Poor old that band who are now the poster boys for the anti stage diving campaign. There was one guy in band who took offense to a 180 pound guy launching himself at a group of young girls and now shit has hit the fan.
Thing is, whether or not stage diving is fun or not is irrelevant, the real issue is whether it is an inclusive or exclusive activity at a show. What I mean by that is do the others in your vicinity that you are interacting with consent to your actions. When you jump on people or mosh with your elbows up or throw your beer glass at the band or grab a mic to sing along is that ok by the person who is directly affected by your actions.
When I played in the Valves I had all sorts of shit happen to me that I had varying levels of
acceptance with. You want to fall over my monitor and knock my mic into my face so i have a split lip for the rest of the gig? no thanks. You want to spit at me and call me a cunt and then try to snog my face off after we finished playing? I guess I'm a little more ok with that. You and all your mates want to borrow my mic to sing the chorus to Londons Calling? Get right in there. As an audience member I have been to some shows (Deftones) where the mosh pit was like a Royal Rumble and I was ok with that. I have also been to shows where people are trying to dance and there is just one guy windmilling and clearing the way while everyone else gets annoyed (Jimmy Eat World). When I went to Punk Rock Holiday people constantly jumped off the stage and loved every second of it, there was even a lip so that people could do it without disturbing the bands. Great. But when you're at a show where people just want to watch the bands at the front because they love them and want to be close to people they idolise then it's a problem.
The tired old argument I hear is that if you don't want to mosh/get jumped on then you should vacate that particular area of the venue, like the moshers/stagedivers have pissed on that area and no one else but their crew in invited. Since when did alternative music have to be dictated to? Surely by placing rules and demands on unwilling or unenthusiastic members of the audience we lose what is supposed to make our chosen genre so great. We already come from the outcasts and fringe communities so why do we find ways to make things even more exclusive? Just to re-iterate at this point my stance is not anti anything except the singling out and resentment of people who don't want to join in what you're doing at a show. Staking claim to an area and being in control of it is strictly the business of the band on stage.
In conclusion the "issue" around stage diving is not one of it should/shouldn't be banned, but as with
almost everything else in life the extent to which you should do it. If someone doesn't want you to do something to them and you do it anyway you aren't being rock and roll, you're being an asshole. Stubbornly sticking to the "way things used to be" is both unproductive for the furthering of music and a little sad.
Just have respect for those around. that should be the only rule when at a show.
