The pIT Crowd

Gig Guides and Reviews | Side blog (follows from muramaasa)

[thepitcrowd]

ABOUT

I've been going to rock gigs since I was 9 years old so I thought I'd share my experience with those who are just getting started

Masterlist (work in progress)

My upcoming gigs

My past gigs

Gig guides (to be added)

Gig reviews (to be added)

[thepitcrowd]

WHERE YOU SHOULD STAND FOR A GOOD EXPERIENCE AT A STANDING METAL GIG

depending on the type of experience you want

if you want to sit down: while you should consider whether a standing gig is for you if you really prefer to sit down, there may still be some options for you. check if the venue has a balcony: it may need to be prebooked, but there's a chance it's useable for any customers. if the reason you need to sit down is an accessibility reason, the venue may have access arrangements, such as a viewing area, that they can use to accommodate your needs if you want to just watch/be still, get a good view, and take videos: try to stand close to the sound desk if there's one near the middle or back of the crowd. the crowd won't be as densely packed there, and you might be able to get a good view from the gap made by the sound desk. otherwise, try somewhere further back with a view of a screen, or a balcony if there is one. it's okay to be near the front if you're only taking a couple of photos and a short video, but an entire front row with phones up for an entire show is something no metal band wants to see--nor do the fans behind you. if you drop your phone during a show, people may help you find it, but you're still responsible for that risk

if you want to sing along, participate in the music, and interact with other audience members: try near the barrier, far to one of the sides. you could go in the centre, but be aware that depending on the band and audíence, you could spend the whole time helping carry crowdsurfers. there's also a higher risk of crowd crush in the centre, since that's where people get pushed into when a moshpit opens up. if you're happy with both of those things, then go ahead to the front and centre!

if you don't want to help carry crowdsurfers, that's fine, but do not stay in these spots thinking you can just dodge them--this makes gaps, and can be really dangerous if a crowdsurfer gets dropped into it

you should also be aware that it can be hard to get back to your spot if you need to go to the toilet or get drinks--usually water will be handed out at the front though. it's fine to get a barrier spot for the first half of a show and then dip further back halfway through when you need to nip to the loo. but don't go for barrier if you can't handle the long wait standing up--people sitting down in a busy crowd while waiting for a show to start can be so dangerous, when the music starts there may be a surge and people will fall over you

if you want to jump, dance, move, headbang: in the front to middle but slightly to one side may work best. if you bring a group of fun friends with you, then most places in a crowd can be fun to dance in, but if you're going alone, you may need to keep an eye on which pockets of people are moving and dancing--usually it's just beyond the edge of where the moshpit opens up, but sometimes it's the entire crowd if the energy is high

keep your plans flexible, and consider using a circle pit to get to a better spot if your area is too dull, so long as you can handle the rush of a pit--it's a surprisingly effective mode of transport through an otherwise packed crowd

if you want to mosh, but only a little: the pit edge, or alternatively a mini pit if the venue is big enough for multiple pits to open, is perfect for this. I'm usually this person, and will stand just a little further forward from the very middle. you'll feel when the pit opens, and it's always a bit easier to navigate backwards than forwards, since people can be a bit precious with keeping their spot/view

if you want to mosh: get in the middle babey~ you probably already know what you want, you may even be one of the people opening the pit. just let other people out when they wanna get out, pick people up when they go down, and try not to send crowdsurfers straight towards the open pit

if you have any specific preferences or questions that you want advice for, leave a comment or send me an ask!

Happy pitting

- Leo

(photo is of Stray From The Path)

[thepitcrowd]

WHEN SHOULD YOU SIGNAL FOR A SHOW STOP AT A ROCK CONCERT?

Show stops seem to be getting more and more common, and not always for good reason. It's good to be aware that you can signal to security if something dangerous is happening, but stopping for every inconvenience is going to take away from security doing their jobs. You've probably seen clips online of people waving their arms, making X shapes, or waving their phone lights to signal for help, or of artists stopping to make sure someone is okay--but don't be the asshole who brings everything to a halt for no reason

At Download festival this year, stoppages ranged from completely justified (serious injury at Limp Bizkit), to moderate danger (dense crowds at Architects) to completely uncalled for (someone losing a shoe at Linkin Park). People don't seem to agree on what justifies a show stop, but the most important thing to note is that you can get help from security or staff without stopping the show

A show stop is only necessary when the entire audience and band needs to be notified of an issue. Such as if a fainted person can't be safely carried out or passed over the barrier, or if someone is injured and needs a stretcher, or if there's a crowd crush severe enough that everyone needs to take a step back. Otherwise, it isn't really doing anything to help the security team, it only gets people aggravated

Think, can your issue be dealt with by you leaving the situation, or with the help of a few friends, or by getting a member of venue staff to assist you? You should try these things first, unless there is a genuine emergency. False calls are dangerous, because people are only going to take them less seriously going forward. Bands aren't insensitive for continuing to play while someone has fainted or is injured--as long as there is security and medics dealing with the issue

Some may forget, but this is their job. They get paid to put on a good show, and the venue pays for security so that the band doesn't have to have to split their attention looking for injuries. If the security is good and the venue is organised, a band shouldn't have to stop their set at all

So if you're going to any shows in the future, please try to get along with the people around you, don't start fights, pick a spot you feel safe in rather than pushing to the front then getting scared, avoid moshpits if you don't think you can handle them, and stay safe so shows can run smoothly

Happy pitting

- Leo

[thepitcrowd]

My Upcoming Gigs

Bilmuri w/ support from Thornhill

House of Protection w/ support from Newshapes

Radar Festival | Animals as Leaders, Skindred, Thy Art Is Murder, Protest The Hero, Northlane

Don Broco w/ support from Unpeople

ERRA and Currents w/ support from Caskets and Aviana

[thepitcrowd]

My Past Gigs

Will be edited and updated as time goes on

2018

Don Broco (twice)

Blind Channel

2019

The Lafontaines

Yungblud

2021

Yungblud

Don Broco

2022

5 Seconds of Summer

Blind Channel (twice)

Yungblud

2023

Papa Roach, Dance Gavin Dance, Don Broco (co-headline)

Radar Festival | Sleep Token, Periphery, Loathe, Monuments, Haken, Unprocessed and more

Don Broco (twice more)

5 Seconds of Summer

Lost Society

Crawlers

2024

Blind Channel

Kid Kapichi

Don Broco

Radar Festival | Tesseract, Dirty Loops, Plini, Vola, Caskets, Thrown, Unpeople, Graphic Nature, Hail The Sun

The Lafontaines

Vola

Sleep Token

Dead Pony

2025

Tesseract

Kid Kapichi (twice)

Bilmuri

Download Festival | Green Day, Sleep Token, Korn, Shinedown, Don Broco, Spiritbox, Meshuggah, Loathe, Lorna Shore, Unprocessed

Radar Festival | Normandie, Zeal & Ardor, Intervals, Novelists, Floya, Pintglass, Avralize, Lastelle

Stray From The Path with Alpha Wolf, Graphic Nature, Calva Louise

Don Broco

Jesse Welles

2026

Don Broco

5 Seconds of Summer

Download Festival | Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Bad Omens, Periphery, Electric Callboy, Black Veil Brides, Halestorm, Architects, A Day To Remember, Unpeople, Vianova and more

[musicdataguy]

Hey there!

I've made something for you.

This is an interactive graphic showing some of the biggest acts playing the Download Festival this summer. The lineup is amazing!

You can tap on an album and then play the music videos for the tracks within.

Hope you like it!

Please advise me of any errors, or any bands that you want me to add to the list.

Download XXIII 2026 - Lineup

Popularity of Limp Bizkit and Guns N’ Roses and Linkin Park and Bad Omens and Cypress Hill and Trivium and Pendulum and Feeder. See their a

Neil x

[izthewhiz]

frankie at download festival in 2007!! credits to @frnksource on insta and photography by paul harries for kerrang :3

[silverdawn89]

[silverdawn89]

[xoxo-ratboy]

GIVE ME SOMETHING TO BREAK!

Limp Bizkit @ Download 2026 on the UK's biggest stage. What an incredible experience!

[anchorghost]

letlive. @ download festival, 14/06/2026

[pits-perspective]

Noah Sebastian of Bad Omens at Download Festival, 14/06/2026

4th time seeing them, they get better and better!

My photos, iPhone 16 Pro 📸 - credit me if sharing

pits.perspective IG // xdj.b TikTok

[thepitcrowd]

Architects at Download 2026

It's insane how much misinformation is going around about Download, especially Architects' set. No, there weren't fist fights, no, people weren't stomping on people on purpose. And no, Sam Carter didn't 'storm off'.

There were a few problems though:

Opus stage shape - Opus is a smaller stage than Architects needed, and also is directed downhill. When the pits opened up, people were falling downhill into a crowd crush at the barrier

Not enough security - Because of the crush, some people were crowdsurfing to get out, and the security couldn't handle the number of crowdsurfers

Awful security communication - Sam was being shouted at both from side stage and on his in ears by security telling him totally different things. If you watched the full performance, you'd know that when he said 'sort this shit out' he was talking to security about their disagreements. He then left stage to talk to security and his tour manager. At no point was he telling fans to break up fights--that's a complete lie. Later on when he came back on with a grin saying 'you've all been very naughty' to the fans, it's obvious that he's pissed at the security, not the crowd

I've seen people who weren't even there saying Sam has an ego problem, or saying that people were too aggressive in the crowd--but people were doing their fucking best to stay on their feet and pick other people up, but the stage was just not in a good place or size for a band like Architects. Too many people are saying 'what's with all the show stops at download this year?' and blaming the 'new generation', when it's almost entirely an organisational problem. There have always been a handful of assholes, and there has always been people who don't enjoy a moshpit, we just had a lot of people this year and bigger stages than ever, there was bound to be teething problems

And, if I'm honest, there were way too many people way out of their depth in that audience, that are now complaining online about incidents that were clearly accidents. No, you weren't 'thrown to the ground and stomped on', you fucking fell. It's a heavy band with a big audience, did you expect to have personal space 5 feet from the barrier? It's a shame that the crowd had some chaos due to bad organisation by the festival, and that some people got injured, but it cleared up after the first half of the set--so it clearly wasn't out of genuine malice

If you've never seen a band live before and aren't prepared for a moshpit or to fall down, stand the fuck back and wait to see what the crowd is like. Take some responsibility for your own safety, everyone is just trying to stay safe and enjoy the set. And don't go around talking about 'pit etiquette' when you've never pitted. Pit etiquette isn't about not bumping into anyone or not standing in front of someone's view. Pit etiquette is very, very simple: if you don't want in, that's fine, but get the fuck out of the way. And if you do want in, you let people out when they want out, and you pick people up when they fall. It's that fucking simple

Anyway, their set is still in my top 5 even with the show stops. I had a good time at download and am done complaining, and I hope everyone else is done complaining about what was clearly an issue of security, miscommunication, and poor booking choices

Happy pitting

- Leo

[thepitcrowd]

just got back from download earlier today, who else was there? what were your top 3 sets you got to see?

mine were probably Periphery, The Plot In You and Architects, but I also massively enjoyed Holywatr, A Day To Remember, Vianova and Unpeople