In The Crowd
I'm sure we've all been to concerts that have been a little spoiled by overly-enthusiastic and aggressive people jumping around elbows flying like crazed loons knocking into everyone near them. Then there's those twats who push in front of you right before the band come on, spoiling the nice view of the stage you got there early to secure. I hate those bastards.
This photo reminded me of the time I saw The Clash at The Lyceum in 1980 and I was surrounded by these skinheads who kept shouting "DO WHITE RIOT! DO WHITE RIOT!" and I'm thinking to myself "Please, don't do 'White Riot'" because I didn't fancy being caught in the middle of a group of blokes wearing steel-toed Doc Marten's all going berserk. I'd gone to that concert with my sister who insisted on standing right at the front centre stage so she could be near Joe Strummer (her latest object of desire at the time) though I told her not to because it would get crazy down front the minute the band kicked off. But you know what sisters are, don't want to take advice from their younger brothers. Well, two songs in ("Clash City Rockers" and "Safe European Home"), I could see her from my nice spot at the side and she looked like she was drowning in a violent sea of bodies crushing her and knocking her all over the place and had this look on her face that said "Help!" so I had to wade into the heaving throng and pull her out. I didn't like to say I told her so but I did. She'd been to a Bay City Rollers concert so you think she'd be used to an out of control crowd, those girls could be more aggressive than any punk or skinhead.
I've had a few hairy moments at concerts myself (being knocked to the floor and trampled on at a Banshees gig comes to mind) but nothing compared to standing on the terraces at a football match when a goal is scored and the crowd surges forward, literally sweeping you off your feet into a body-crushing mass of people. Though I must admit that could be as thrilling as it was scary.
Anyway, I'm not going to play "White Riot" either, here's the b-side of "Complete Control" instead.
Download: City of The Dead - The Clash (mp3)
5 Comments:
Funny how most of that crowd look like Wayne Rooney...
being stuck and squashed jumping around without my feet ever touching the floor is my strongest memory of all the gigs i went to as a nipper. and i loved it.
I saw the clash a few years later. I can remember in the tube afterwards a brawny skinhead head butting a cadburys chocolate dispenser machine. He was very disappointed because the clash had "sold out". I felt kind of sorry for the machine but was glad it was the machine and not me....
I was at a Gogol Bordello concert a few months ago .. right up front to get the full affect .. first bar concert I've been to in a while. I had about five minutes up front before I realized that my 240 lbs wasn't going to help me.
Back out of the pit and stood just on the outskirts. Great gig, had a fantastic time .. only had to put one guy down for jumping on my toes with his combat boots.
Like jc, I too tend to find myself at moshless gigs these days. Somehow a Cowboy Junkies audience never get round to getting their freak on.
That said, just saw Spearhead two days ago, down the front and it was totally bouncy. My calf muscles still ache, mind.
Worse than being at the side while the pit goes mad, or being at sedate gigs, is being at a gig where there's just one person going nuts.
On the Clash thing, here's another take on Complete Control.
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