Wary Of Injuries And Litigation, Concert Venues Take Extra Precautions To Deal With Moshing
Wednesday, July 17, 1996 By Stu Durando Special To The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Some Information For This Story Was Provided By The Associated Press. THE EMPTY EXPANSE of concrete, normally filled with 2,000 chairs, was the first indication that Kiel Center officials were prepared for something out of the ordinary on the night of Feb. 14, 1995. But there were more ominous signs anticipating the arrival of Nine Inch Nails. A makeshift first-aid station and attendants waited on the arena's floor level. Additional security guards gathered near the stage. The sale of alcohol was prohibited. And, unknown to fans occupying the floor in front of the stage, a camera was ready to film anyone who might get out of hand. Kiel Center officials, who once had vowed to bar open-floor concerts, were preparing for their first encounter with moshing, a physical dance form that has been linked to four deaths and numerous catastrophic injuries in recent years. Moshers - mostly teen-agers and 20-something guys - flail their arms and slam into one another at concerts and clubs. In its infancy, in the early to mid-1980s, moshing was known mostly as slam dancing in New York and West Coast punk music clubs. Mosh pits have since evolved to include diving from the stage into the pit and body surfing or lying flat over the crowd while riding the wave of bodies. "When we opened in 1994, we took the stance we would not do open-floor concerts," said Roger Dixon, vice president and director of operations at Kiel. "But the concert industry was not booming and the available artists would only play if we did open floor. Then we made a decision to try it and the kids had no problems. "It looks worse than it really is." Smashing Pumpkins, which postponed a scheduled concert Sunday at Kiel after the band's keyboard player died in a drug incident in New York, had asked for an open floor in St. Louis. In May, 17-year-old Bernadette O'Brien was killed at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Dublin, Ireland, when she was crushed by a surging group of moshers. Despite that death and Smashing Pumpkins' public criticism of moshing, the band continued to ask for open floors on its world tour. Kiel Center has allowed moshing at three shows in 17 months without incident. Just the same, Kiel officials have taken extra precautions because of the threat of injuries and litigation. Several serious accidents nationwide have been followed by lawsuits, which have targeted promoters, security services, venues and performers. Chicago-based concert safety consultant Paul Wertheimer said the problem will persist until concert industry leaders, especially promoters, establish guidelines to reduce moshing injuries. "The issue has been ignored for the longest time," Wertheimer said. "Now there's more attention than ever, but they're trying to bury the issue. The carelessness remains the same and needless deaths and injuries drone on and on. I think it's heading toward some sort of confrontation between the fans and promoters." St. Louis-based Contemporary Productions booked the Smashing Pumpkins' concert at Kiel. No date has been mentioned for a rescheduled concert, but the Kiel box office has said that $25 tickets for Sunday's show would be honored at the later date. Smashing Pumpkins postponed all its July concerts after the death last Friday of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's arrest for heroin possession. The band was in New York for concerts at Madison Square Garden and the Meadowlands. Contemporary did not respond to interview requests about the practice of moshing. Wertheimer, meanwhile, has developed a list of safety guidelines, many of which are used at Kiel, including a ban on stage diving and isolation of the mosh pit from the general audience. Ticket holders for the floor area are identified by wrist bands. St. Louis moshers believe that the risks involved are part of the attraction. "If you're willing to get in," said Joe Anderson, 15, "you should be willing to get hurt." Anderson and many of his friends have suffered minor injuries at concerts. They shared war stories recently while waiting to see Gravity Kills at Mississippi Nights. Anderson said someone once pulled him by the neck into a mosh pit as he attempted to leave, producing whiplash-like symptoms. Morgan Nusbaum, 15, chipped a tooth when she was pushed from behind by moshers. Sam Wells, 18, suffered a strained neck when a body surfer fell on him. And Liz McArthur, 16, fell and cut her ear and bloodied her nose on her first trip into a pit. Supporting the contention of many that moshers view injuries as badges of honor, McArthur went home and photographed her cuts. Despite increasing litigation, Matt Jackson, 17, said he wouldn't consider suing if he were injured while moshing. "They took that risk when they went in there," he said. "It's become kind of a violent sport for some people, because it's the cool thing to do right now. But it'll die down. People will find a really cool, better thing to do." Anne Fischer, director of guest services at Kiel, said concert-goers have been receptive to restrictions. She said it has helped to have security guards talk to prospective moshers before shows. "The younger crowds that come in for alternative bands are much more open to education," Fischer said. "They have the attitude of, `Tell us what you want us to do and we'll do it.' " Moshers at Dublin's Point Theatre were more frenzied the night O'Brien became the fourth to die as a result of activity in or around a mosh pit. Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan ended the concert early after hearing of her injuries. Three fatalities, including the only U.S. casualty, came in 1994. Christopher Mitchell died after he was allegedly pushed by a security guard from a stage in Brooklyn before he could dive into the mosh pit. After spending 60 hours in mosh pits across the country, Wertheimer said the only problems he has encountered have been with security guards. Wells agreed that guards are sometimes overzealous. "They don't realize they're dealing with people who are smaller than them," Wells said. "They just go wild. They'll get in and start throwing people around." Kiel prohibits stage diving, and Mississippi Nights also enforces restrictions. Manager Andy Mayberry said some dancing is allowed at Mississippi Nights, but on nights when moshing is anticipated, patrons are handed fliers outlining the club's rules: body surfers receive a warning, stage divers are ejected. "We'll let kids dance a little bit," Mayberry said. "But if it gets too aggressive, we take them for a walk, let them cool off and give them a warning." Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins repeatedly has condemned moshing. "Its time has come and gone," he said. "It has ceased to be a spontaneous act." Yet, soon after O'Brien's death, the band requested an open-floor concert in Cincinnati, where festival seating was made illegal after 11 people died at a Who concert in 1979. The request was denied. Promoters have been the chief target of lawsuits. As a result, their insurance premiums have increased as much as 500 percent since 1983, according to Walter Howell, whose Entertainment Insurance Agency insures 40 promoters. Howell said moshing incidents are responsible for at least 80 percent of the claims against his clients. Although he said lawsuits have decreased in 1996 - mainly because of a slow concert season - he predicted that "next year it's going to be wild out there." ______________________________________________
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