kids waving lighters in the air at concerts during slow songs

[ButterflyBlood]

what exactly is the point of this?

i see it at practically every one I go to, but I have no clue how this started and what's it's supposed to mean. I suppose you need something to do if you can't mosh.

[bluestateguy]

1. Is moshing still around?

I thought that was kind of a 90's thing.

[ButterflyBlood]

2. actually, it's often referred to as "dancing" now

believe it or not. there are other "dance" moves, such as spinkicks and floorpunches i see quite often.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. That "floor punching" thing

uhhhh...that doesn't sound like something you'd want to do more than twice.

[ButterflyBlood]

8. you don't actually punch the floor

just jump up and thrust your arm downard downward with your fist heading toward the floor, but pull away it away before hitting the floor. And kind of do it in rapid fire succession a lot.

[JohnnyRingo]

9. Ohhhh....When I was young we called that

A Rolling Stones concert....But it was the riot police doing it to us.

[Ricdude]

6. Moshing goes much farther back than the 90's...

It used to be more of a cooperative group experience, more along the lines of "don't try to knock people over, but help them back up if you do". In the early 90's, jock-frat-dickheads started using pits as an excuse to practice their hockey/lacrosse checking moves...

Metalheads had moshing (pit it up!), Punks had slam dancing. Suburbia (directed by Penelope Spheeris) was released in 1984, so it goes back to the early 80's at least. If not back to the 70's. I'm old enough to remember the 80's fairly clearly, but the 70's are a bit more faded, although plaid.

[uncle ray]

3. they still do that?

i haven't been to a "BIG" arena type concert in years! small clubs only now.

[ButterflyBlood]

4. i have actually only to been one big one

and that was on a college campus, and i really only went because i had free tickets.

however i have seen this at all i've been, small and "medium sized" venues.

[OneBlueSky]

5. that particular trend was started years ago . . .

during Grateful Dead concerts . . . just kind of took on a life of its own, and it now rather ubiqitous . . . not much meaning at all, as far as I can tell . . . just the thing to do . . .