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The Pits

© David Reid

The mosh pit is where men act like boys and boys, well, hurt each other.

If you haven't guessed, I'm not the biggest fan of a mosh pit. They almost seem disrepectful to me, in that the music clearly becomes secondary to moshing. More often then not a concert will have a pit regardless of musical style. A couple memorable concerts with scary pits were Pavement and Nine Inch Nails.

Pavement was at their high point with their mildly successful track "Cut Your Hair" getting airtime around the country. The club had a balcony so those of us who wished to avoid the mosh pit could and those who wished to injury themselves could as well. And at this show you could have added "get thrown out" onto that list as well. As at least one dilligent mosher had to be removed for being just a bit too disruptive.

I must admit the NIN show was the most awe-inspiring pit I'd ever seen. As hundreds of concertgoers crashed the gates into the area designated for the pit, it was an ocean of people all flowing into the "Sea of Mosh."

Unfortunately once in the pit area, it became an unruly scary event and I was glad to keep my distance from the sea.

This is a phenomenom that, to this day I haven't figured out. Basically you get smashed and pay little attention to the band. Oh, joy -- just what I want for my money is to come home injured and miss seeing the show. Some bands like Fugazi recognize the fact that people moshing care little about the band so Fugazi stops and doesn't perform until all moshing stops. When I experienced this I gained much respect for Fugazi as I had pegged them for a moshing-style band.

When I take in a new act or an old favorite I'd like to show my respect and take in a great performance. I hope we all do.

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