Can someone seriously explain to me why mosh pits are fun (see details)?

Well... as a veteran of 50+ Pits, this is my take.

One...teh music IS NOT boring...nor the act dull. In fact..if they are...there are no Mosh Pits.

Two...the purpose ISN"T to get hurt..or hurt others.... but it sometimes happens. There are always some jerks that take things too far, or target the smaller people (ie...bullies)

BUT... the point of metal is to give a release...a vent to what we see going on in the world. Antone with ONE functioning eye, and half a brain can tell how bad things are...how corrupt the political, religious and commercial leaders are. And honestly, we know bvoting really wont accomplish squat...cause to be in that position in the first place means they are frimly in bed with special interest groups.

While this isn't meant to be a socio-political rant..... what a Pit is, is a semi controlled place to vent. Those who go in...do so knowingly. Dependindg on the band...it can range from simple hopping sround, to pushing to full on slam dancing...which basically gives sa release, when done right that is no more overtly violent than playing highschool football. (Which I also did for 4 years)

Its a place to build up your adrenilin and let go.

For some people..they're way of coping is to go to a Jimmy Buffet concert, get stoned and pretend that song will cghange the world. Thats well and good. For me...I know that Man will only continue to change things for the worse...and that no one gets out of life....alive. So...I can let my frustarations out LEGALLY with other consenting adults.

The injuriesz incured by myself, or LAuren are opretty uncommon, and usually, at worse...you mught have a few bruises...or a bloody nose. There IS a chance of greater injurie, true....but that is rare...and nit the point of the mosh.

(Plus...most of us MetalHeads sucjka t dancing, and dont understand the "pleasure " the hip hop crowd gets fromthe dnacing they do (looks more like a seizure to me)... so thi slets us "dance" at our level....... and really get into the music.)

Usually...being a big guy...I'm one of the guys helping up the little folks, and stopping the bullies before they get out of hand. I dont get any kicks outta watching a kid get trampled, and unless they arwe a really big (think likea Samoan big) kid.... i wont slam with em in the first place.

*Ask yourself...why do some people enjoy entering boxing matches or martial arts tournaments...knowing they are going to hurt the next day? It satisfies something primal in most of us. IDK...maybe that is what seperates the Hunters from the Gatherers......LOL

It depends if it's an actual mosh pit or a pit like the FOB pits, where people think they're moshing, but they're really just wiggling into people trying to get in front. Real mosh pits are the ****, though. Saw The Briggs last year, and it was intense. Same with The Dropkick Murphys. Circle pits are probably the best thing since sliced bread.

I don't get it either, but I don't dance at all at shows anyways. I pretty much just stand and watch. For me the show is all about soaking in the sounds and what the band is doing. I'm by no means saying that there is a right or a wrong, that's just how I do it.

Pits though or moreso the moshing mentality, for me, can be terribly annoying. I've been to shows, wanting to hang out and watch the group and even being towards the back of a small venue being crashed into by some jerk who is "feeling it." I don't think that it's always wrong or anything. Do what you want to do and enjoy your show experience the way it's best for you. My problem is when there is a sort of pitted area (or it isn't really a slamming audience) and people extend the mentality out to where it isn't going on. I intentionally separate myself from the pits and expect a degree of courtesy from other people at shows. I really hate it when some overzealous jerk feels like he has the right to elbow me in the gut, or rush straight into me simply because we're both at the same show. It hasn't happened in a long time because I've just sort of started to gravitate to mellower shows as I've gotten older but it really used to bug me.

I guess that isn't really an answer, but more so the question sparked a rant for me so thanks for endulging me. I don't really get it either.

well getting injured or injuring others really isnt the point at all, i think this is an aspect you've missed.

the point is that- one, it's fun! it's energetic and a good form of relief from stress or things like that- you just forget everything and go in without a care...

two- its a good way of appreciating music that has an agressive nature... its a good way of getting right in to the heart of the music and feeling the way that the band feels when they write a song that was just MEANT to be moshed to

three- its actually surprisingly sporting, despite what it may look like to others. the rules of a moshpit are: if someone falls over, you just pick them right back up! i've even made friends with people that i've accidentally bashed heads against, to which both people just say "oh, sorry mate!" and they carry on. granted, although due to the nature of the activity accidents DO happen...

so I hope this has helped to clarify the purpose of moshing straight from the point of view of a mosher :)

It's not necessairly fun to get wounded, but rather what you're doing while you get wouded is fun. I have fun moshing, and that can lead to wounds. It's not like I get sh.its and giggles out of getting hurt.

Generally, where I come from, pits aren't all that dangerous. There's rules and standards that most kids conform to. However, some don't (not that it's a bad thing). I like some liveliness at my shows.

I will say that some shows get out of hand. Like if a kid pulls a knife in the pit, or something of that nature, I bail. I'm not into getting stabbed.

Plus, you can get hurt in other places than the pit. I took knees to the face because I was right in front of the speaker when a kid stage dived off of it. Honestly, I don't recall ever getting too hurt in a pit. I see kids fall a lot while crowd surfing, and they get pretty messed up. When you're five feet off of the ground, a fall to the head on a concrete floor can do some damage. But a bit of punching has never hurt me much.

I try to avoid the pit at all costs, being as injury-prone as I am. However, in a small venue, with too many people, that is easier said than done.

Honestly, I have no idea why so many people find the pit appealing. Maybe because I get hurt so easily, I don't find it entertaining, but I guess for other people, its an adrenaline rush. I think it might be an exaggerated form of when you're at home, dancing around to music by yourself. When you're around other people, it might add to the rush...

Edit- Darth Kreia- haha I'm only 5'1 too! but I'm 17, and I get trampled all the time :P

I'd say there fun. They keep you in the edge while you are with your friends, screaming and jumping up and down to your favorite bands play about 20 feet in front of you. I'd say they keep you awake and who knows you could end up with a drink form some unknown person or have a drink thrown all over you. I'd say there part of the rock concert scene. Most concerts have them (that are REAL rock, not poser rock) and everything happens inside them like crowd surfing, moshing, band members will go inside them or throw stuff inside the mosh pits. Believe me i am only 5'1" so i get battered when i go inside pits. I get elbowed in the face, and once some guy tried to pick me up for no reason. He didn't even want to start crowd surfing me. Crowd surfing is a lot of fun. Just don't get caught if they don't allow it and don't get dropped or you will be stepped on.

So overall its were all the stuff happens.

Edit:

I am only 15 too. And i don't think i am going to get any taller so yeah i get pretty battered.

My friends and i used to go into the pit all the time at thrash gigs when i was 15-18 years old. Sometimes, you were even allowed to go on stage and jump into the crowd. I don't know why it was fun or why we did it (maybe it was just to fit in) but it wasn't because the band or their music was boring and we never did it with the intention of causing serious injury to anyone. If we saw someone fall on the floor, we helped them get back on their feet no matter who they were. It was a kind of mosh pit etiquette, if there's such a thing.

Good question.

The appeal for me is the expression of mild physical violence without the anger and without the consequences (broken nose, losing teeth, guilt over injuring someone, jail time, etcetera). Usually, people in the pit are very cool and non-aggressive - when you get knocked down, there are always 5 or 6 hands immediately picking you back up. It's kind of a dichotomy - violent and friendly at the same time. I don't know of any other way to get that particular emotional experience.

When I was Moshing it was some pushing and shoving and banging into each other. All this fueled by beer. Where I used to go to shows if you knocked someone down you helped them up and got at it again. Even in a setting like that people had common courtesy to each other and that is what is missing in the pit today! BTW my worse injury was a broken nose and bruises.