The Crowdsurfer's Guide to the Moshpit

The moshpit, contrary to popular belief, is not a cesspool of teenage rage and violence, but rather a unity of peers in an extension of today’s alternative youth and music cultures.

Everyone has seen it, at least once, on television channels that broadcast concerts and certain "alternative" music videos of one sort or another. Some may have attended a concert and observed it in person and others may even have participated. The phenomenon referred to is most commonly known as "moshing" or "slam-dancing", and it is performed in the so-called "moshpit". The moshpit, contrary to popular belief, is not a cesspool of teenage rage and violence, but rather a unity of peers in an extension of today’s alternative youth and music cultures. Having experienced moshing first-hand through extensive participation, it has been decided to look at both sides of the argument; that of the participants in the pit, and that of the observers who have never actually experienced it first-hand. By interviewing participants and fans of the widespread craze, as well as observers, going through archives of newspaper articles concerning injuries and fatalities allegedly related to moshing, reading previously written essays on this topic that have been submitted to the Internet for worldwide access, and by actually participating in the moshpit at various concerts, festivals and other venues such as clubs and street parties, the mystery will finally be solved as to what drives people to mosh, what kind of people do mosh, why some people hate moshers, who fears the "violent" pit, and hopefully, the reader will be convinced of the pit’s role as an extension of teenage rock-culture.
1. The art of moshing
The first thing that has to be done, is to properly define moshing and all that accompanies it. The dictionary defines the word "mosh" as follows:
(1987) derived from mash, mush ~ to engage in uninhibited often frenzied activities (as intentional collision) with others near the stage at a rock concert.
Upon looking up the other two terms, "mash" and "mush", they were found to both refer to an object being reduced to a pulpy or soft and spongy state through beating or pressure. But this is only the dictionary definition.
Moshing takes place in the moshpit, which is a "naturally" formed semi-circle at the front of the crowd, just below the stage. No certain rules determine the exact size of this pit, but the borders are the same in every case; in front, between the pit and the stage, there are always one to three rows, depending on the size of the venue in question, of people that are squeezed into the most uncomfortable position imaginable. At most outdoor events, these rows consist of smaller built girls in the first row, with their larger boyfriends standing right behind them, shielding them from the pit as best they can. Why these people stand there is still a mystery, for they know that those are the most uncomfortable rows to stand in at concerts. The circular borders of the pit consist of people trying to get a good view without actually getting into the pit; instead, they serve as a sort of bumper, ejecting the moshers back into the pit as they reach the outer limits of their domain.
There are many more elements to moshing, as well as different types and styles. For instance, there is Pogo-ing, which first appeared in the United Kingdom around 1976 and is appropriately named after the pogo stick , since this type of moshing, often executed to music with a drum and bass beat resembling that of a hip-hop song, is nothing more than individuals jumping up and down in time to the beat, often flapping their arms and lunging their chins forward in the process . This looks quite spectacular when viewed from the stage or anywhere above the pit, as the crowd resembles waves in an ocean, an ocean of people.
In the 80’s, heshers, long-haired death and speed metal fans, developed a similar dance, only more galloping-like, which was called "moshing". Due to the worldwide success of speed metal, "moshing" became the term used when crowds at larger venues, such as concerts in big arenas, started bumping into each other on purpose. Moshing is now the term used for any and all kinds of slam dancing that are still going to be mentioned here. Ever since the creation and further development of moshing by the early punks of the 70’s and the heshers in the 80’s, moshing has evolved into many different varieties.Although most people today stay true to the original acts of moshing and pogo-ing, others have evolved and are being practiced at this very moment.
With the creation of new kinds of music came new ways of slam-dancing; ska, a mixture of Reggae and Punk, often having the original punk setup of a bass player, a guitarist and a drummer and being accompanied by at least one brass player (trumpet or trombone), has given birth to a new style of slam-dancing, appropriately called "skanking". Skanking involves jumping around really fast, lifting the knees up high as if one were trying to step on one’s own toes.
"Punk-moshing" is similar to skanking and, like the music, fast and a little more aggressive than conventional moshing. Basically, it involves the same movements as skanking, with the slight difference that it is done faster and instead of repelling fellow moshers by pushing them away, fists are used to punch them. This is not to be misunderstood though; the idea of punching other people or being punched by other people for no apparent reason may sound ridiculous and violent to some people, but in actual fact, no harm is intended in punk-moshing just as there is no harm intended in any other kind of slam-dancing, regardless of how violent it looks.
A final example of slam-dancing is the so-called "circle pit", or "duck moshing", as it is sometimes referred to, where "at some undetermined, unarranged moment, [the crowd] make[s] like a dog chasing a really long tail." This form of slam dancing is nothing more than a group of people inside the pit starting to run around in one big circle until they get so dizzy, they literally fall over due to lack of sense of direction and loss of balance. Although both of these types of moshing may sound very interesting and enjoyable, neither is seen very often as they are a very rare form of slam-dancing and neither the music nor the atmosphere calls for them.

Slam-dancing alone is not the full extend of the moshing scene though; two very important parts of the moshing phenomenon are "crowd-surfing" and "stage diving". Although these two terms are pretty much self-explanatory, it does seem to be necessary to illustrate the experiences a little. Crowd-surfing is the act of being passed around the moshpit, and sometimes even into the non-moshing crowd, above people’s heads . This has become an integral part of the concert and festival scene, although it does make more sense and is much more enjoyable at larger venues such as festivals and concerts held in stadiums, arenas or some other location that enables at least several thousand people to enjoy the same concert. The basic idea of crowd-surfing is to get as close to the stage as possible from as far away as possible, thereby making it last as long as possible. Crowd-surfing is divided up into two major and equal parts, getting on top of the crowd and staying there. Although the first may not sound like a very big deal, it is vital to carefully chose the proper time and location in the crowd to engage in trying to get above everybody else’s heads. If one decides to go surfing at the same time as several other people in the same area, the chances of falling straight back down and even having someone else land on you are far grater than if the timing is perfect.
Basically there are two major ways of getting on top of the crowd; the first, most favored and most successful way is to find a fellow concert-goer, preferably a very tall person, or at least someone strong enough to support your body weight, and ask this person to hoist you up onto the crowd. Due to the high decibel level of the music, it is impossible to do this verbally, so over time, a simple sign-request has been developed which virtually everybody understands; after grabbing this person’s attention by tapping them on the shoulder, you point upwards and then lock your hands together in the position as if you were about to give this person a boost. This is always understood and answered positively by the booster locking his hands into this position and waiting for you to put your foot in them. Before being hoisted up however, the crowd-surfer puts one hand on the booster’s shoulder for support, and the other on the shoulder of a person in front of him or her, to give more support, and to indicate that a crowd-surfer is about to be hoisted up, giving the people in front ample time to get ready, thereby increasing the chances of staying on top of the crowd and not hurting yourself or any others in the process. The other way is to take a few steps as a running start, then quickly hoisting yourself up by putting your weight on the shoulders of two unsuspecting people in front of you, thus not preparing the crowd for your arrival and usually falling right back down onto the ground, hurting not only yourself but also the people around you as you fall. This approach is not welcomed by many people, and the inconsiderateness of the people who use this approach is what gives moshing and crowd-surfing a bad name.

Having managed to get on top of things, as it were, the object is to now stay surfing as long as possible. In essence, surfing only works through the act of trying to get the surfer away from oneself as quickly as possible. The individuals in the crowd work together to pass the people away from their heads, thus providing the next group of concert go-ers with the problem of trying to keep an unknown person off their heads. Most people that have never been in the pit will not understand why this whole procedure works and how it is possible for the crowd to be constantly aware of surfers as well as pay attention to the show. In actual fact, it is quite simple; as soon as a crowd-surfer approaches, one can feel the crowd push into you from behind, as, like a sponge, the crowd expands under the weight and pressure of the surfer. This not only warns the people in front of an incoming weight that has to be passed on further, but it also prevents serious neck injuries that could occur when a surfer is suddenly thrust onto an unsuspecting person from behind.

Stage diving is even more exhilarating than crowd-surfing, and even though the two practically go hand-in-hand, it is much more difficult to master than crowd-surfing. A very simple description of stage diving is to "hoist yourself up on the band’s expensive sound system. Plunge into the crowd." , when in actual fact, it is not quite that easy. The first obstacle that has to be overthrown is the problem of getting close enough to the stage to actually get on it. At festivals and almost every other outdoor event, this is impossible due to the fact that there is a fenced gap between the stage and the crowd, sometimes as wide as fifteen feet. This gap is where the press positions itself for pictures, and it also serves the purpose of getting rid of crowd-surfers; after having reached the front of the crowd, it is the job of security people that have been placed at regular intervals alongside the fence, to pull the surfers off of the crowd and direct them along the gap to enter the crowd again at the far end of one side. Even if it were possible to reach the stage and get up on top of it, the distance that has to be jumped to reach the crowd again is too great and so, nobody really tries to stage dive at big venues, with the occasional exception of singers or other band members who decide to risk life and limb and leap these great gaps to the crowd. Some clubs also have these gaps, but they are only a few feet wide, so it is much easier to get up on the fence and leap onto the stage without the security people being able to grab you by the legs. If this gap is not present at a venue, the simplest way to get up on stage is to just climb up, however, most people prefer to surf to the stage where the crowd will automatically throw the surfer onto the stage, making it very likely that there will be at least some contact with equipment, or even members of the band.

Once on stage, the stage diver not only has to motivate the crowd into catching him or her, but also to evade the security people on stage to stop them from either throwing the diver back into the crowd without them being the least bit prepared to catch someone. If both these tasks have been fulfilled, and the crowd is ready for the stage-diver’s leap, all that has to be done, is to get up the nerve to actually jump, but by this time the adrenaline is quite literally pumping, and jumping off the stage is quite easy and seems very natural. One has to keep in mind, that even though it seems more dangerous and very insecure, when leaping off a stage and into a crowd, one must do this head first, be it forward or backward, but never feet first, for this may cause grave injuries to the crowd and lead to them backing away, leaving a gap for the stage-diver to fall into and injure him or herself badly. Sadly, however, there are people that still take a running start and leap into the crowd feet-first, these are mostly the same people that will hoist themselves up on peoples shoulders when trying to crowd-surf, as mentioned earlier.
So whether you find yourself being passed above the heads of hundreds of people, throwing yourself off a stage in a seemingly suicidal degree of adrenaline high or just in a "seething froth of long-haired devotees, who, enlightened and energised by music, vigorously pulsate in a manner that resembles a pagan ritual" , moshing is an art form and even though it does not seem like it, there is a system to the frenzied, sweaty and sometimes dirty pit that forms in front of the stage at any and every "alternative" rock venue around the world.
2. An outsider’s view of moshing
While searching the Internet for reports on moshing written by non-participants, only negative things can be found. On investigating further, all of these reports agree on one point, and that is the deadliness of moshing. All these reports, save one, be they newspaper articles, campaigns or essays, refer to the tragic death of 17 year old Bernadette O’Brien who died backstage at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Dublin, Ireland in 1996 . Although they agree on this point, the actions leading to her death vary from article to article or are not mentioned at all. Other details, such as the date of her death also vary from one version of the story to the next.
The Seattle times reports that on May 17th, 1996, Bernadette died backstage from massive internal injuries after being crushed by a crowd of 8500; she was neither crowd-surfing, nor moshing . "Stop Moshing", a campaign page on the Internet to inform people of the dangers that moshing entails, only briefly mentions that "On May 12th, 1996 in Dublin, Ireland, a 17-year-old girl was crushed at a Smashing Pumpkins Concert." They do not mention how she came to be crushed, and let the reader assume that it was due to moshing, an activity that one is not just simply pulled into, but where participation is voluntary. "Pro Moshing", Stop Moshing’s rival page, explains in some greater detail what exactly happened to the girl on that night; apparently the crowd at the concert did not wish to remain seated, so they moved the seats apart and started rushing towards the stage. During this rush, Bernadette O’Brien fell and got trampled , the same way fans at sporting events have gotten crushed over the years. The Internet Herald published an editorial in its September ’96 issue called "Moshing…Why??" which states that on May 11th, 1996, a 17 year old girl was killed at a Smashing Pumpkins concert while moshing ."Pit Etiquette", a page devoted to give tips on how to behave whilst in the pit, briefly mentions that a 17 year old girl had a heart attack after being crushed by the crowd at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in early spring of 1996 . A very short page simply entitled "Moshing!!" manages to squeeze in this sentence about the matter: "At a May, 1995 Smashing Pumpkins concert in Dublin, Ireland, one fan was trampled to death while moshing." . A fact page on the Internet about moshing mentions that the girl had died a "mosh-pit-death" and states that the Pumpkins only perform in reserved seating venues, which has not proven to be very effective, as the fans tear up the seats to make room for a moshpit.
This page also addresses two stage-diving deaths; that of 21-year-old Lee O’Connor in London on June 21st, 1994, and the death of 17-year-old Christopher Mitchell in New York on December 17th of the same year . Neither death is explained further though, and upon researching both cases, only one article on the latter was found, while the first case has no entry in the Internet whatsoever. People magazine published a three page article on 18-year-old Christopher Mitchell’s death, further explaining what happened. The reports did vary, some observers say that after stage-diving, Christopher got up on stage again and jumped off a second time, only to land head first on the ground, others report that whilst on stage the for second time, the boy was grabbed by a security guard and thrown back into the unsuspecting crowd, which resulted in his head fracture . The security guard story sounds plausible enough, for, as was mentioned earlier, there are security guards on stage that make sure fans do not stay up there for too long, and throw them back into the crowd without warning. 40-year-old nightclub bouncer James Gheida was identified as the person responsible for throwing Christopher back into the crowd, and was scheduled to stand trial for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide . Sadly, the trial was either not followed, or the story was not published on the Internet and the result of the trial is not known, leaving the subject up to debate, whether or not the boy was thrown off stage or jumped on his own.
These two incidents are the only arguments non-moshing people have been able to scrape up into their case, with the occasional exception of comments such as "It looks violent—and it is." and other suggestions that moshers want to inflict pain or thrive on the feeling of seriously injuring their peers. Parents being worried about their kids in the pit is understandable, because they do not know what goes on in there, but reporters that label moshpits as violent because it will get their stories published need to do some serious investigating.
3. An insider’s view of moshing
There are two sides to every story, and this applies to this topic as much as any other. Leaving the closed-minded reporters and concerned parents behind, one ventures into the world of open-minded concert go-ers and stumbles upon an overwhelming majority of people who thoroughly enjoy moshing and all it has to offer. Statements made by moshers in articles and reports on the Internet, as well as answers given by interviewed subjects and personal experience help to give some insight into the world of moshing.
Moshing has become very mainstream, and that is the sad truth, but the fact that so many people around the world, regardless of age, race, creed and sex do mosh does show that there is an appreciation for the activity, and that it is part of today’s music culture. Most teenage fans of alternative music start moshing between the ages of twelve and fifteen, and continue this throughout their teen years, maybe even into their early twenties. Unfortunately, most of the young teenagers that mosh nowadays are those kids who first saw moshing on MTV and go to concerts, thinking moshing is expected of them . These are the same kids that will start moshing to acts such as Björk, Alanis Morisette or any other act that plays syrupy pop ballads through the guitarist’s distortion pedal.
Injuries are the main point in people’s cases against moshpits, and yes, people do get hurt during concerts. Mostly theses are small insignificant bruises, rarely do people get seriously injured, but people do know what to expect of the pit, and they know that if they do not want to get hurt, they should not venture into the pit . Everyone that has ever been in the pit has gotten hurt one way or another, the worst injury always sounds bad to outsiders, but the adrenaline is pumping, so the pain does not register that much, and injuries are part of the deal. Getting used to them is an easy task, be it a gushing wound above the eye or the busted thumb and bruised jaw that 18-year-old Daniel Procheus obtained while getting down on all fours to retrieve a watch and shoe . A lot of people are even proud of their wounds and brag about them to their friends , as a kind of relic and proof of having been in the pit. "I’ve been hurt, but it’s cool. That’s what it’s about," is the reaction of one 18-year-old concert goer, while 27-year-old Ken Harvey exclaims "It’s a thrill - a rush, it’s like one big, happy family out there.".
This family atmosphere is exactly what makes the moshpit so unique and important to today’s youth and music cultures; there are unwritten rules that are followed by everyone in the pit, whether or not they actually agree with the idea of moshing is irrelevant, they abide by the laws. Everyone is equal in the pit, there are no personal vendettas, and if there is a problem with someone, it is not disputed in the pit, but rather somewhere else, where these people can get into a fight without ruining a good show for thousands of people . The main rule, however, is that moshers tend to look out for one another and take care of those who have fallen , either whilst moshing, crowd-surfing, or after stage-diving. Dan Procheus said it best while answering a question about falling down in the moshpit, and how the crowd always reacts when these things happen to him:
I have been dropped whilst stage-diving and tripped in the pit. The crowd is always eager to lend a hand. If someone falls, there is an instinct to help them, so you expect to be helped if you should fall. It’s like a set of standard rules, that you help someone if they go down.
Of course, there are people in the pit, trying to get as close to the stage as possible, that are totally against either moshing altogether, or single things like crowd-surfing. Surfer-haters will let the surfer know that they do not appreciate them by grabbing them with the intent to hurt them as they float by, the personal experience of having been choked by an enraged punk has made this perfectly clear. Others blame moshing for the lack of concerts in their vicinities and want to have moshing banned so that more concerts will be held in their cities because they believes that moshing has driven the music industry away .
Kids come to the concerts to have a good time, to express themselves and to interact with the artists. That’s been going on since concerts began and it will continue. It just requires responsible behavior.
Moshing is here, and it looks like it is going to stay for quite a while, regardless of how many campaigns against the popular craze are launched. Injuries do occur, but moshing is something done at every participant’s own risk, much like everything else in life. Sadly, these injuries are used by the press to make today’s youth culture look bad and turn a lot of adults against the freedom of expressing oneself. Other, sometimes everyday, activities that have been around for much longer than slam-dancing have cost a great deal more lives and hours spent in the emergency rooms of countless hospitals around the world, whereas during the short period of only just over two decades since slam-dancing first appeared at the early 70’s punk shows in England and America, only two barely related deaths are exploited by the media to a ridiculous point where they just cannot be taken seriously anymore. It is very safe to say, that statistically, more people die on the way to and from concerts than in the moshpits themselves.
©1998, Steve Schäfer
Colored picture taken at Dynamo Open Air 1997 by Jean-Pierre Reijnen
Black and white pictures taken at a Coal Chamber concert at the Melkweg,1998 by Steve Schäfer
Books and webpages used for this essay (some of the webpages might no longer exist, but they are the ones I used!):
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition, ©1993
A guide to goth dancing in the 90's
Pit Etiquette
Bands lead audience into frenzy of moshing
Moshing!!
Are the kids alright?
The etiquette of moshing
Hey New Orleans, please evolve with the rest of the human race.
GafnDao's guide to MOSHING
EMERGENCY LIFESAVING TECHNIQUES - Mosh Pit DON'Ts and Do's
Stop Moshing!
TO MOSH OR NOT TO MOSH?
Of mosh and men
A new stage for moshing
Moshing, Exciting but dangerous
Moshing......Why??
ABC's Of Moshing
DANGER in the pit!
WHERE THE MOSHERS ARE
Are mosh pits fertile for breeding lawsuits?
Zen And The Art Of The Mosh Pit: A Beginners Guide To Slamdancing
Moshing
PRO-MOSH
Field research:
Talked to moshers at the American School of the Hague
Pukkelpop (1995, 1996, 1997 & 1998)
Dynamo Open Air (1996 & 1997)
Various concerts at het Paard
Various concerts at Melkweg
Various concerts at Nighttown
Various concerts at Paradiso
Various concerts at 013