Freedom to rock out!

A couple days ago, I attended the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in Hartford, CT along with a few friends. There were three stages, 2 outside and one main stage inside. I have been to a few metal shows in the past and this one met/exceeded my expectations. We showed up early to do a little tailgating, a few brats and burgers and beers did the trick nicely. If you've never been to a metal show before, it is an experience to say the least. The music is heavy, the fans are from all walks of life, and crowd gets wild. I did a fair share of people watching at the show. A lot of people wore black, there were more piercings than you could imagine, some people had over-the-top makeup on (even guys). This lifestyle isn't something I would normally associate myself with but metal shows are different. You can see how passionate the artists are with their music and the fans are so devoted they will do anything the bands request, literally. One point in the show, a singer said he wanted to break a record for most people crowd surfing at once. Right as the song started, the guy next to me got on his hands and knees and told people to jump off his back to surf. As they pushed off his back I grabbed them and threw them further. Unsuspecting people soon realized what was happening. It sounds insane but you really have no idea unless you're right there in the heat of the moment. After the song ended, the singer thanked the crowd for such a great performance of crowd surfing.

People express themselves through their choice of clothes and accessories at these shows. They also express themselves through the music. Some people choose to nod along with the beat or sing along. Others choose to throw their bodies around in mosh pits and go crowd surfing (both can be very dangerous). An outside look at mosh pits, you would think that it is unorganized, chaotic, mayhem. In all seriousness however, there are unwritten rules, gentleman's rules, if you may. When someone gets knocked down, someone is always there to pick you up right away to make sure you don't get trampled. Also, if someone does get hurt, the pit shifts away from them so injuries don't become more serious. At this particular show, a fellow mosher fell back and slammed his head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious (accidentally of course). This doesn't always happen, but when it does, people know it can be serious. When this incident occurred half of the people in the pit and many surrounding it immediately tried to help pick him up but realized it would be better to keep him down so they forced the rest of the pit away from the wounded soldier. This one person went down. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a single person in the pit who even knew this man, but nevertheless, there were a handful of people right there at his aid. To me, this was a great representation of our society and human nature. People need to let loose sometimes and slam into each other wildly but there is no intention to seriously harm another. They are all there for the same reason, to express themselves. The barbaric nature of heavy metal almost seems quelled when looking at it this way.

I know there are a lot of people that don't like the metal genre. I admit, I didn't always like it and I understand why some don't. It can be extremely heavy and unconventional. But you have to admit, if you see a metal band perform, they are so passionate about what they are doing that you can feel it. Ok, you might be feeling the subwoofer, but seriously, I've never seen more passionate performers than these guys. Jonathan Davis from Korn may seem strange to those who don't know his music but when he grabbed that microphone and screamed the lyrics, you could see it in his face that this is what he was meant to do. Maybe I noticed all this because I am still looking for what my purpose is because I'm pretty sure it isn't landscaping (though it might be, hopefully not) haha. No offense to landscaping, I just didn't go to 4 years of college to be a labor grunt. I just hope one day I find what I am passionate about like the bands who performed on the main stage: Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch. It is yet another day rocking out.