I Fear the Mosh

As you may (or may not) have read, I went to a Hawthorne Heights concert a little over a week ago. The show was amazing and I had a great time, but one part of it that has continued to haunt me each day after. The mosh pit. Through out the night I was smacked around as if I was a tennis ball in Wimbledon. It started during the Tickle Me Pink set. (A Mile After played first, but I missed them, so this is where my night started.) At this point, there was about a three row crowd. The first and second rows stood looking up towards the stage, while the third row hastily pushed each other around. Every now and then someone would slam into my back. Causing me to slam into the person in front of me. Causing them to jut their backside into me in a violent attempt to make their own space bubble. After this had happened around four or five times, I firmly planted my feet into the ground and held tightly to my camera in fear that in the next few moments it would become something of the past. This didn't work at all. After about five more times of being slammed into the person in front of me, a guy standing near by grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me in front of him. This was the best shove of the night. His helpful push pushed me into the group of people more interested in the music, and not in beating the crap out of each other. I turned around, looked him right into his eyes, and mouthed the only two words I could think to say. "Thank you." After Tickle Me Pink, The Color Fred came on. No moshing here. After the Color Fred, Emery came on. Too much moshing here. This was probably the worst part of the night for me. The crowd went crazy trying to push each other, as well as push themselves up towards the front in an attempt to get a feel of their screamer's hand. A few minutes into the set, their screamer (I have no idea what his name is) walked out to the edge of the stage, only to then continue to step onto the barricade and step out onto the crowd. He thought that this crowd of teenagers was going to be able to hold him up and that he was going to be able to balance. This made me extremely noticed. I stood shaking looking up at his long and lanky body as he tried to keep his balance. After several very close calls, he decide to step off the crowd and back onto the stage. I found this a good idea, since I couldn't get the image of his six foot tall body teetering over and crashing down on me out of my head. The set ended about ten minutes later. Only after a girl screamed obscenities into my ear as she tried to get her opinion of Hawthorne Heights out in the open. I got the feeling that she didn't come to see them. But I did, and they were up next. The mosh was pretty much the same as before, but with more crowd surfers. The same guy from the Tickle Me Pink set grabbed me and pushed me towards the front. This helped a lot since he pushed me all the way to the barricade and I was now surrounded by the people like me, who just wanted to see them play. Here I was able to avoid the mosh for the most part, until the last song. When JT Woodruff sung the first few words of "Ohio is for Lovers" the crowd went crazy. Besides the few people near me, everyone was moshing. I was holding tightly to the barricade in hopes to not get pulled off and pushed in. I was very scared that this would happen when a guy tried to jump onto my shoulders in an attempt to make it past the barricade. Luckily before he could make it very high the bouncer rushed over picked him up by his shoulders and sent him on his marry way. Over all the concert was awesome and I had a great time. But it'll be nice to rest a little while before I get out there again.

I've Now Heard Two Emo Anthemns Live

Every Friday, I have a reason to be happy. Not because it's the last day of school before the weekend. Not because I don't have to do homework that night, and I can hang out with my friends instead. But because the Masquerade Message arrives every midmorning every Friday in my inbox. Here I can see who is coming to one of my favorite venues in Atlanta, and when the tickets go on sale. Last Friday when this e-mail came, I was disappointed to see that I wasn't very enthusiastic about any of the shows they announced. Remembering that I had answered the trivia question in this e-mail I scrolled down just to see if I had gotten it right. I had, and with that right answer came two Hawthorne Heights tickets. I had never participated in this contest before, but I was so happy I had. After much persuasion and lots of promises, my dad agreed to drive me to Atlanta and take me to see one of my favorite bands. And that's what I was doing last night.

When we got to the venue The Mile After had just finished their set, but we were there just in time for Tickle Me Pink. They sounded great and played an awesome cover of "Paradise City." Always a crowd pleaser. Next up was The Color Fred. If I could marry a band, Fred would be at the top of my list of possible spouses. They played a great set and they all really looked like they were having a great time. I was able to meet Fred Mascherino after the show and he was extremely down to earth and so sweet. After Fred, Emery played. I didn't know very much of their stuff and they were probably my least favorite. It may also have to do with the live experience, because I don't like moshing and there was lots of it. Once they were done playing, it was finally time for Hawthorne Heights.

I'll be the first to tell you that the first Hawthorne Heights song I ever heard was "Ohio is for Lovers," and it was after it got big. (I haven't been a Fall Out Boy fan since the "Take This to Your Grave" era either.) I liked the song, but I never really made an effort to try and listen to any of their other music. Once "Fragile Future," I listened to much more of their music, new and old. I regret not listening to more the first time I heard "Ohio is for Lovers," because I've found that I love it. Hawthorne Heights cease to amaze. After the passing of their guitarist, Casey Calvert, last November Heights was able to remain strong while recording a new album and now going on tour.

Their set sounded amazing and they played a few acoustic songs. I met J.T. Woodruff after the show, and he couldn't have been any nicer. All in all, it was a great night.