Well the time has come and for the next 6 days I and me with glasses will essentially be absent from moderation. This place will turn into a nearly unmoderated shit hole with Mindfulvet struggling to keep up by himself between sets
Let's try to be *SOMEWHAT* civilized instead of devolving into the brainless mutants I know you will all become
These are not the only flags I'll be flying, but these are the ones I've painted in the past month
My full flag lineup for the weekend is as follows
Thursday: White Chapel, MCR
Friday: Mushroomhead,, Static X, Simple Plan
Saturday: Coal Chamber, BMTH
Sunday: (the packed day) Alestorm, Bloodywood, Avatar, Godsmack, Dethklok
I invite all experienced festival goers to post their tips here as well. newbies feel free to ask questions.
1: FUCKING HYDRATE!!! this cannot be stressed enough, especially if you plan on getting drunk, just a couple weeks ago i saw a guy pass out in a 2 band show in a slightly warm building because he was drunk, dehydrated and overheating. Drinking water does not start the day before, it starts the week before, you should be drinking at least a half gallon of water every single day the week leading up, more if you are drinking caffeine. being well hydrated will prevent a solid 80%+ of issues with your body on long, hot strenuous days. if i find out one of the members of this community falls out due to being dehydrated i will find someone named kristoff to go shit on your lawn.
2: Do not be afraid of the crowd. i see so many people worried about getting to a stage early enough to get close for a certain band. if you wanna get close just kinda go. ive never had an issue getting within 10 feet of the rail at any band i wanted.
3: The rail is OVERRATED. if you are one of the rail campers, i am not sorry. every time ive been close to the rail ive had some pissed off asshole take a swing at me, ive seen men in their 40s take a swing at a 12 yr old girl, only assholes hang out on the rail. fuck em, the real party is in the pit.
4: if you see people ahead of you pointing up in your direction it means a surfer is coming up behind you, keep your head on a swivel
5: if you see crossed forearms in the air heading your way it means someone is injured and being carried out so make a hole to let them through
6: did i mention to fucking hydrate? cause you better fucking hydrate, kristoff will find you if you dont
7: if youre in a group take a moment to find a meeting point and make a plan on when you will all come back to that point, between sets, after a certain set etc. Cell service is pretty good in the venue but hope for the best, plan for the worst, make plans assuming that you wont have cell service
8: If youre a ginger or some other transparent skinned wierdo dont forget sunscreen, you WILL NOT be allowed to bring in aerosol sunscreen and if you dont want to bring in a big bottle get one of those small silicone camping bottles and fill it up, ive never had a problem getting mine in. if you somehow forget that your skin turns into a failing seafood chain and dont bring any, the medical tent has your back.
FOR THE CROWD SURFERS
a: before you surf, consider hydrating, then do it cause hydration is MANDATORY
b: be realistic about your height:weight ratio, if youre over 200 lbs dont fucking do it, this weight limit goes down the shorter you are. a person that is 5'4" and 180 lbs is just has hard to move as a 6' 220lb bastard.
c: DONT GO LIMP!!. when you go limp all your weight magically moves to your ass, so if someone tries to help by holding up your leg it wont matter cause all that weight gets transferred to your ass, keep your ankles crossed, stay stiff and push your pelvis forward like you are floating on your back in a pool, arms can either be crossed or t pose, just keep them as stiff as you can. if you stay stiff like this you have a better chance of staying facing the sky (which helps women with reducing the accidental/sometimes intentional groping)
d: yes women, if you surf be prepared to get hands all up in your buisness, mostly its unintentional especially if you get flipped over face down, but there will probably be some intentional ones too, unfortunately its just the price you pay for the experience. it would be nice if it didnt happen but shitheads dont care about societal rules, so expect shtiheads. that said if someone gropes you while you arent surfing SAY SOMETHING, happened to my niece on the edge of the pit in 2019, she screamed and pointed him out and he....got dealt with
e: dont surf with anything you arent willing to never see again, this means phones, wallets, bandannas, easy to slip off shoes etc. leave that shit with a friend before you go up
THE PIT:
the pit is not a violent and angry place. are you gonna get bruised up in the pit? absolutely. are you gonna maybe see some blood in the pit? also absolutely. but this pit is NOT the place for fighting. if you are one of those pricks who wants to try and start a fight you WILL get more than you bargained for. the pit is a happy place. come there be happy and embrace the family of moshers and the moshers will embrace back.
girls you are invited to the pit, but be resonable, yes we will ease up some and not intentionally single you out for big hits, but there are times when the pit just goes hard and you will get swept up in it.
EDIT: if youre a new mosher or even experienced, dont be afraid to wear a mouthgurad, plenty of us pit junkies wear them
RULES FOR THE PIT:
a: If they fall GET THEM UP. is you hear people screaming "UP" it means someone fell and stop moshing, people will also signal by putting up a flat "stop" hand to try and stop the flow, rememeber to keep an eye out for it
b: forearms crossed above someones head means someone got hurt, stop moshing put up the cross to alert more people. if you are in the crowd and see crossed arms coming towards you make a hole, it means someone is being carried out.
c: if its your first time on the wall (willing or not) do not leave your back to the pit and do NOT push moshers with the palm of your hand, keep your fingers closed and try to push with the back of your forearms. i have personally seen someone snap a finger because they pushed with an open palm and their pinky got caught. dude could point around corners.
d: NO FUCKING FIGHTING. thats not what we are here for, if you wanna try and start fights you will be limping the rest of the week.
e: SLOW SONGS ARE FOR HYDRATING
f: for the love of fuck if you are near the pit and you arent a mosher, when the pit slows down and/or stops that is NOT a damn invitation to go stand in the open spaces, the pit WILL start again with or without you in it. and congrats, you are now a mosher, wether you wanted to be or not
g: if a surfer comes to the edge of the pit help carry them across or around. this isnt usually a problem with the columbus group, down in louisville the crowd just fucking tosses people into the pit, saw a girl break her wrist in 2019
h: IF THEY FALL GET THEM UP
And finally: EAT THE FUCKING NOODLES THEY GO WELL WITH WATER
seriously Island Noodles do be fucking tasty and good amount for your dollar (i also suggest Mac Attack if they are still there)
and FINALLY finally
FUCKING HYDRATE unless you are a stand way in the back and dont move much kinda person you should be drinking water all day, if you spend time deep in the crowd/moshing i wanna see you chugging at least 20 oz every other set. preferably more. kristoff is watching