The dude and I attended the Knotfest Roadshow (Behemoth, Gojira, Volbeat, and Slipknot) in Bonner Springs, Kansas this last Saturday and as always happens when I attend a concert, I came away with more faith in humanity and a better person. I know that most people think that metal music is just screaming negativity and noise, that everyone who attends are “freaks”,that it’s dangerous, that people are looking for fights, and whatever other ridiculous stereotypes there are available.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Corey Taylor, the lead singer of Slipknot and Stone Sour, author, and human extraordinaire, stood before thousands of us and summed up quite nicely why we are metalheads. To paraphrase him to the best of my ability, “look around you. These are your friends and your family. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other. It doesn’t matter what your skin color is. It doesn’t matter who you love. It doesn’t matter what language you speak. We are all family.”
Family
Metal concert goers are some of the most accepting people in the world as it should be considering science has shown that metal listeners are highly intelligent and gentle souls (no, I don’t have a link. Google it.). You look around and you don’t see any one thing that makes a metal head. Every concert shirt imaginable is worn at the venues (pro tip: wear a color other than black so your friends can find you if you’re lost). There are the punk princesses wearing their best leather, fish nets, and eyeliner so sharp it could cut through glass. There were those wearing jeans, work boots, and a tee shirt. There were some (like me) who looked like they were attending their kid’s baseball games (because it was effing hot out. Mad props to the leather wearers for their dedication). There were “F*ck Trump” shirts and shirts about standing for the flag. There was every walk of life in attendance, from the very young to the gray haired Metal Elders.
And a massive majority of us got along, smiled, thrashed, head banged, danced, sat and watched, and enjoyed a rare moment of solidarity.
In a world of social media where communication and solidarity is vast and far between, taking the time to be with others who share your passions is instrumental to the survival of our sanity. At that concert, no one was solely a Trump supporter, a gun control advocate, a Christian, an Atheist, a Muslim, a Democrat, a Libertarian, a Republican, or any other Capital word that we put before “human”, because we aren’t all just one thing besides human.
Right before Slipknot came on, everyone with their phones out. The majority of these would be put away within a few minutes.
When Corey Taylor tells you we’re all family and you see thousands of people raise their fist in the air, throw some horns, and yell themselves hoarse, you start to believe that maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem in the world. That one moment, that lasted an eternity and also just not long enough, will carry me through the hard times of reading hatred on the internet. Remembering how I got lost in the music, focusing my attention completely on other people and how fantastic they are at just being themselves, not being the least bit self conscious as I walked through crowds of people, as I head banged and danced, will get me through until the next concert that reminds me what it means to be alive. Remembering Jennifer, who bought me an eleven dollar drink because I didn’t realize I was at a cash only tent and how she said, “I’ve got you” and we talked about paying it forward as I made her take a picture with me so I could commemorate her on social media will get me through the next time someone is rude to me. Remembering the girl I sat beside outside the hotel the next day, talked with for an hour about everything from music, our kids, her ten year sobriety, and how everyone needs to relax and enjoy life will get me through the usual hours of mindless small talk.
Jennifer, (on the left) the human being a bro.
We built these short relationships around one thing: a love of metal music. These moments are few and far between anymore but they highlight how the world can be better. Build a relationship on one small thing that can then expand to other small things. Build a dialogue and have a conversation with someone and find your similarities instead of your differences.
I’m sure the next day that everyone was back to complaining about The Other (whatever that might be to them). I’m sure that some people there had negative experiences and not as good of a time as I had but I will always remember those moments from the concerts I attend; when a mass of individuals, for one eternal not long enough moment, stood as one and said, “We are not your kind”.
the fighter still remains 