FEATURE: To Push or Not To Push? Atmosphere vs. Personal Space
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Written by Nick Hewitt
Whilst making my way towards the stage for the Vampire Weekend set at Coachella this year, I went to make a move between two ladies standing roughly half a metre apart. One of the ladies saw me coming, turned her nose up and shuffled across to fill the space. Being a little drunk and keen to fill the gaps nearer the front, I nudge past with a brief “Sorry Love” as I went. I turned to see her flip me off, which fuelled my antagonistic side and I blew her a kiss before heading further forward just in time to see her turn slowly purple. This was not the first time during this festival that I was met with similar hostility in a sparsely packed crowd and with the UK festival season underway, I began to pose the question, to push or not to push?
Coachella threw up several problems with crowd behaviour I had previously considered a festival norm, as I regularly found up-tight people in and around the mosh pit, sounding off at anyone who touched them. Was the stage front not an epicentre for the chaos, allowing fans to choose their involvement depending on their proximity? Pushing my luck, I decided to enquire further with one of these lost individuals, who was in the process of shouting at multiple targets around her, asking what was she doing so close to the stage if she doesn’t want to join in the frivolity.
The abrupt response that was spat in my direction was as follows “I was here first and I shouldn’t have to put up with y’all (gesturing pointedly at the surrounding crowd) acting like pricks!” I took the opportunity to politely remind little-miss-hicks-ville that if she didn’t want to join in then perhaps she should “fuck off home, watch the coverage on TV and save yourself several hundred dollars”. Taking my cue to leave, I fled the scene amidst a sea of expletives after pissing off yet another American.
My confusion with this particular breed of audience member hit an all time high whilst watching We Are Scientists at Coachella the previous year. They were belting out an excellent set to a nonchalant crowd, so a friend and I decided to join the excitable few at the front who actually appeared to be enjoying themselves. On my way in, I found a guy nearly at the barrier who had his back to the stage, tanning his face. I even saw Keith Murray look down to notice the back of his head mid-song and, to his credit, carry on regardless. I give him a tap on the shoulder, saying “That’s valuable real-estate your sitting on there buddy. Fancy giving it up for someone who actually wants to watch the band?” I was stunned that I had to let the guy know that he was insulting the act and even more ticked off when he resumed his tanning position. It was hard to believe that Americans lack audience participation, after watching so many anarchic clips from Woodstocks past.
It is usually the prerogative of the crowd to move as far forward in support of a good set and until recently I had not been hindered in my efforts. The performers look for audience involvement as a sign of appreciation and validation and with well-known, up-beat acts, this intensifies. As to what makes a crowd too packed, the line is where you draw it. It’s understandable that having hyper-active, sweet-drenched people thrust you from side-to-side isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. It can ruin your set when you are continually charged with some force to the point where people hit the floor, so some consideration is undoubtedly required.
In 2001, at Big Day Out in Sydney, a 15-year-old girl was crushed to death whilst Limp Bizkit were playing. This was an extreme consequence of overcrowding in a situation where many participants weren’t aware there was a problem. The tragedy left an indelible impression on the Australian crowds and from that point forward, it has been widely accepted that if an individual falls down in a mosh environment, everyone pushes out and away until they are helped back to their feet. If people need to bail out of the crowd they have the option of either hopping over the front barrier or heading back through the audience where others are usually keen to make a path. Having done the 2008-2009 festival season around Australia, I saw countless examples of this behaviour and a more communal mentality. So the moshing continues in more considerate manner and the ambiance remains, allowing bands to inflict their full potential.
Soon after, a preventative became more common in festivals all over the world in the form of the stage-front D areas, where numbers in and out are regulated, splitting the forward force of the crowd. This can get a little frustrating if you are charging over from another set to find a barrier blocking your route to the carnage but, without a doubt, it’s become necessary at many events. Festival-goers are now required to plan their set schedule more carefully, prioritise the acts they want to see and turn up early to avoid being cut off from the focal point.
In the interests of atmosphere, however, personal space is something we must sacrifice for proximity to the stage. Often the band will feed off the audience involvement and a docile crowd encourages a docile performance. It’s also worth bearing in mind that people are likely to be buzzed from either the vibe, caffeine, alcohol or whatever they’ve found in the nearest medicine cabinet. You may need earn your spot and contribute by shouting, jumping, pulling random people up onto your shoulders and occasionally crowd surfing whilst angry security guards scream something inaudible at you about health and safety.
Therefore, if you are in a packed audience, accept that you will be on the receiving end of some form of contact and embrace the scene to enjoy world-class bands in world-class settings. Often, the purpose of the music being played is to impact the masses and stir them into the hedonistic release day-to-day life can’t offer them. If this offends you, then ok. But acting as a fun sponge in an otherwise involved crowd only brings people down and will likely end in an interesting variety of objects being thrown your way.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
My confusion with this particular breed of audience member hit an all time high whilst watching We Are Scientists at Coachella the previous year. They were belting out an excellent set to a nonchalant crowd, so a friend and I decided to join the excitable few at the front who actually appeared to be enjoying themselves. On my way in, I found a guy nearly at the barrier who had his back to the stage, tanning his face. I even saw Keith Murray look down to notice the back of his head mid-song and, to his credit, carry on regardless. I give him a tap on the shoulder, saying “That’s valuable real-estate your sitting on there buddy. Fancy giving it up for someone who actually wants to watch the band?” I was stunned that I had to let the guy know that he was insulting the act and even more ticked off when he resumed his tanning position. It was hard to believe that Americans lack audience participation, after watching so many anarchic clips from Woodstocks past.
