By this time, it was around 5:45 p.m. It had been hot, but now it was beginning to cool off some. The next group was setting up...........and this is where it began to go south on us. I'm just gonna relate what all transpired and let you draw your own conclusions. All around us now were hard core heavy metal headbangers........the stink of weed was heavy in the air and many of these people were obviously stoned and/or drunk. (Can you BE stoned AND drunk simultaneously? I have no frame of reference for this, y'all) The next group was called Operator.
Well, we stood up for Operator like good concert goers everywhere.........they were definitely a hard core heavy metal/punk rock oriented band with a very menacing attitude...........maybe it's an act, I don't know. Totally foul mouthed, which I understand is a large part of this genre of music. This is when the moshing started......I've heard of moshing but I've never seen it, not even on film. I was not prepared for the level of violence that takes place in a mosh pit. People were bleeding......it was much more than dancing and pushing/shoving. Punches were being thrown, and so were bodies. People were flying through the air...............they hurled full water bottles at the crowd....I got hit in the head with one. But we had a buffer with our chairs and those of the couple behind us, so we still felt safe enough to remain where we were. The band actively encouraged the moshers to continue and to escalate. I figured that security and/or the police would step in at some point......until I got a look at the security guys. They were so small, they couldn't even see over the crowd.! And the cops...........they were standing up on the VIP stage next to the performing stage, and they were...........POINTING at the moshers, LAUGHING and TAKING PICTURES! They did absolutley nothing about what was happening. When I went to the CPR Fest in Biloxi, the security guys wouldn't even let anyone smoke let alone mosh...........they ejected people at the first sign of anything violent or disruptive. That's what I thought would happen here but I was oh so wrong.
BayFest Review - BayFest, part two
By this time, it was around 5:45 p.m. It had been hot, but now it was beginning to cool off some. The next group was setting up...........and this is where it began to go south on us. I'm just gonna relate what all transpired and let you draw your own conclusions. All around us now were hard core heavy metal headbangers........the stink of weed was heavy in the air and many of these people were obviously stoned and/or drunk. (Can you BE stoned AND drunk simultaneously? I have no frame of reference for this, y'all) The next group was called Operator.
Well, we stood up for Operator like good concert goers everywhere.........they were definitely a hard core heavy metal/punk rock oriented band with a very menacing attitude...........maybe it's an act, I don't know. Totally foul mouthed, which I understand is a large part of this genre of music. This is when the moshing started......I've heard of moshing but I've never seen it, not even on film. I was not prepared for the level of violence that takes place in a mosh pit. People were bleeding......it was much more than dancing and pushing/shoving. Punches were being thrown, and so were bodies. People were flying through the air...............they hurled full water bottles at the crowd....I got hit in the head with one. But we had a buffer with our chairs and those of the couple behind us, so we still felt safe enough to remain where we were. The band actively encouraged the moshers to continue and to escalate. I figured that security and/or the police would step in at some point......until I got a look at the security guys. They were so small, they couldn't even see over the crowd.! And the cops...........they were standing up on the VIP stage next to the performing stage, and they were...........POINTING at the moshers, LAUGHING and TAKING PICTURES! They did absolutley nothing about what was happening. When I went to the CPR Fest in Biloxi, the security guys wouldn't even let anyone smoke let alone mosh...........they ejected people at the first sign of anything violent or disruptive. That's what I thought would happen here but I was oh so wrong.
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