Avenged Adventure!

HI. YES. WE'RE STILL ALIVE.

Have you ever felt compelled to go and see your favourite band as many times as you can on a tour they're doing of wherever you live? Have you ever decided to actually make that happen no matter how much of a bad idea it may be, or no matter how much you know you're going to regret it afterwards for whatever reason? (Financial, health, sanity...)

Invading The Pit had a fun experience with this lately, and not for the first time!

As you may or may not know, Avenged Sevenfold recently toured Europe on their Hail to the King cycle. We are both huge fans of the band and had been looking forward to seeing them live again for a long time.

Before they hit the UK leg of the tour, Leese had the amazing opportunity of taking her little sister to her first A7X show ever in Amsterdam, and great times were had by all. There was one incident of a particularly annoying female becoming an enemy throughout the show, but she was taken care of during Unholy Confessions...

Anyway!

The shows in Manchester and London were always going to happen. There was never any doubt that we'd be attending these shows, but we thought that would be it. Even though it was only two shows, we had a crazy plan in place. We booked a hotel in London for two nights, and decided to head off to London after the Manchester show and make the 200+ mile journey on zero sleep at a silly time in the morning.

We arrived at our hotel at a time when most people were waking up to begin their day... 7 AM. This didn't really give us much opportunity to get any sleep, but that didn't matter because we had another night of Avatar, Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold to look forward to. Who needs sleep?

The two consecutive nights we'd spent at awesome shows left us wanting more. There were only two shows left: Dublin and Birmingham. Dublin was a definite no as neither of us would have been able to take the time off work. Birmingham, however, presented some kind of possibility... with the biggest problem being that the show had sold out.

Through sheer luck and perseverance we managed to score three standing tickets for the show for £75 – Yes, less than face value. We never thought THAT would happen.

Actually getting to Birmingham, though, was a massive headache. It was on one of the days when the UK was being absolutely battered by wind and rain and the country had pretty much come to a stop as far as public transport was concerned. This made it difficult for us to meet up (as Leese STILL doesn't drive) but we managed it through Joobs taking a little detour to pick her up in Knutsford as opposed to Stafford.

Thanks to a lorry that broke down on the motorway, we arrived at the show two hours after it started, missing our beloved Avatar, and Rob Halford singing on stage with Five Finger Death Punch. To say we were unhappy would be an understatement. We got there just as Avenged finished up the first song.

It turned out to be a great show, though, of course. Definitely worth the stress and anger of getting there. Afterwards, we spent 2 hours trying to get out of Birmingham because for some silly reason they close the motorway at night.

Made it back to Joobs' house around 3-4 AM, slept a little bit, and then Leese had an asthma attack running for the train to work a few hours later and ended up in the hospital.

SACRIFICES, PEOPLE. IT'S WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.

To some extent, anyway.

Stay tuned for a generic end of year post sometime soon...

Competition and Bickering Within Fanbases

Firstly, I feel an apology is in order. The blog has kind of been neglected as of late, and we haven't been posting as actively as we should, or would like to. There are several factors to this and most of them are boring, like having to get back to the real world with actual jobs and stuff. On top of that, I took a last minute trip to Gibraltar via Spain to see Breed 77 headline the National Day concert as it was Paul Isola's last show. On top of THAT, I broke my laptop on the way back from Gib (screen isn't working so I'm having to type this while having my computer hooked up to my TV) and Joobs' tablet is naffed. Safe to say, technology is not on Invading The Pit's side right now, but we'll manage!

There were some reviews we were supposed to get to, and I hope we can still do that eventually, but we have a lot to catch up on before that.

Today I want to talk about competition and rivalries in fan bases. Not different fan bases competing and arguing with each other, but actual drama and rivalries based within fan bases themselves. I'm not going to single any one particular fan base out, but I'm sure a lot of people reading this will be able to associate this post with one or two that they may be a part of, or have been a part of in the past.

I've never understood why people in fan bases feel the need to compete with others and try to "one-up" them. There's a lot of this "I'm –insert band name here-'s biggest fan because..." thing that goes on pretty much everywhere. It's fine for people to want to lay claim to being the single biggest fan amongst millions in the world if they want to, but when they start causing arguments and telling other people that they're not a "true fan" it starts to bother me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a fan of the band, isn't the main goal to support the band and their music? Bands, obviously, want to have as many fans as they can possibly get, so why do some fans try so hard to piss off other fans to the point that they don't even want to be associated with a particular fan base anymore? When did a "die hard" fan get to decide that someone isn't a true fan because they've never seen their favourite band live before? They haven't travelled 15,000 miles to see them, so they don't really love them! It's silly.

I've done a lot of crazy stuff for my favourite bands, but I wouldn't say I'm their biggest fan because of it, and I certainly wouldn't tell somebody that they're not a true fan because they haven't gone to the lengths that I've gone to. People come from different backgrounds and from all walks of life. Not everybody can afford to travel to see bands, or go to more than one show on a tour. Some people can't even get to one show because they live in an obscure area that their favourite band doesn't even come close to. Not everybody has the mental capacity to memorise the lyrics to every single song that a band has recorded. That doesn't make them any less of a fan. If they support the band, listen to their music, watch their videos and get excited about the announcement of a new release... they're a fan, and it's not up to anybody else to tell them otherwise.

The drama in some fan bases is so ridiculous that people are actually ashamed to be a part of it. Some people don't want to associate with other fans of their favourite band because the fan base is so crazy, dramatic and full of people who love to bicker and put other fans down that they're embarrassed about it. Some won't even admit to liking a band because the reputation the fan base has is so out there. Nobody should be made to feel bad for liking a band but not being able to do as much as someone else.

It's great if you can buy five copies of every album to support the band. It's fantastic that you've seen them 20 times in five different countries. It's incredible that you've been to at least one show on every tour in the last ten years. You're one of the lucky ones. You're in the minority. You're dedicated and loyal, for sure, but that doesn't mean you're the "biggest fan" in the entire world, and it doesn't give you the right to call someone a bad fan and say they should be ashamed to be a fan of a certain band (yes, I've seen that said before). It's impossible for one person to be the biggest fan. How do you even decide that someone is the number one fan out of millions worldwide that all have a different story to tell?

Not everybody can make massive sacrifices for their favourite band.

What about the single mother who can't get a babysitter on the night her favourite band is playing in her city? Is she a bad fan because her child is her priority? No.

What about the guy who barely earns enough to feed himself and pay his bills? Is he a bad fan because he's being responsible and not spending what he can't afford on concert tickets or CDs? No.

Not everybody has the freedom or bank balance to go above and beyond for their favourite band. To some people, listening to the music that they love is enough, and, guess what? They're still fans.

Hitting the Road!

Next week sees us hit the road for an awesome adventure. We will be following Fozzy on their UK tour with Breed 77 and Voodoo Vegas... Yep, that's right. We are going to EVERY show.

We've already had stick from friends who don't understand why we want to see the same show 8 times, spend hours stuck in traffic jams, spend hundreds on fuel, sleep in crappy hotels, eat junk and probably get ill? Sad times when even your family are calling you groupies! But it's not like that!

We see it slightly differently...

Yes, 8 shows is a lot... and maybe a little repetitive, but it's not just the music! We will be meeting up with fans and friends that we've made over the years that we rarely get the chance to see normally, along with no doubt meeting new ones. While the fun and excitement of a badass rock show is still going to be there each night, our favourite part of these crazy trips is the socialising!

As for the car journeys... imagine loud, heavy music blaring, lots of laughing, joking and having fun... oh, and terrible singing along to aforementioned music . Okay, we'll give you the shitty hotels part. There's not much we can do about that, but it's only a place to sleep and we're not picky. All in all, it's an adventure. The kind you rarely get to do in your adult life. A chance to meet new people all with the same interest, share stories and experiences and most of all create some awesome memories.

Don't get us wrong, this isn't going to be something we want to do every tour, but everyone needs to experience this once, right? If you haven't already, you should! All the traveling from city to city, lack of sleep and wondering how bad your next "meal" will be makes you feel like some kind of rockstar yourself. (Leese speaking from experience here... She's done this before!)

So, no... We're not following the bus around waiting for an opportunity to sleep with the band members. It's about being passionate about the music you love and sharing that with fellow fans and friends.

Plus, we get to document everything here. The highs and the lows, the things that will inevitably go wrong, the endless torture of a poor boy that is going to be stuck between the two of us for the entire week.

We'll be sure to share our stories... I'm sure there will be a few. We never seem to be able to do anything without some kind of farce, so spending 8 nights on the road is sure to bring farcical moments of epic proportions. There'll probably lots of pictures and maybe some videos.

Oh, we've got a few surprises in store, too. So make sure you keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter where we'll be announcing things shortly. It's exciting!

If you happen to be at any of the Fozzy shows, come say hello and share your stories with us. We'll be armed with a dictaphone and stuff. Food donations will also be welcome!

Check the poster below to find out if we're gonna be anywhere near you (click it if you wanna be a VIP!) and let us know if you're up for being featured on our blog!

To Mosh or Not to Mosh...

Firstly we would like to say thank you to the hundreds of people who have viewed our blog, liked us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter. We thought a few of you may be interested in what we have to say but we never expected this kind of response and support so quickly. Let's all work together and build this into a community as we first envisaged. As stated in the last post, we don't just want this to be us talking to you... We want YOU to get involved. Give us feedback, let us know what you want to see covered, send us your experiences etc.

Today, we are keen to explore the world of the mosh pit. This fiercely male dominated environment is traditionally unwelcoming of female presence and is seen as a hostile environment to enter by many women. Women in the mosh pit is frowned upon by a lot of people, due to the perceived violent nature of it, but should it be?

Joobs: "I myself love a good mosh pit. It's a place to truly let go and thrash it out with people who feel the same. I have never had a negative experience, although I haven't actually been in the middle of that many. It is pretty much guaranteed I will come out covered in bruises and - touch wood - free from other injuries. My experience as a whole has been a largely positive one with people helping each other up and, if you look like you're struggling, offering you a lift up to surf out of there. But, I have heard snippets of horror stories, and seen bad things happen like two girls during a Rammstein gig brought to tears by the crushing as the pit was forming. To be honest, I'm not at all small, and even I was lifted by the force of the crowd and carried backwards. From talking to people, they are either for or against women joining in the fun and there is no middle ground."

Leese: "I enjoy taking pictures and videos at gigs too much to spend too much time in the pit. I generally prefer to be on the outskirts of it. I have been in the thick of it once or twice, though, and had an absolute blast. The most memorable is probably when I went to see Mastodon a few years ago. The crowd was largely made up of big, bulky guys and I was the only chick who braved the pit, but there were no strange looks, nobody trying to stop me or avoid me – it was just fun. I have been to shows, though, where females have been prevented from entering the pit. It shouldn't be that way, in my opinion. Anybody going into a pit knows what they're getting themselves into and they know what to expect. They know they could get hurt and, male or female, they should be able to make their own choice on whether they want to risk it or not. I'm willing to bet that a lot of women who enter the pit can handle themselves better than half the guys who get in there."

We really want to know your thoughts, hear your stories, and get your opinions on this. If the response is good, we'll share them with others in a monthly feature dedicated to mosh pit stories.

Feel free to get back to us by leaving a comment here or by contacting us by email or one of our social networking profiles (you'll find the info you need on the "Contact" page). Tell us your stories, whether positive or negative, or if you don't have any experience of mosh pits, then give us your general opinion on it. Guys are welcome to share their opinions and experiences of ladies in the mosh pit, too.

Let us hear it!!

It Begins...

So after too many weeks of talking about how we were going to launch the blog and get things up and running, we've finally gotten around to doing it. Originally, we thought we should have something huge, exciting, ground-breaking and memorable for our first post to really get the ball rolling but then we decided that setting the bar too high right off the bat would set us off on a downward spiral from the get-go and lead us to ultimate shame and failure.

That, and Otep Shamaya was unavailable to assist us with a jingle for our grand opening.

All kidding aside, we had a few kinks to sort out before we could launch and, being really anal about appearance and design, it took a while until we were happy with it. This first post is basically going to serve as an introduction to the blog and what you can expect to read here once we really get rolling.

We started this blog because we realised there are little to no resources or communities out there on the web for female metal fans, and we thought that it would be a fun thing to do. That, and we're both pretty loud and outspoken and figured it would be a good way to express ourselves and share some of our experiences with you, in the hopes that you'll do the same with us!

I'm not going to take up too much of your time here telling you who we are and boring you with details you may have already read (if not, click on the "About Us" link at the top of the page), but I'll share a little bit about why we are doing this and what we aim to do.

Heavy metal is still widely viewed as a male-oriented genre, despite there being many, many females who love the music and can rock out just as hard as the guys do. Being female fans ourselves, we've experienced our fair share of problems and judgements from people, and we are well aware of the stigma that many people associate with female fans - particularly the ones like us who love to travel around to see our favourite bands with no intentions of trying to hook up with any of the band members, despite what many shallow people think.

Chances are, if you've ever travelled a reasonable distance to see a band and have been lucky enough to meet or hang out with band members, you've been labelled a "groupie" or something similar. I know I have! Truth is, there's a certain dedication and passion formed in a bond between a band and its fans, and people are often too quick to jump to conclusions. We're here to share our experiences, have some fun, and prove those judgemental folk wrong.

Basically, we want this to be a fun place for those women who love to rock out and are proud metalheads. Guys are more than welcome to participate, too, if they so choose! We're not sexist. We don't discriminate here!

We'll also be looking to include as many people as we can in the blog, and we want it to be a community rather than us just talking to you. We want you to get involved! If you'd like to share your story or a particular experience, or you want to be one of the fans that we interview for a future post, feel free to drop us an email or get at us on one of the social networks we've been savvy enough to set up. You'll find contact details in the "Contact Us" tab at the top of the page, but I'll put them at the end of this post anyway just for ease and convenience. You can also find the links to our social media profiles at the top and right-hand side of the page.

In the coming months we'll also be looking to conduct interviews with fans (male and female!) and also some bands. We'll be reviewing shows that we're attending, albums that are being released (or have been released already this year that we really dig) and will be covering various other things related to metal and the joy that it brings! You can expect a few posts a week from us, so if you think this is something you're gonna enjoy, feel free to subscribe to stay updated!

Until next time!

Email
Facebook 

Twitter

Google Plus