bruised up, but happy.

It's been a long time since I was in a mosh pit. Ever since the Nine Inch Nails incident in the 9th grade (crazed mosh pit on ice, drugged up friend needing a rescue, random drugged up dude punching me), I've avoided those things. This one was fairly tame by comparison. The guys in Fishbone have a ska/reggae/punk feel and are all in their mid to upper 40's. They still have the energy of 20-year-olds. The crowd just absorbed it, sending back it's own energy in kind. Jon, Kristen, and I were doing a little dancing near the front row early on in the set when the singer decided to stage dive. The crowd went insane and never recovered. I was immediately separated from Jon by the swell of people invading the front of the stage. I had a choice to make: either make my way to the back where sanity prevailed, or get my spot back. These guys had ripped me from my spot at the foot of the stage and I wasn't about to let them get away with it. I pushed my way back to it, wedged myself into a tiny spot, and joined the insanity. This life gives you very little opportunity to be swept up in such energy-I had to join. The fans were like the rising and falling tide of the sea, pushing against the front in a dramatic sway, and falling backwards hoping someone would catch them. I maintained my foothold. My fellow front of stagers had my back and I had theirs. When a diving idiot kicked me in the face and I lost my balance, my dredlock friend pulled me upright. When someone tried to dislodge my dredlock friend, I pulled him back to his place. The only real annoyance I had was with two guys who decided to use the mosh pit as an excuse to rub against me. You can tell the difference. Someone moshing uses their upper body to push, these guys used their crotches. It got to the point that I was being hurled against the stage most violently, almost doubling over on to it. But I wasn't giving up my spot, damn it. I pushed back with my elbow, yelled at them to get off me, fought. Luckily, Jon saw what was happening and got right behind me the play defense. It made me happy. I have never been protected before and though I'm not quite used to it, I'm grateful. Of course, the humping stopped immediately. At some point, while I was still adrenaline junky, Jon was ready to go back to sanity. I was too, though there was this egoic need to keep my spot. The spot that I fought for-that I struggled for, until the end of the show. Then I realized I was being silly and joined him and Kristen at the bar.