Chase and Status

[Andre91]

I was right in the middle between the barrier and the Vodafone tower, the crowd was PACKED but decent.

[Com Truise]

I have to say the crowd at Reading was terrible. To be fair I was quite far in, in front of the second barrier but the amount of rowdy girls who would just punch anything on sight was unreal. So much so that after trying to have a good time and standing my ground, 15 minutes in a group of girls started swearing and pushing me and then full scale lobbed me into a massive pit where I was knocked out cold after being booted in the head. Luckily two guys carried me out whilst I was unconscious and a nice couple who were waiting for Eminem got the medics and sorted me out.

It was singlehandedly the most terrifying thing to ever happen to me at a gig and I've been jumping in moshpits to mental, punk and hardcore bands for over 15 years.

Truly awful.

[BooBooKittyF**K]

That sounds absolutely horrible, someone needs to tell those idiots, rule number 1 of mosh pits, you don't push people in who don't want to go in, fucking hell. There were a lot of people like that near me, some snapback wearing douchebag was stood behind me kept jabbing me in the back because he thought it was funny, and waving his hands in front of my face, and trying to push my into a pit, so I turned around and punched him in the balls, he stumbled out afterwards. Just a shame you couldn't hold your ground as well as I could lmao.

I hate moshpits at dance acts like that, it is just absolutely disgusting how people behave. One guy fell over in the moshpit and nobody was helping him up so I had to drag him out, poor kid was coated in mud.

Glad you came out okay though, god knows what would have happened if someone hadn't had the common sense to help you!

[Andre91]

The pits for Bury Tomorrow were disgusting. People were just running in and roundhouseing and spinning kicking others and then walking out, what the f**k is that about!? Nobody was helping anyone up either. Me and my buddies love going in pits but we avoided these because if somebody had roundhoused or spinning kicked me I would have turned around and knocked them clean out. There's just no need for idiotic behaviour like that.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Andre91

[Muppetmark]

I have to say the crowd at Reading was terrible. To be fair I was quite far in, in front of the second barrier but the amount of rowdy girls who would just punch anything on sight was unreal. So much so that after trying to have a good time and standing my ground, 15 minutes in a group of girls started swearing and pushing me and then full scale lobbed me into a massive pit where I was knocked out cold after being booted in the head. Luckily two guys carried me out whilst I was unconscious and a nice couple who were waiting for Eminem got the medics and sorted me out.

It was singlehandedly the most terrifying thing to ever happen to me at a gig and I've been jumping in moshpits to mental, punk and hardcore bands for over 15 years.

Truly awful.

[gittinsell]

I was 4 rows from the front at C&S and although the show was incredible, it was the most dangerous crowd I've ever been in. I like to get fairly close for shows and before that concert I'd only really fallen over once (Shikari 2012, it was a freak occurance I think as the crowd wasn't really full of dickheads like this one) but during C&S I fell 3 times. On the third I'd estimate 100ish people went down all at once, me and my friends were pinned down by a hell of a lot of people on top of us, and a girl I was lying on was hitting me in the back out of shear panic because she couldn't breathe. It was then I looked up and noticed the security had clocked the situation and a few seconds later the music cut and we were helped up although many people were unconscious and others looked in serious pain.

I'm not surprised the pit manager was close to closing the stage, it was very dangerous and if it hadn't been for the ease of the crowd after the music cut I would have left and moved back.

Eminem on the other hand, nice crowd, loud and not overly crushed or pushing

[Com Truise]

It actually really surprised me, the difference between Chase & Status' crowd and Eminem's. After C&S I was a bit worried and expected Em's to be absolutely horrific, but it was really good , calm but energetic.

Maybe all the twats went to see an hour of Magnetic Man and by the time they got to Em, they were blocked out

[BooBooKittyF**K]

It actually really surprised me, the difference between Chase & Status' crowd and Eminem's. After C&S I was a bit worried and expected Em's to be absolutely horrific, but it was really good , calm but energetic.

Maybe all the twats went to see an hour of Magnetic Man and by the time they got to Em, they were blocked out

[Com Truise]

worse?! I thought he was great

[BooBooKittyF**K]

worse?! I thought he was great

[Com Truise]

I meant the crowd! :-)

[sjseabass]

Sad to hear the horror stories . I was in the front section on the right and it was honestly fine, people around me were great, didn't notice much difference in the pits. Had a lot of fun.

Did they have to stop and tell people to take two steps back at the infamous Prodigy '09, out of interest?

[suckitandsee]

i was below the screen on the right at leeds, about midway back in the front bit and it was insanely packed, there was a fight in front of us and a lad was getting tossed off at the side of me (im not even joking), but the rest of the crowd were absolutely fine

[Andre91]

a lad was getting tossed off at the side of me (im not even joking)

[VCK]

Some pretty nasty stories about the crowds on here. Unfortunately, that's the sort of crowd the festival attracts and it's not a new thing. The sort of people who go to Reading or Leeds to act like dicks wouldn't say boo to a goose in any other environment, but because they're away from home for the first time and have a few days of freedom from their parents, they think that gives them the right to try and ruin it for other people.

If those girls in BooBooKittyF**k's post acted like they did in a club or a bar in town, or that snapback wearing guy in Com Truise's post, they'd get thrown out, if they hadn't been sparked out. But like I say, chances are they wouldn't act like that anywhere else.

[Areophobia]

Sad to hear the horror stories . I was in the front section on the right and it was honestly fine, people around me were great, didn't notice much difference in the pits. Had a lot of fun.

Did they have to stop and tell people to take two steps back at the infamous Prodigy '09, out of interest?

[Yellow_Fellow]

Chase and Status were the only mainstage act where it was very, very packed - which is unusual. So many people just panicked as they were not used to it.

[VCK]

Was it worse than The Prodigy in 2009 or Rage Against The Machine in 2008? I wasn't close to the front for either, I made sure that I could be close enough to enjoy the set without having to fight for my life, because I just knew what it would be like down the front for both. I always strive to avoid being in that situation for a band that I know are going to draw a massive crowd and incite lots of moshing. A testament to this is the fact that the worst crush I have ever been in at Leeds was Feeder in 2008.

Apparently The Libertines and Blink 182 were pretty bad for crowd surges in 2010 too, but I didn't go that year.

[Areophobia]

Blink 182 was dangerously packed and actually scared me in a different way to The Prodigy.

[sjseabass]

Blink 182 was dangerously packed and actually scared me in a different way to The Prodigy.

[BooBooKittyF**K]

I'm going to sound like a right old dick head here, but I've been going to Reading since 1999, this was my tenth. I took a break for 06-10 and have been back ever since from 2011. I was in massive pits at the front for SOAD when Metallica headlined etc and never once felt as terrified as I did on Saturday. There was an edge to the crowd. No one where I was standing was helping people out, and there was such a "screw everyone else attitude". I must have looked seriously in a bad way for two lads to carry me out like they did.

When I was out and being seen to by medics, I saw 3 separate full on fist fights break out on the edge of the crowd to the left of the stage. Was really sad to see. During the 1st 5 minutes of the set I saw a guy get pulled out with his leg literally in two. GROSS. Funny how the BBC coverage is not showing the super super rowdy stuff on highlights.

Like I said I know I sound like an old whinger. I love Reading to my bones, and it just makes me really downhearted about the fest. At SOAD day before there was a guy in his 60s in the pit with blood all over him having the time of his life, every young lad in there gave this guy proper respect like he was the god of the pit, and after Chop Suey everyone was just hugging it out.

That is how it is done.

[mrtourette]

I would imagine that people from certain musical spectrums don't really get how mosh pits work, have experience of what to do (or not to do) and see them as a bit of a novelty, hence thinking it's funny to push people in or not looking after people who are struggling.

I think VCK is right in that a lot of people that the festival will attract (especially with an act like C&S) are there for the weekend to do shit they wouldn't normally get away with the rest of the year, so other people's safety and enjoyment is well down their list of priorities.

[rawaudioinput]

After C&S stopped several times I tried to organise a plan on what to do if Eminem had to cancel his set early due to crushing and a riot broke out. That wasn't great.

[VCK]

I would imagine that people from certain musical spectrums don't really get how mosh pits work, have experience of what to do (or not to do) and see them as a bit of a novelty, hence thinking it's funny to push people in or not looking after people who are struggling.

I think VCK is right in that a lot of people that the festival will attract (especially with an act like C&S) are there for the weekend to do shit they wouldn't normally get away with the rest of the year, so other people's safety and enjoyment is well down their list of priorities.

[mrtourette]

Yeah very true. I still like seeing bands at festivals as you can't get than 'out in the open with a beer and a fag' ambience at gigs, but I rarely venture far into the crowd as mosh pits at gigs are far better.