How to enjoy mosh-pit (starter kit)

You have walked in the venue, your ID at hand and some cash for the entrance ticket. Everyone around you is in a genuine state of euphoria and the atmosphere is dense with an energy as if something great is going to unfold this night, your first metal event.  The line is quite long and the excitement builds as you take each step closer to the guys at the entrance. Just about the time you get checked the band passes through with you. Your eyes lock with the vocalist and you get the feeling you are about to get your money’s worth.
Now that you are in, no one can stop you now. It’s time to let all the demons loose. One thing I personally found out about the metal community is that, no one cares about conformity. Everyone is an individual and they are loved and accepted as they are. The bands are on stage and just like a crack head, you are immediately drawn in by the per-introductory mambo jumbo. You may have moshed a lot in your room but nothing has prepared you for the complete chaos which is about to get down.
This is your first mosh pit, so as usual you are quite hesitant fearing you might get hurt but there is an overwhelming urge to move your body to the music. It’s time to join the rest. You head on in, shoving and getting shoved slightly missing the air kicks and powerful punches. You can barely move since everyone is so crammed but moving is the last thing on your head; the chaos has sucked you in and you are part of the riot now.
Head banging, Wind milling, stomping… you are doing it all and having an exceptional time. Out of nowhere,  a guy from the stage jumps right on top of you and in a coordinated fashion everyone raises their hands to catch him mid air. He is crowd-surfing. You realize the cameras are rolling and you must also get a bad ass shot, so in a similar fashion you climb on stage and throw yourself wholly to the crowd.  At this time you are quite exhausted and you head to the counter for a drink. While sipping the mosh juice you realize you know most people in the venue even if they are not aware who you are.
You return to the moshpit to find it has turned into a circle pit. A circle pit is basically when the guys in the pit start running in a huge circle.  Apart from it being easy, it looks pretty cool since the crowd is big enough.  You without a seconds hesitation jump in and the hype train is back on track. You receive several blows to your body and your face, but the music and the mosh juice have taken your consciousness to a higher state of being, where none of that matters and all that is is niceness. Niceness. That is all that is around you. Amidst all the chaos and “fighting” one attitude prevails and it is that of niceness. Everyone is nice towards one another and it can be seen whenever someone falls in the pit (they are quickly picked up since they might get hurt severely).
A brilliant night is ended with acquaintances and probably an extended fun time in a different club or house party. You leave the venue having utterly destroyed the pit on your first day. Your neck is killing you but you are the shit and the other guys can see you now \,,/
by
Lawrence Muchemi
The writer is a Kenyan vocalist and drummer associated with the bands Irony Destroyed and The Seeds of Datura.