MOSH

Apathy Jack writes:

mosh
Originally uploaded by Brain Stab.

Went to a punk gig last night.

I rather liked it. It was surprisingly staid for the opening acts that I saw (most of my time was, of course, spent outside taking to the Young Witches I've recently met and the small army of ex-students that were in attendance - does no one over 17 go to these things? Not like punk in my day, mind...) but when Missing Teeth started, the mosh pit went into seizure.

The frenetic energy expressed was intense and incredible. I was amazed that there weren't casualties. I saw a contrast that quite fascinated me: There was my friend Mike, old school hardcore boy - pure of body, works out religiously, loses himself in the bush for days at a time just to see if he can, proficient in more martial arts than I've recently had hot dinners, and a decorated veteran of some of the hardest pits the last several years have had to offer. Bouncing off him was Kylie - a fifteen year old I taught last year, small to the point of looking five years younger than she actually is, throwing herself around with as much vigor as her frighteningly tiny body could muster. Both were equally frantic in their expression.

I'm used to goth events, where we get together to interact as a group. We talk, socialise, and generally play the fun game of whatever personality politics are in vogue on the night. On the rare occasions that involves a live band, we stand there and politely wait for them to finish so we can get back to chatting to our friends.

At the Missing Teeth gig, there was no talking. Once you left the crowded street, the noise inside was too overwhelming to even talk between sets. It was not about socialising, it was about expression of energy.

I can get behind that - It is as legitimate a form of bonding as any the goths do - sure, there's less actual talking, but then again, there's less poetry and masturbation...