Warped Tour's New Stance On Moshing and Crowd Surfing

I know it is October, but I am still curious as to some of the controversies at this year’s Warped Tour.

I was unable to attend, but according to sources such as Metal Injection, there were banners reading, “NO MOSHING/CROWD SURFING. You Mosh, You Crowd Surf, You Get Hurt, We Get Sued, No More Warped Tour.”

Image credit: Bram Teitelman

For people like me who could not care less about moshing or crowd surfing, this is not bothersome. To be honest, it would make me feel better if all venues had these banners.

However, I do understand that people like to do it and it makes the experience more enjoyable for them. Actually, I will admit that one of my fondest memories of Warped Tour 2013 was standing back and watching all the crowd surfers do their thing during The Black Dahlia Murder’s set.

If concert-goers can be safe and organized about it, then moshing and crowd surfing can be tolerated.

The thing is, people do get hurt. The Huffington Post suggests that the Warped Tour ban had something to do with lawsuits. Oli Sykes, the lead singer of Bring Me The Horizon (one of my favorite bands), was apparently sued by the parents of a 12 year old girl who was injured during one of their shows.

This is terrible, but I also believe suing the band or the venue is wrong. Did the girl’s parents not listen to Bring Me The Horizon’s music before they let her go? No underage daughter of mine is going to a metalcore concert without me to make sure she is nowhere near a mosh pit or crowd surfers.

If people simply take responsibility for themselves and their children and become more aware of their surroundings, Warped Tour will not need their banners. 

The Huffington Post article mentioned earlier also states that according to Warped Tour founder, Kevin Lyman, the banners were just “a reminder to be safe and take care of each other” and no one was actually kicked out. 

Whatever the reason, I am still curious as to how many mosh pits and crowd surfers there were this year with the banners. Were the new "rules" enforced at all? If any attendees of this year’s Warped Tour would like to share their experiences, your comments are greatly welcomed and appreciated.