I’ll admit, one of the best parts of going to Red Rocks, for me, is the fact that there is no pit. There’s no room for people to push around or be too rowdy, and it gives you a chance to focus more on the show and the view. You may have cases where the people near you aren’t familiar with maintaining personal space, but aside from that I don’t think I’ve had an issue with standing with anyone any of the times I’ve been there. However, when I get to the Aragon, it’s safe to assume that getting a spot near the front will mean close quarters and pushing are part of the territory, and hope for the best. But then again, I’m a 6-foot, 160-ish pound dude, so I suppose it’s not hard for me to hold my own. Even that doesn’t make a difference when it comes to people who want to yell or spill drinks or piss on the floor and use their elbows like cattle prods for humans.
Edit: I don’t mind being in the pit, at all. But not all the time, and not in certain crowds. I was in the pits for Deftones in 2011 and I’ve never been more beat up in my life. No bleeding, but the bathroom was fuuuuull of bloody paper towels and people cleaning themselves up. That show was so intense. Gotta know your crowd and do the best you can. Hopefully the people around you are decent!
Last edited by ImTheWiseJanitor; 10-18-2018 at 03:18 PM.
I was fucking livid when the NIN/SG tour did not have a GA pit. Though, with how Cold and Black and Infinite was set up with the in person sales, knowing i can get a chance at front row tickets by just showing up early as shit, i would be open for that again. That being said, I don't mind being shoved around. I'm all about being in the pit. I mosh more so to bands I don't care as much about at shows, so i don't really mosh to NIN. Also, there is a fine line between having a good time and being a dick though. There was a guy at River City Rockfest just screaming belligerently during all the songs he knew the words to. Drove me fucking crazy.
fwiw, the GA pit Tuesday at Kings was a great crowd. Not much moshing, and the stuff I did see at least made sense in terms of what the band was playing...MotP, HLAH, etc. Not like last night where these morons were push moshing (the sign of a true neanderthal) to Even Deeper and THTF, as opposed to something logical and appropriate like...oh I don't know...ANYTHING from Broken earlier in the night?!?
I'm a hardcore kid at heart, so any "moshing" I see at NIN shows is cringey to me. I don't understand moshing to any of it outside of things like MSD or MotP. What I found fascinating about these two Kings Theatre shows was that technically there was no barrier. You could get right up on the stage quickly. Obviously all of us right up front in the VIP area and the closest parts of the regular GA were diehard fans who aren't gonna bumrush Trent...but someone COULD have if they wanted to. I would have loved a stagedive/pile-on singalong type show if things were gonna get rowdy, but I think we're all too old & well behaved for that now. That would make a NIN show way more interesting to me.
While there are definite examples of undeniable douchebag behavior here (moshing during Even Deeper? Huh?) but I do feel that some of us are taking this all a little too seriously. It's VERY rare that I'll straight up get into a mosh pit and run into people, but Nine Inch Nails, by its nature, has always been a band that evokes aggressive catharsis in the same way punk bands used to--we're talking about a show that built its reputation on unhinged performances where the band members threw their own bodies around with reckless abandon--the appeal of this show, for many, is feeding off the emotion and energy of the music and giving it right back, in a way that you simply can't do in any other context. With that in mind, if having dudes' sweaty bodies mashed up against you is something you can't let roll off your back, I have no idea why you'd choose to stand up front in a GA pit, especially at a show with really good seating, where you have a clear view of the stage at all time, better sound more often than not, and your own private 3x3 space where you're free stand up and dance to yourself.
People being aggressive or obnoxious verbally is another matter, but again, it's something that's not going away from concerts ever. Instead of getting pissed off and sulking that your special night is being ruined, you're better served sucking it up and enjoying the show. Nine Inch Nails is an very popular act with a very large fanbase that is always going to include assholes, and it's not going to get any better as 90s nostalgia becomes more "in" and their upswing of relevance in pop culture continues. There's going to be a LOT of people who go to a NIN show to have a good time with their friends seeing the cool edgy goth band that's been around for 30 years more so than any deep connection to the music. It's just something we all have to deal with if we want to go to the shows.
The big exception to this that will make me "gotten to" at a show is people yelling during quiet, usually especially heartfelt performances. That's obnoxious at best (screaming "I love you" or something positive) and otherwise it's straight up heckling and it makes everyone uncomfortable because you know the performer hears it and is likely distracted by it. When I saw Chelsea Wolfe last month, she did "Movie Screen" which was a great surprise, and her minute or so of super emotional acapella vocalizing was frequently interrupted by both people taking this opportunity to loudly have a conversation, and the "woo"ers. I felt awful for her and wondered if this is the sort of thing that gets a song taken off future setlists.
Last edited by loopcloses; 10-18-2018 at 03:40 PM.
John, I’m really old! It was pop will eat itself and Jim rose at the long gone Omni Center.
This show:
http://www.nintourhistory.com/concert.php?concertid=331
I'm with you here--moshing to something like The Hand That Feeds always seems odd to me. MOTP, anything from Broken, the ends of HLAH and Terrible Lie, Survivalism, these all seem organic. But, say, Only? That's obviously a hip-shaking song.
I think that might be part of the issue with these shows--many are fans for the high energy aggression of certain tracks, and some are fans for hooks, grooves, etc. That was a VERY noticeable thing at a QOTSA show in January where the crowd flipped on a dime from good-hearted head bobbing to "If I Had a Tail" and "The Way You Used to Do" to utterly chaotic moshing when "Millionaire" came on, and a lot of people were visibly NOT happy with this development.
Anyway, the real reason I made this post was to ask what the hell is MSD? It's killing me.
Even if you think you look like a "dude bro" your behavior suggests you weren't one of them or even a problematic person. The fact you were defending other people is admirable. I was trying to do the same, but I need to get on that Trent Reznor work out plan first.
And moshing can be fun, no doubt about that. There usually tends to be circles for that and anyone can jump in but don't push random people you don't know, especially girls. Jeeze hitting a fucking girl? Give me a fucking break with some of these people. (that anger is directed towards them not you)
AND YES THAT SECURITY GUY'S HEAD IS IN ALL MY PICTURES TOO. I was going to ask him to move but didn't get close enough to ask.
Except, that was 1994. That was during an entirely whole different time period of aggression. Trent, the band, the music and the fans have all evolved & grown since then.
Except I"ve seen than a countless amount of times in a pit and never had this bad of an issue. I had some problems at Tension 2013 with morons try to push shove to the front and mosh but a lot of people weren't having it as people wanted to experience the visuals too so that kind of died down afterward. I got moved from my original spot which sucked but I had a fucking blast. One of my favorite shows of all time. Honestly every time I had been in GA I had a freaken blast. I don't do seats, I go to have a good time, not join a fight club.
Forget excessive, the camera is absolute shit on it compared to an iphone or smart phone in general.
Yeah I don't have a problem with being shoved a little a bit if someone's dancing and jumping up around, fair enough. But people were flat out dicks, especially when people called them out on their shit and tried to fight them. Like the fuck? can't we have fun and be nice?
But isn't there an issue with Red Rocks, if you get seats far away it'll be a bad view? I'm just speaking on my experience with amphitheaters like PNC Arts Center (I hated watching NIN there, even with decent seats it still seemed far away.
You're absolutely right, every single person that I talked to who either went multiple nights or just loved the band in general talked about how they didn't want to mosh or push. They want to have fun. Some guys said to me they might go a little crazy but they won't be violent. Absolutely fair, go fucking crazy. have a blast, you're being nice, and even though you might rub into me, I know you're not doing it with malicious intent.
It seems like most of the fucking pricks were also people who didn't know shit about the music. When Lovers and The Background World played, some people stood there. Oh now you want to calm down? This shit is amazing.
I was hoping with the price of the tickets would subdue all these morons because who would want to spend nearly $300 just to be an asshole to bunch of people and push each other around. Boy was I fucking wrong.
Ok, let me clarify something, I have nothing against people's weights. I use to be fat myself and there is nothing wrong with that.
Now the issue is, if you're 600 pounds and tackling people who are smaller than you, you need to chill the fuck out. I couldn't breathe for a little bit and then during march of the pigs, GIANT LARGE MAN FROM A MILE AWAY (I saw him earlier in the show wearing a Stanley Kubrick production shirt) FUCKING RAMS INTO ME. Holy shit, dude, do you not see your size? you're going to hurt someone. I'm not a freaken lineman for the Dallas Cowboys where I can hold you back.
And Paul, it seems like you weren't even a part of the crowd i was talking about. You just doing your thing and enjoying the show and being courteous is how we should treat each other.
You shouldn't let that deter you from going to a show. A lot of the shows are seated too.
I've seen Queens twice, and some how I have never had a moshing issue. First night was a blizzard so pit was sort of open, but MSG was fun as hell. Lot of people dancing. Knock on wood of course.
Last edited by idioteque...; 10-18-2018 at 04:34 PM.
I want to mention one thing about all the shit behavior.
Going crazy and having a good time is alright with me. EVERYONE DESERVES TO HAVE FUN! BUT YOU'RE FUN SHOULD NOT DIMINISH SOMEONE ELSE'S FUN. We are all NIN fans here to witness easily one of the greatest bands of all time, for some OUR FAVORITE band but let's respect and love each other at the same time. We've all gone through the shit and the music holds a meaningful place in our hearts. It resonates with our pain and our happiness and we all are here to see NIN and enjoy. I met so many terrific people and we talked about how awesome NIN is and how much the music appeals to us and have fun.
Someone before mentioned that people are upset about having sweaty dudes rubbing against them, that is not the issue. I had a guy rubbing up against me Brooklyn Night 1 and he said sorry when he touched my head, I told him no worries, it's a show let's have fun. I just thought someone threw something at my head that's why I looked back. When Perfect Drug came on, we both went ape shit and we talked about how awesome it was. Even myself, I was singing along to the songs, dancing and jumping up and down. If ended up hitting someone I would tell them sorry or if I blocked someone's view, I'm about in between 5'10, 5'11 so I always apologize if I'm blocking their view or let a short person get in front of me so they can see.
It's courteous. If someone fucking is hitting me in the head or ramming their body into me, I'm going to have to say something. I was like Jon Snow in the battle of the bastards I'm not a fucking football lineman, I would have joined the NFL and done that shit. I also don't like to go to concerts and fight people. I hate confrontation but if you're going to defend your right to be an asshole, then you need to be punched in the face. Hell I saw a user (won't name them) from here too that was part of the issue. That really irritated me because I thought you're from a NIN forum come on now.
There was a girl who was getting hit and she even said stop, I have a bad arm and people wouldn't listen. I saw dudes abusing women, what kind of low life douchebag are you to hit a girl? I personally have bad shins, and i stood at the front near the barrier and yet I had to deal with this nonsense. If I got hit in the shin, it would be very disastrous.
And then there's the drunk idiots who felt like they had to have a conversation or yell at Trent like he's some fucking monkey. A lot of us payed a shit load of money for this and waited months for it.
Want to be an asshole? Like a girl at the crowd mentioned, Bon Jovi is playing tomorrow, go to that fucking show. Be polite, courteous, respectful and love each other.
To sum it up, this was me during Broken
Any way, LA crowd, I sincerely hope you guys don't have to deal with what us NYC people had to deal with it, and from the looks of it, some other cities too. I really hope you guys have a good time and look out for your fellow NIN fans!
Enjoy.
Last edited by idioteque...; 10-18-2018 at 04:35 PM.
No offense taken over here. I was just pointing out that it's hard to be in a good place for a show and not negatively affect other people. As for the first three NYC shows, I was in seats, but for Kings night 2 I had pit tickets and did my best to stand near the back without actually blocking the view of the people in the seats right behind me. It's a thin line.
As for the price deterring the douchebags...I don't know. I'm always puzzled at the people bellowing like wounded bulls during any silences. I did enjoy the looks of shock and horror on some of their faces when Trent slowed things down and played more mellow/experimental stuff. Although there was a guy in the pit who, during HMIAIH was SCREAMING "come on trent boy! give me something! come on trent boooooooy!" it was actually pretty unsettling. Like...rapey. He then tried to provoke me into a fight during Gave Up but I ignored him and he wandered off.
People. Can't live with them, can't hire snipers to follow you around and shoot them in the stomach when they bother you.
Lol at the first Anthem show I was actually thankful for one of the douchey moshers. I was a decent distance from the stage but not as close as I wanted to be. But I was standing behind someone who was completely motionless. If that's the way he enjoys it, that's fine by me but it was definitely a damper on my enthusiasm (and to clarify, I mean completely 100% motionless, not even a head bob or even singing along). I was trying to figure out how to get past him without being a douche and I finally did. Then I just wanted to get closer, but again - without being a douche. Then during Burn, a push mosher came up right behind me and just started pushing me forward and in a matter of seconds I was right in front where I wanted to be and I did it without being a dick - I was being pushed and had no choice.
So if that guy is reading this, thank you.
I know Trent use to encourage rowdy crowds back in the 90's. He would tell the crowd they sucked if they weren't moshing and stage diving all over the place. There's a moment on a 1994 show where he says "If anyone feels like hurting themselves, you should do it now" before launching into Big Man with a Gun.
Last edited by nooneimportant; 10-18-2018 at 09:32 PM.
You can tell the hardcore fans from the casual fan just by reactions in the audience for certain songs. First few notes of songs like 'Perfect Drug' or 'Mr Self Destruct' or 'Somewhat Damaged' and the hardcore fans are the ones going apeshit while the casual fan stands around with a confused look on their faces.
Last edited by nooneimportant; 10-18-2018 at 11:49 PM.
I'm not sure you've read @Max 's post - he doesn't even use the word "pit" once, so I don't know why you think that's the issue. Conversely I'm 4ft 10 and I've been on the barrier multiple times and enjoyed split lips and bruises with glee (and I'd rather have some @heavenly_bearded padding behind me than pointy elbows in my head)
Here's what Max said:
Here was my response:
You've basically summed up why I had no desire to go to a single US show this year, on a number of levels. But know that the people you are looking for do exist on this board.
It pains me to say this, but almost all of North America is built that way. Relatively affluent (and pale) people are in a position to afford the ticket/travel costs to see shows like this, but most people cannot, and the audience isn't going to be reflective of who is actually out there and perhaps listening to the music.
Here's Ilan's live stream IG Story from Brooklyn 2:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/f0t05...n_2.1.mp4/file
Good to know someone else feels the same.
I was just listening to Add Violence yesterday and I was just super into it, feeling like I was understanding it so much better than I did a year ago. And I realized that as great as NIN is at live performances, I’m always going to be more in love with the work they do in the studio. The Beatles released their last records without touring at all.
Sometimes I find myself wishing Trent would do a tour with Childish Gambino or LCD Soundsystem or someone else from another genre and really challenge his audience more. Break up the usual crowd. Maybe even let the other band headline.
I’m sure that’s blasphemy to some but that’s what it’s going to take to get me to take off my headphones and show up to another concert again.
Regarding the latest posts on diveristy, etc...
Maybe most african-american people just don't like NIN that much, lol. I always think it's funny how white people want to speak on behalf of minorities. Certainly an ego thing. Maybe the minorities just don't care about that kind of music. Maybe Trent can't do anything about it. I know this is a very touchy subject in here but I hope you get what I'm saying. Feel free to facepalm if you felt insulted though.