In tha PIT!!!!

"Thrashing and slamming like hell in the pit, Tomorrow they know may not come.  Banging and moshing like they don't give a shit, To the rapid beat of the drum.  A boot to your forehead, a knee to your face.  Your nose and lips start to bleed.  Like a wild Indian from outer space, Drunk and high on weed!"  DRI - Thrashzone

Once upon a time......  Nah, whatever!  On our Anniversary this year we decided to go see Korn (HaHa, big surprise!) and Drowning Pool at Bayfest in Mobile.  We were about 6 people back from the stage in the beginning and ended up 3 people back from the stage during Korn.  Close enough to look them straight in the eyes.  We bounced up and down, head banged, swayed side to side, slammed into each other, bumped and grinded, dry fucked, got smushed, hit, pushed, pulled and had 2 different people fall on top of us that were crowd surfing.   All and all it was a great night. 
No, it was fucking awesome.  Korn has never disappointed.

Some advice:  You never want to be up against the barricade in the front because it gets really painful being smashed into that metal piece of shit.  Don't get more than about 8 rows of people back or you will be directly in the pit when it erupts.  Girl, boi, man, woman, baby, dog, or elephant, it just does not matter.  If you are in the pit you are a target.  Some people just want to sit and chill and listen to the music, they need to be way in the back, "playing the wall" we call it.  If you have never been to a metal concert before, you should be playing the wall.

So, if you should suddenly realize that you are in the pit and do not wish to be, here is what you do:
1. Put your arms up like you are ready to do some boxing, to protect your face.  People usually slam shoulder to shoulder only, but you never know.
2. Push forward through the people as far as you can toward the stage.
3. If you are trying to protect a woman she needs to be in front of you, people will move out of the way to let her get to safety.  DO NOT EVER try to go backwards to get out of the pit, you may end up laying on the ground being stomped into a crying, bloody mess.

This concert was kinda weird to us.  It was like there were a gang of people that did not know what was happening or what to do while the bands were playing.  They were looking around in shock and disbelief as people bumped into them.  I mean it really is called a "sea of bodies" for a reason.  Then there was the 40 something woman that stared each one of us down every time the band said a cuss word, and especially when we repeated it.

When you go see bands play with hit songs like: Let the bodies hit the floor, dead bodies everywhere, Shut the Fuck up Get Up, what the fuck do you expect?  When Jonathan Davis of Korn leads the crowd in a frenzied, enraged rendition of "Ya'll want a single, say FUCK THAT!"  you know what to expect.  While Drowning Pool was playing "Let the bodies hit the floor" the woman behind me, that we had been talking to, found herself to be on the edge of the pit.  She was not very happy to have been hit in the back several times.  When I heard her screaming I turned around to see her grab a guy by the collar of his shirt and start throwing punches at his face.  She did hit him several times, but not really hard enough to bother him.

This brings me to my last point:
4. Never take it personally if you get cussed, bumped, hit , kicked, or any of that at a metal concert.  Everybody there wants to unwind and have a good time.  No one is intentionally trying to hurt anybody.  I have even had people apologize if they think they may have offended, or injured me.  Not necessary, but appreciated.  I remembered the time I crawled out of the pit at a Danzig concert.  I got the shit knocked out of me being so short, and literally crawled all the way back to the wall.  Several people came to help me up.  I got a beer, caught my breath, and went back in.  No worries.

I was thoroughly impressed with Drowning Pools performance.  Very good band to go see live.  I think Korn sounded better than they ever have before.  I was just in awe of them.  Like I was saying when Jonathan led us in a 5 minute rendition of a 2 minute song,  of "Ya'll want a single," it became a frenzy.  The whole crowd (except for that one lady who was staring evil at me) had both their middle fingers up flipping him off, and he just smiled.  The louder we yelled "Fuck that, fuck that shit!" the bigger his smile got.  You could actually tell he was enjoying it just as much as we were.

I hope they come back again next year.  "ARE YOU READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  Yep, I am.