LJ Idol - Week 13 - Fan Death
I went to a rock show last night for Highly Suspect. If you're not familiar with their music then I would describe them as a mixture of hard/alternative rock, with a bit of a blue-sy vibe and a touch of hip hop thrown in here and there. Coincidently I've been waiting for something to speak to me for this topic and inspiration hit me (literally) as I was being hit by a flying human body.
Now I have been in the pit for quite a few shows and I have done my fair share of crowd surfing. It is an awesome experience as long as there are plenty of people to hold you up and they are prepared for it... and if you don't fall on your head. But never have I ever had a rhythm guitarist throw himself at me, and land on top of me to begin his ride across a sea of hands. I guess he had to start somewhere, but I never thought -- at least before it was about to happen -- that I would be a part of his stage dive. Thankfully there was some warning that it was coming (I have read a couple of stories about people being badly injured during these stunts) so I was trying to build up some momentum before it happened. But his bodily force colliding with our outstretched arms was enough to send us all reeling backwards with our backs bending. It was thrilling. To have the guitarist of a band you love fling himself at you was really exciting.
By the end of the night I was ready to pass out completely. My sister and I waited in line for 2 hours before we were able to enter the venue. Then another hour of standing before the opening band came on - who played for about 45 minutes. And then another half hour of standing while the crew set up for the main event. Highly Suspect played for nearly 2 1/2 hours which put us at a total of non-stop standing for 7 hours with 5 of those being in a tight space and with hardly any room to move at all. We never even took a break for the restroom for fear of losing our spot. If you have ever been in the general admission/pit section for a show then you know how grueling all of the standing and waiting around can be. Not to mention the fight that broke out in between sets and the 2 heated arguments that we witnessed that almost resulted in fisticuffs. Some people don't know how to behave and just be with each other. I even got elbowed in the ear, punched in my left kidney (by my sister who was standing directly behind me), and slapped pretty hard on my shoulder. All accidents, of course, but it comes with the territory. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I would do it again in a heartbeat. That's my scene. Rocking out with people and vibing amongst a crowd to the music I enjoy is an enthralling affair that I seek out as often as I possibly can.
No, this experience didn't result in my death, but I gotta admit, it wouldn't have been a bad way to go. I'm actually still recovering today.
For anyone interested: This is a short video I took during one of their more popular songs - "My Name is Human". I try not to have my phone out constantly during these things so I can focus more on the show, but my husband wanted me to capture some of this song for him. This was the one they played right before the guitarist (Matt Kofos) did the stage dive. He comes in at about the 40 second mark. My phone would have been history had I been holding it when he jumped.
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