 - - - - - - - - - - - - - I went to see Hole with Manson on the spring tour in Vancouver and I stood in the stands. I wanted to be on the floor but I didn't have floor tickets. But I watched the crowd and it didn't look too bad down there. Infact I didn't see anyone get badly hurt. So I thought that the next time I saw Hole I'd make sure I was down there too. So when Hole came back that summer for the Edgefest tour I made sure thats where I was. I was first in line and got what I assumed was the best view of the stage. Front row center! Of course there was no seats though, I was standing in the so called "g-spot" of the stage. It was only 10 am and Hole was the last band to play that night at around 9:30. I don't know how I survived that whole day. I was at the main stage and most of the day shows were on the FOX stage ("li'l stage"). The only really bad crowds were during Silverchair and Moist. The Silverchair fans were crazy. They were lifting up huge wooden boards from the ground and people were getting up and standing on them. In some incidents people would get on and jump wildly on the boards with absolutly no thought that there was people underneath them. And the silverchair boys didn't help all. They were encouraging it which made people more wild. Now I know that from the stage they couldn't feel out pain so I'm not going to blame Silverchair. During the Moist show David Usher (lead singer, very sexy guy) got in the pit and actually sang parts of their song "Ressurection" on one of these boards. At that point I thought I was seriously going to pass out. Everyone started rushing up to the front and cramming into the center where David was. The board was about 3 people back from me and I couldn't turn around to see because it was so tight. When you are in there you are one with the rest of the people. You don't move anywhere unless everyone moves. At some points my feet weren't even touching the ground. I was about to throw up because the bar on the gates were being pushed into my stomach by security guards on one side and moshers on the other. When David came down from the crowd I was in unbareable pain. Imagine a full grown man and a huge board of wood being roughly passed over the back of your neck. I was just hoping my head would stay on. I thought I was going to make it at least for the beginning of the Hole show but I was wrong. Some fucking asshole was crowd surfing over me and while the security was trying to grab him he was kicking everyone and rolling over. My friend *** who was stuck on my back got kicked in the face and he broke her nose and scratched up her face. As for me I was doing everything I could to get this dickhole away from me. So I put my arm up infront of my face and he kicked my wrist into my head. At that poit I was out of there. I knew something was wrong because I couldn't feel or move my fingers and my wrist was bent a little too far backwards. It's funny how thats the only thing I remember clearly around that time. So I told the security guys I wanted out. I had been talking to this guy all day cuz he had been standing infront of me. Its because of a nice guy named Steve that I still have a right hand. I walked out of there mindlessly. I had no idea where I was going I just started walking until I was back on the grass. I fell down and cried for the rest of the set because of the pain. I think on my way out a first aid lady asked if I was ok but I was so out of it that I just said yes. Luckily my friend *** got out of there too and she found me. She wasn't as out of it as I was and she took me to a First Aid station. The people there was no better than being in the crowd. There was this bull-dyke woman who wouldn't let me in until I filled out a bunch of forms about where I lived and stuff. Then when I got in there they just gave me an ice bag and wrapped my wrist in a piece of cloth. Fortunatly before I left another really nice guy came and told me that I shouldn't leave like that and he put my wrist in somthing more sturdy. The pause between Hole and Moist was long. My memories of that time are a blur because I was so sick from a whole day of second-hand pot smoke and beer being poured down my face. I had cuts all over my face and my arms and I still have scars on my neck. Before Hole came on my friend headed for the mosh pit again, this time attacking it from the back. But even before the show began people were pushing and I lost her. At this point I was beginning to come awake agin but I still was walking off into strange places. About 30mins before the show I actually wandered straight into the VIP area and no one noticed me. I sat down in this chair and about 15 mins later I was awake again. I realized where I was and decided I was just going to stay there for the show. I had a nice view of the stage and I was surrounded by celebs! What more could one ask for, besides not having a broken wrist. I saw the boys from Serial Joe and Melissa. And even Courtney too be she wasn't close to me. She was yelling at someone. I was still in shock so I was cold... very cold. But in the end I was happy. However I have learned my harsh lesson of mosh pits. As a follow-up, my aunt took me to the hospital that night and I met SIX other people who were injured in the Hole and silverchair mosh pits. And six wasn't all that was there. I heard lots of people in the emergency telling doctors that they were at Edgefest. When the doctor came to see me the first thing he asked was "Edgefest?". After hearing your story about Vampiria my problems seem minor but I still can never and will never go into another mosh pit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - |