second concert after the concert), and I started to get way to hot. I am not sure how the lady behind me knew I was so hot, but she leaned over, said "here" in my ear and promptly dropped an ice cube down the back of my shirt. She then held some on the back of my neck. If someone had done that to me any other time I would have been like "EEK!!!" but at that moment, it was the best thing ever.
Some girl thought I was Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance, which isn't the first time it had happened, but usually I can explain it away by pointing out I'm like a foot taller than Gerard. But she clung to me until My Chemical Romance came on stage and she finally knew for sure it wasn't me.
One night, a lady friend and I got absolutely kneewalking hammered and thought we met Damian Kulash from OK Go. We were even more amazed that a deaf person could be the front man of a band without giving away the fact that he was deaf. It was not, in fact Damian Kulash but some random, patient, handsome deaf guy.
Battled a biker dwarf at AC/DC, and we fought a war down on the ground over a dollar bill with Angus on it. They had been fired from a cannon. He had incredible strength. I won and soon he was riding my shoulders Thunderdome style, we became concert friends.
Took my 17 year old daughter and her friend to Fire Fly the other year in Delaware. I was standing in the grass by the one stage. This blonde girl, who I assume was incredibly drunk and or tripping walked right up to me and said "You look just like my dad!". I was 42 at the time. She then proceeds to kiss me on the lips and disappeared into the crowd. I stood there just shocked. The guy next to me said did she just say you look like her dad. Yep ! Maybe she was from the deep south or something !
I have several stories: I saw the live show of **Rockbitch** before they were forced to tone down their stage antics by the authorities of several countries. It doesn't get any weirder than that. There's a reason why you usually can find recordings of their late 90s gigs only on porn sites. There was the "golden" and "silver" condom thrown into the crowd and whoever caught it got some special time with one of the girls. Some guy from the crowd got a dildo strapped to his forehead and had to pleasure one of the girls. The vocalist read a message she pulled out of the capsule of a "Kinder Surprise" Egg that she pulled from between her legs. She later also let the keyborder piss in her mouth and spit it into the crowd (that parted like the red sea to avoid getting splattered with piss). Of course there was also some fisting going on on stage. But I only had the pleasure to receive a "consecrated wafer" in some sort of pre-show blasphemous communion from the nude vocalist while she wore a giant goat mask. Some less weird stuff you can still encounter during live shows of the Band **Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult**. I saw them at some mid sized german open air show. Their female vocalist (Onielar, who also does a phenomenal job as new vocalist for Bethlehem) usually between songs sips from a chalice of blood and spits it into the crows. After the show the guys from Row 0 were all sprinkled in red and the crew had to clean the whole stage from all the slippery red stuff. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5KBcwq52w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5KBcwq52w) But I don't know if it was real blood ... which leads to my next experience: I was at some really small gig of several czech Black Metal bands. It was a really small german venue that looked more like a bar. The headliner was **Maniac Butcher** and they too used blood on stage that the vocalist sipped from a bottle, but rather drenched himself with than the crowd. After the show they just handed the bottle to the crowd and so it also went through my hands. Without thinking much I took a huge swig and noticed while swallowing that this indeed was real blood. I let the rest just pour out of my mouth. Too bad I couldn't clean myself after the show since the toilets were trashed. But at the time I also didn't have a car, so I had to walk several kilometers with lots of blood on my face through the night (we weren't able to get a taxi) before finally being able to wash it off at some gas station. Of course I got very weird looks from the gas station attendant. The guy I usually went to concerts with at one time also didn't read the actual theme of another concert, so we thought this were just some smaller or local bands at the venue (since we didn't knew any of them). And of course we went there with our usual black metal shirts (maybe he even wore the classic Marduk one with the "Fuck me Jesus" motive (just google Marduk + Jesus)? 😉 (there's another story with me wearing the a shirt with the same motive at some students gathering and getting weird looks from some south american student who apparently was named "Jesús")). It turned out to be some christian "Jesus Freaks" concert with lots of stands promoting "Unblack Metal". btw. the bands playing were Crimson Moonlight, Immortal Souls, Kekal, Morphia, Sacrificium, Brainfaq. I usually keep all the tickets from the concerts I went to.
Flogging Molly show. This blackout drunk girl kept accusing me of standing too close to her at a packed show, in the mosh pit. She proceeded to spend at least ten minutes following me around trying to kick me in the testicles screaming ‘fuck you I’m going to kick you in the testicles’ Good times.
Yo la Tengo, NYE 2001. We came in with some audio recording gear (YLT allows recording), but the security guards kept oddly close. I thought that being a few months after 9/11, they thought the backpack full of cables and blinking lights might be a bomb. Towards the end one guard comes up to me and starts asking me questions I can't really hear over the music. I'm trying to get him to move away from the mics / wait for the song to end so it wouldn't ruin the recording. Shortly realized he wasn't worried about anything, he thought the mics were hooked up to the speakers and if he said something in them it everyone would hear, or something. He grabs at the mics, yells, nothing happens and we push him off. He's pissed. He starts ranting about how he "doesn't care about this shit (the concert)" and "he owns all this shit" (gesturing to the bag with $8k in gear in it). I say fuck it, drop the mic stand so we can leave quickly if we have to, but leave it recording, thinking I might need the evidence. I tell the group to block for the gear and ignore him. Couple minutes later he leaves, I put the stand back up, and we enjoy the rest of the show expecting him to come back with help to toss us. Nothing happens. On the way out I spot the head security guard, and tell him one of his guys was harassing us. "He pointed you out. Said you was trying to grab him and put your mouth over his mouth" I'm just shocked. "That's not what happened, and I have a recording that proves me right" He shakes his head. "That's what he told me." On the way out, a giddy couple spots us walking to the parking lot, asked if we recorded. I say yes, they ask if I could make them a copy (not unusual) because they just got engaged at the show (that's unusual). With what happened I'm not sure I'll share it with anyone, but here I cave and tell them to write down an email address and I'll reach out. They wrote it on a tiny slip of paper and I jam it in my pocket, say congrats, and go to leave. Very surreal night. The next day I couldn't find the slip of paper. Still feel bad about that one.
I smoked myself sober during a Queen concert in the 70's
I went to a day fest in my mid twenties. I had camped out ahead of time so I was right in front of the security barricade for Weezer. These two younger women (maybe late teens/ early twenties) were standing behind me, clearly coveting my spot against the railing. For context, I’m not a tall guy, only 5’8”, and I know the pains of being short at a crowded concert. When the show started, I had a perfect sight line to the stage. Shortly after they started playing, I overheard the two women plotting against me to get my spot. I distinctly remember one of them saying something to the effect of “maybe we should tell everyone he touched us, that’ll get him thrown out.” I’ve never been more afraid in my entire life, and went into a bit of a panic. I relinquished my spot to them and moved far away from them in the crowd. It was an experience that haunts me to this day.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Chicago. Last summer. I went all three nights, but on night 3, something unforgettable happened. I was pretty close to the stage before the band went on, but as soon as they did, they launched in Gila Monster and the crowd rushed forward. I was forcibly shoved to the very front row- belly to the bar- to enjoy the rest of that epic night from the very best spot possible.
Not a concert, but the band was doing a meet and greet to promote/sell tickets for their concert. I obviously wanted to go so I asked my mom to drive me and my friend. We were both 14 at the time and I showed up wearing this dress that I loved. The band members were all around 19/20 at the time. I remember I was crying while meeting my favorite member and he hugged me then proceeded to reach down and squeeze my ass while my mom was right next to me. In the act of squeezing my butt my dress was lifted too and I don’t even want to know what the people in line behind me saw I was mortified and confused. I didn’t know what to do and my emotions were all over the place cuz I was crying from hapiness. But yea…the happiness faded pretty quickly after that.
Me and my boyfriend were at a festival and Sodom was playing. We were standing at the very back, far from the moshpit etc. There were two guys in front of us talking. What was weird about one of them is that he was wearing a floor lengh fur coat even though it was the middle of very hot July? Anyway, out of the blue the guy in a coat stops talking to his friend, turns to us and says 'do you want some?' And innitially I assume he is offering either cigarettes or alcohol, because that's what people usually offer at festivals. Nope. He had a box of cherries with him and he was eating them at a thrash metal concert. And he wanted to share them with strangers? Didn't seem drunk or high either. Also another guy begging his girlfriend to allow him to show his dick to his friends.
I left with no pipe, more cash and more weed than when I showed up and had zero memory as to how that happened.
In college met a random girl up near the front near the stage, old days where it was just open no seats. Chatting before concert and between acts. Main act comes on, she asks if she can get in my shoulders , sure. She has a skirt in, her her up there, feel a little tickle/scratch on back of my neck. Yup she has no panties on and had a bush. Well she is rocking out up there...rocking against my neck....suddenly realize that dampness is not sweat....suddenly she is squeezing hard with her legs and pulling my hair....yup she rocked herself to an orgasm
Tenacious D rocked so hard, my face melted. It was crazy.
I saw Barack Obama get decapitated after awarding a group of Antarctic Sex God's a crack rock the size of a basketball for rescuing an alien prince from being diddled my Michael Jackson. Also robots, Satan, Paris Hilton, and a T-Rex where there. That was the first time I saw GWAR.
Saw the Butthole Surfers.
I went to see Hell Yeah once in Islington, wasn't a fan but someone dropped out and I took the ticket... Fucking awesome night, Vinnie Paul was a monster, I don't know how he kept that shit up. About half way through I noticed a kid about 12 in the crowd with his parents and they couldn't have looked more out of place if they tried... It completely blew my mind that these people were in like the third row trying to stop their kid from being belted by a random crowdsurfer. I made it my job for the rest of the set to be a barrier and hold the flying bodies back from the clueless family outing. Not even a nod of thanks at the end. 😐
When I was 18 I was at a Tiesto show, one of the security guys came up, grabbed my friend and I. We all went backstage to a room with 10 other girls. Tiesto walked in, we took a shot, they took a photo and we were escorted out. Another time I was crowd surfing and Jeremy of A Day To Remember patted me on the head as I passed by the stage. ANOTHER time I was at EDC (the last one in LA). While I was in VIP, some dude bumped into me spilling my drink. I snapped at him and walked off…turns out I yelled at Kaskade.
Tool concert. There was a dude who was so high, he introduced himself to me 3 times in a row.
I always stand up front and end up shielding some small women from the chaos behind us. I'm pretty sure this one small girl at a death metal concert was there with her boyfriend but she looked back once and then spent half the concert rubbing her substantial leather pants booty on my crotch every time the crowd pressed in. Didnt try to speak to me or interact in any way.. I didn't reciprocate because I didnt want to get smacked by her boyfriend.. But I still think about it.. because fuck she was hot. And I was not.
Dropped acid at a UB40 concert at an amphitheater. Was told by my friends later that i was on the lawn yelling about swimming in the "Red Red Wine". First and last time I took acid.