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The mosh pit at a gig can look like total chaos; people slamming themselves into each other, some leaving with bloody faces and missing clothing.
To those unfamiliar with moshing it looks like anything goes, but there are behavioural rules you should follow if you're jumping in.
UNIFY Gathering organiser Rhett McLaren said the first thing you should do if you're new to moshing is stand back and watch.
"I wouldn't go straight into the middle," he told ABC Radio's Lucille Cutting.
"Take your time and watch the movements that are happening and what people do."
Watch out for each other
The main rule for moshing is to look out for each other.
"If someone falls over, obviously get down and pick them up," Mr McLaren said.
"You're in that experience together, so look out for your mates and pick them up. If someone needs to get out, help them out."
If someone near you looks distressed, try to push back the crowd to let them get out or help them crowd-surf out of the pit.
"If you're up the front and feel it's too intense or a bit squished, tap someone on the shoulder and point up and that usually indicates you want to do a bit of a crowd-surf," he said.
"They'll lift you up ... and you'll be crowd-surfed to the front of the barrier and kindly lifted down by security."
It's a violent dance
While the aim of a mosh pit is to bump and push each other, you should never try to intentionally hurt anyone.
"If you do get hit accidently, don't retaliate," Mr McLaren said.
"A big one is don't be too macho; everyone's there to have fun and knows what they're in there for, so don't go over the top and deliberately hurt someone."
How violent a mosh pit gets depends on the type of music and the crowd at the gig.
Generally, arms should be kept in close to your chest.
Some pits can develop into the crowd swinging their arms and legs around, but if you are the only person doing that at a gig, you will be asked or forced to leave.
Moshing terms explained
- The pit is usually behind the barrier near the front of the stage, usually in the centre where moshers dance aggressively, jumping, bumping and slamming into each other.
- Circle pit — when the crowd runs and jumps in a circle, pushing and bumping into each other, often leaving a clear space in the centre of the circle.
- Wall of death — when the crowd splits into halves which then run at each other during a music drop or prompt from the artist. The aim is to slam into each other but to keep elbows down and not punch each other.
- Slamdancing — another term used for moshing, as the crowd slams their full body into each other and pushes each other around.
- Pogoing — when the crowd jumps up and down either on the spot or moving around and bouncing off each other.
- Crowd-surfing — when a person is lifted above the heads of the crowd and carried to the front or side where someone, usually security, gently lowers them to the ground.
- Stage diving — often banned at venues, stage diving involves band members or members of the crowd leaping off the stage into the crowd to then crowd-surf, but there's a risk the crowd won't catch you and you can fall to the ground.
- Slingshot — (not recommended) is when a person runs at another person who bends down, grabs their foot and flings the person back into the crowd. Can be hugely risky to the flung person as well as the crowd.
"Treat everyone with respect," Mr McLaren said.
"The main thing is don't make anyone feel uncomfortable and be sensitive to when people might feel uncomfortable and help them out when they look for help."
While men tend to dominate mosh pits in numbers, there are plenty of women who love to throw themselves into it too.
Size can matter in a mosh pit, according to Mr McLaren, and bigger people should not slam into those much smaller than them, no matter their gender.
"I hope that society as a whole knows what's accepted and expected behaviour," he said.
Do what security, the organisers or the artist tells you to
Mr McLaren said having well-trained security guards who know what is and isn't acceptable in a mosh pit helps keep everyone happy and safe.
"We've got a show-stop procedure where we can stop the artist or turn the music off and do an announcement for the crowd to push back or loosen up."
He also recommended staying hydrated but not to take drink containers into the mosh pit.
Have fun
It can be hot, sweaty, violent and loud, but the mosh pit ultimately is for having fun.
"I honestly think it's one of the best physical expressions," Mr McLaren said.
"It's a cathartic process of releasing anger.
"It's a really healthy expression of anger, I believe, and a healthy environment to do that."
Topics: carnivals-and-festivals, metal, human-interest, community-and-multicultural-festivals, safety, hobart-7000
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