together PANGEA: small CROWD means BIG responsibility

It’s March 18th, a mellow Sunday night, and I have decided to venture to Cornerstone to see a band that goes by the name together PANGEA (yes, the grammar is intentional). Even though the show is at a bar and I’ve recently gained the newfound independence of being a 21-year-old adult, I decide I’m going to take it easy — I don’t need alcohol to have fun.

My friends and I are excited about the moshpit — we’ve been looking forward to this show and have prepared accordingly. Natalie Silver is in her trademark mosh-ready french braids and Sofia Duarte (Editor-in-Chief) is sufficiently nervous about getting hurt; in other words, we had high expectations for the evening. I run into a few people I know, so I know the show is going to be pretty packed. As we enter the venue, I feel my stomach drop. Four words: too much open space.

this is a collage of the open space as you can see

We all know the feeling: maybe you’re at a house show, you look around and realize that you’re one of the five people there. You tell yourself that it’s okay, because you’re kind of early and people will probably trickle in. An hour passes and you realize that this is it. As 20% of the audience, you possess a unique responsibility to yourself and to the band. The future of music and live performance in itself is in your hands, and you know that it is up to you to start the pit.

You then realize something else: in order to make this happen, you’re going to need to drink. Fast.

We stumble to the bar and begin the laborious process of binge drinking. Natalie spent 30 minutes perfecting her mosh braids, and it would be disrespectful to ignore the integrity of the french braid by not starting a pit. I’m bummed out because there’s so much space that I can make distinct eye contact with every single individual in the room, and that’s just weird. I suggest to numerous people that we all sit criss-cross applesauce in a circle and introduce ourselves/talk about our feelings, but no one seems into it, so I get another beer instead. At this point, there is so much space Natalie is doing snow angels on the concrete floor. There are so few people in the venue that the WOMEN’S BATHROOM has NO LINE and EVERY STALL IS UNOCCUPIED, something completely unheard of in the history of humanity.

natalie as a snowflake

[i dont know why but it makes u download it im sorry i hope its worth it]

By the time together: PANGEA takes the stage, we’re amped up. The situation may not be ideal, but we have taken it upon ourselves to be The Life Of The Party, The Saviors Of The Pit, and The Protectors Of The Band’s Self-Esteem. Once the first song starts (and no, I don’t remember what it was, I was busy being drunk), we jump higher than we’ve ever jumped before, thrash like we’ve never thrashed, and push like our lives depend on it. Starting a mosh pit in a room with 20 people is not an easy task by any means. It’s more of a 12 Step Process in the gramatical spirit of together PANGEA:

drink HEAVILY
accept THAT no ONE will BE into IT at FIRST
prepare FOR INJURY
mosh NOW
personally CALL out PEOPLE that ARE not MOSHING
push THE people YOU called OUT in STEP 5 into THE pit YOU have FACILITATED
help UP people THAT fall DOWN
scream LYRICS if YOU know THEM and IF you DON’T just MAKING loud SOUNDS that ARE similar TO the SONG will DO
instigate A WALL of DEATH — contrary TO popular BELIEF this CAN be DONE with A MINIMUM of TWO consenting PATRONS
enjoy THE fruits OF your LABOR
mentally JERK yourself OFF as YOU realize THAT without YOUR presence the SHOW would HAVE been LAME
when THE show ENDS you SHOULD go HOME with A BLOODY nose AND sufficient LEG bruising IF you DID your JOB right! pat YOURSELF on THE back AND prepare TO do IT again NEXT WEEK

Starting a pit at a show that may not have sold enough tickets protects your night from being shitty, but also the band’s. Nothing hurts more than playing to a shitty crowd with no emotion. As the set continued, me and my friends found ourselves making demands to the band, ranging from “PLAY HEY JUDE!!” to “CIRCLE PIT CIRCLE PIT CIRCLE PIT,” none of which were met. At first, I was resentful of together PANGEA — after all, my friends and I were firsthand responsible for making the show fun in any way, so how DARE they deny us the right to a band facilitated circle pit???????? Then, I took a deep breath and realized they probably just wanted to go home. Touring is very exhausting after all.

I’d like to applaud together PANGEA for continuing their set as usual. Even though you could tell that they may have been disappointed by the empty room, they put a lot of energy out there, including an encore. Although there may have not been enough people in the room for anyone to stage-dive, the band members stage dove in spirit, and that’s what matters. This concert was a learning experience for me and everyone around me, and I have a newfound appreciation for artists that perform regardless of the maybe less-than-ideal circumstances.