If you’ve ever been anywhere near a mosh pit, or hell, even a crowded gig of any kind, you’d know that there’s good music fans and then there’s dickheads who don’t know how to be a conscientious member of the audience. It it to these confused and angry individual that we direct the following guide to moshing, with who else by Australia’s hardest working punk band, Tasmania’s own Luca Brasi.
Having consistently traversed the nation from coast to coast and back again over the past year in support of a steady stream of releases, if anyone has seen all ends of the mosh pit spectrum up close and personal it’s these guys. Such a depth of experience and rich understanding of this phenomenon we call mosh, the boys gave us a simple no nonsense list of do’s and don’t to help you get the most out of a mosh experience in… Luca Brasi’s 5 Rules For Good Mosh Pit Etiquette To Maximise Your Next Mosh.
The biggest thing is to look after each other
Equal with that is to respect each other’s space
It just seems like I go to shows and it feels like you hear afterwards about fucked up stuff is going on and somehow people assume that going into this mosh pit – they’re not in a public space anymore and they can act like an animal all of a sudden. But it really is a room full of strangers who are trying to have a good time and genuinely be mates. It’s pretty fucking gross that people can try and make it their own space and try and do what they want to do. By all means go nuts in a mosh pit and have a good time. It always happens and I’ve par-taken in it so many times but you can do that without offending anyone or touching anyone in a way that they don’t want to be touched.
You’re a part of it – you’re not the be all / end all of it
If there’s something you’re doing that is something that someone doesn’t want you to be doing then don’t do it. In all honesty – stage dives and stuff happen. I’ve been guilty of doing a heap of them but at the same time you can read where it’s appropriate, when it’s appropriate, how it’s done. I don’t think it’s ever appropriate to do a head walk – I don’t think anyone’s going to come out of that in a very good way. But you can definitely do all this stuff in a way that is respectful and hopefully doesn’t hurt anybody overall.
You know what’s being a dickhead and what’s not being a dickhead and stick to that
I’ve seen a couple of girls get groped and stuff like that. I think that it’s got to the point that people are speaking up because they have the platform to speak up but you hear about it so much. I just don’t understand how people think that this is a different world that exists to the outside world. You’d hope that these people don’t do that anywhere to start with, but the fact that they do it there and it’s “okay” and different on the outside world is bazaar.
If someone falls over, pick them up
If someone needs to get out, clear the space and get them out. I’ve only ever had positive experiences in those two regards and I love the fact that those things are ingrained – if someone needs to get out then a big space clears or if someone has fallen down or – I don’t know how many times I’ve seen someone go flying and someone else pick up their phone or pick up their wallet and give it back to them. Those parts are awesome and maybe that stuff doesn’t get talked about enough. There is good stuff that does happen. So many people give you beers and water – it’s sick.
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Luca Brasi’s new album ‘If This Is All We’re Going To Be’ is out now. Read our review of it and then go and grab it yourself on iTunes.
