Fellow Aspies, would it scare you to go to a metal concert?

Post Reply New Topic

"These people" don't scare me.
The fans are as varied in personality as the genre itself,
with lots of distinct cliques and sub-categories.

As for those antagonistic fans with the "f**k you" t-shirts
who use the finger a lot ... meh. I give 'em their space.

I generally avoid bands with lyrics that glorify violence.

The high volume does irritate me. >.<
Even with earplugs, metal concerts are painfully loud for me.

EDIT: Oh! I see you specified Goth metal.
Yeah, in my own experience Goth fans are cool ,
some are rude as a defense mechanism,
but they don't seem like violent ppl to me.

Last edited by Fatal-Noogie on 27 Aug 2011, 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Never been to a metal show. But by scared I assume you mean the crowd and the pit. I was scared to s**t the first time in a punk pit but then it all started up and the friendly comradery of the crush and the music thumping in my chest.... I dunno. There's nothing like it.

I'd go to a metal show. But I can imagine it's a different crowd, with less solidarity and more competition, i.e. more wild punches and elbows in the face. THATS what worries me.

I'm not a fan of metal by any stretch of the imagination. Goths are cool.
I've been to many metal concerts after the neighbor begged me to go because no one else would.

Punk and alternative are more my thing than hair bands and Metallica whom I always thought was overrated and could never understand why so many people like Metallica. I always thought they were crazy.

Be prepared for loads of stinky, headache inducing pot smoke.

Well, I've been to 1-2 alternative rock concerts (both of which were either at an anime convention or as live entertainment at a bar). Otherwise, no. I have very little experience with concerts. Although by and far I prefer soft instrumental music, I am a bit of a metal fan as well. So, to answer your question, the music (or the lyrical content) wouldn't bother me all that much. Rather, it's the decibels. The constant aural bombardment would leave me feeling half-deaf by the time the intermission rolled around. Basically, it would be aural hell. Another thing which would bother me is the mosh pits and the drunkenness. Even potentially being stolen from by the unscrupulous. All of which are things I should adapt to.

On the goth question, my answer is hell no. I love goth people. My first experiences with them were in high school. Throughout my high school years, my family leaned pretty heavily Christian (not that Christians are naturally allergic to goth people). But my sisters came home with stories about people in junior high who were goths (and whom my sisters tried to "convert" to Christians). My youngest sister went through a period where she was nearly a goth (wearing black eyeliner, listening to Evanescence and Green Day, started getting into anime), but she soon withered under the assault of my Christian family members, and today is more into gangsta and party culture (and adores jocks).

I've had nothing but good experiences with goth people. A lot of them were willing to assist with some of my strange f.tis.... (its probably better to leave this for the adult forums, but I left enough letters in that you should get the idea). They were also into anime at a time when I was deeply enamoured with Dragonball Z. Some of them even considered me their best friend. Since I moved to Boise, Idaho, I have seen a lot of goth people. Although it is kind of hard to differentiate between goths and juggalos (since they often dress pretty closely). Some of them frequent my local anime club. Most of them consider me one of them (at least as a fellow otaku/geek). I read the same literature as a lot of them. I have the same distrust of organized religion as many of them. Although I don't dress in black myself, I consider myself at least slightly goth.

I don't understand why people profess such vitriol for Goth people. Most of them are not violent or drug-addicted or bad citizens. In truth, many of them are very bright people who choose to follow a different way of life. You could even say they are countercultural in a way. But, suffice it to say, I do not merely tolerate their presence. I embrace them, see them as brothers, and consider them as comrades in arms. We need more rebels and less conformists (even if paradoxically they conform to their own codes).

Goth? Maybe. I am a fan of ManOWar myself. Metal forever!

Well, I don't like metal but many experiences of that nature can aggravate and overwhelm me. However, I find that sometimes, a strong enough sensory overload, will create a "profound disorientation of the senses," as Rimbaud said, which, rarely, can actually be quite peaceful.

First off, "Abby" is a stereotyped Goth. Many of my friends (and myself) are what most people would consider Goths. We don't have dark hair (one of us is a vibrant red head), none of us would even consider sleeping in a coffin or have a voodoo doll (unless it is just for kicks and giggles), and I don't think any of us actually has a dog collar that doesn't belong to our dogs.

Yes, we dress funny to most people; most of my friends have at least three pairs of Tripp pants (the really baggy pants with a ton of chains hanging off them), and God-only-knows how many band t-shirts. But other than the aspect of clothes and an obsession with Metal bands (Within Temptation is amazing, BTW), we're pretty much normal. We hug our friends, we love dogs and a few of us have dogs, and we are absolutely addicted to coffee and other forms of caffeine (though that might just be the college student kicking in). Most of us are anime nerds as well, and practically all of us read obsessively and debate about our favorite books.

Several of my friends have serious depression (again, myself included), yes, but unlike the stereotypes, most of us don't sit our wrists every other day or write poems about death and dying (that would be in the category of Hard Core Emo). We go to theme parks, we have friends who aren't Goths. Some of us don't even consider ourselves Goth, because that is a label that was given to us simply because we dress a certain way and listen to a specific kind of music. I myself plan on going to a Disturbed & Avenged Sevenfold concert next summer, because I like those bands, and I have a playlist with their music on it; but on the same playlist I have Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and the soundtrack to Phantom of the Opera! We are just like Aspies in that we are misunderstood and therefore labeled and ostracized. Yeah, sure, some of the more hard-core Goths out there might seem a little creepy, but they aren't! We might seem really odd at first glance, but if you talk to us, you might see it differently.

Many of us decided to follow a slightly alternative lifestyle because we had issues with fitting in. By looking different, we were able to find others like ourselves who understood whatever problems we might have. When I told my "Goth" friends that I was an Aspie, they were all like "Okay, so you're different; and we should care, why?" It doesn't matter to them what I act like and no one cares if I start flicking the underside of my thumbnail with my ring fingernail to stim in the middle of a conversation because it is just who I am. Most of them are massive advocates for me; for example, when some idiot came into our hangout on International Autism Awareness Day spouting crap about how "Autistics are just ret*d lazy freaks who don't want to do anything" (our college had had a bunch of tables up about Autism Awareness in the main hall - totally impossible to miss) and I told him "So, because I have a form of Autism that makes me lazy and ret*d?" all my friends (decked out in our Goth best) stood up behind me, giving the guy the evil eye.

NEVER! My brother is always going to Social Distorion and other rock/metal concerts. He says people just start pushing each other and sometimes fights break out. I know the police would be getting involved and I would be arrested for assult if I went to one of these because I freak out if someone accidently bumps into me. If a bunch of people kept bumping into me, I would probably loose it and start biting them. When I was a kid I would actualy kick and hit people if I got bumped in line or if someone brushed up against me.

I want to wear stuff like spikes and dog collars but my parents won't let me. I want to have a meerkat tail and even full meerkat costum to wear now and then but my parents won't let me do that either becuase it isn't "normal". I remember wanting to wear spiked braclets as young as five becuase I wanted people to stop grabbing my arms.

I've known more than a few goths and I don't recall ever meeting one like that. I don't understand what you mean by "look scary," either.

This is an explanation: http://www.goth.net/goth.html

As is this: http://www.what-is-goth.com/

As is this: http://www.gothicsubculture.com/

What it was for me: People I liked, clothes I liked, music I liked.

The goths I met were not that extreme. They have piercings and maybe a tattoo, black eyeliner, black clothing, black lipstick, black fingernail polish, black car, black purses andblack cats.

Mostly they have a love affair with the color black.

I had black eyeliner, black clothes, and a black cat. Also piercings, but no tattoos. I still want to get tattoos. I got really obsessive about learning to apply eyeliner.

My black cat was a gift from my mother, so I'm not sure he counts. I always have black purses, but I'm not sure they count since they're not very decorative. I try to insure they're big enough to carry books.

I had black hair for three months, and by then enough washed out that I had reddish black hair and it looked even better.

The whole crowd at a Within Temptation concert won't necessarily be filled with goths. There will be a whole array of people in attendance so you won't feel like the odd person out if you go. There's certainly no obligation to dress goth/emo/in black.

The mosh pit is not mandatory either. Some concerts even make use of the seating, like Tool for instance, but they're best enjoyed while seated as they put on a visual show more than anything (just sit back in your seat and take it all in).

I personally love concerts. The people there have similar interests as me (as in the kind of music we listen to!). Since I usually go to concerts of groups from the 70s and 80s, there are older people, which are much easier to make conversation with than people my age.

Plus, the music is different than the studio version, it is sooooo cool listening to that pure, unedited sound that proves the professionalism of the musician creating it. Sensory overload may not be some aspie's bread and butter, but I live for the combination of loud music and flashing lights, there's almost nothing like it. But, again, concerts with older people were much better because the crowd produced a strong roar of experienced concertgoers as opposed to the shrill screams of teenage girls.

It wouldn't scare me, but it sounds like a loud, chaotic event that I wouldn't enjoy. Lots of things are like that for me: I have absolutely no problem with the people, but the environment in general just blue-screens my brain. There's just no way you can figure out how to communicate when your reasoning abilities are on vacation like that.

I do like to go to see classical music performed, or musicals. Sometimes even that gets too loud--opera-style stuff is a BIG offender, especially sopranos who are way too proud of their high notes--but mostly, people who perform that kind of thing are more into precision and expression than sheer overwhelming volume.

I've only ever been to one concert. Steve Vai. I went with my brother who is an obsessive guitar player.

I like live music but I prefer it in the comfort of my own home via DVD or video tape.

Nah.

I've actually been to a couple. Saw several metal bands at Soundwave this year. I had a f*****g ball.