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

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I love the band Within Temptation and I'd love to go to a concert some day but the presence of so many people makes me uncomfortable. I must also admit that while I like that sort of music I am not necessarily a fan of the whole goth & dark subculture. Perhaps because I don't fully understand it, we're afraid of what we don't understand, right? Maybe someone can explain to me what they're all about and why Goths dress like that? Maybe they're not as scary as I think? I mean the crowd, not the band.

Anyway, Aspies have you ever been to a concert like that? Would you? Would it scare you? Are you scared of Goth people?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyy0fT4Jus0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7N2ko10vs[/youtube]

PS: Any other Within Temptation fans here?

Scared isn't exactly the right word, but you'd have to pay me quite a bit of money to get me to go to a metal concert.

Well Within Temptation is... Symphonic Metal, it's not just growling, did you listen to the clips? She has a beautiful voice and... An orchestra!

There's many kinds of metal really. I myself don't like the more hardcore stuff.

I just don't understand the whole point of going to a concert. How am I supposed to enjoy music when it's too loud and there's people everywhere?

The bands sing slightly different versions of the songs during concerts, sometimes even very different from the studio version. That's why many people go I guess. Others go with girls I suppose or try to pick up girls after concerts... Anyway I've only been to a 60s music concert.

Of course...Metal is awesome, I have already even been to a few metal concerts I would say Heaven & Hell was the best, because nothing beats a band with Dio doing vocals.

I've only seen AC/DC in concert (with King's X opening). Heavy metal is, however one of my favorite musical genres.

Afraid of goths? I was a goth in the 90s.

Scared wouldn't be the right word for me to use either. When I go see local bands I get nervous and overwhelmed when I get to the show but the music makes it worth it. A good concert would be the one place where my social anxiety and noise sensitivity would not really bother me.

So what exactly are goths?

There's the stereotypical image of the Girl with black clothes and hair, inverted pentagram and cross necklaces, scars from cutting her wrists twice weekly, the poems about dating dead people, the tattoos all over, the satan worship, the desire to scare people, the piercings everywhere, the leather jackets, the violence...

Maybe you can enlighten me because many of them sure 'look' scary. But then I'm sure it's like Wiccans who are actually really nice people, right? What is the philosophy behind it?

The people themselves would not scare me for being gothic; it's seems to me these types are often more accepting than others. They just like dark things but they are not necessarily 'dark' people.

But the fact that there are so many people and the music will probably be very loud would keep me from going, I think.

I went to see "King Diamond" in concert two different times. His music is very satanic, so does that make it goth?

Most people, Aspie or not, are at least a little nervous the first time they go to a metal show (at least general admission ones with the big pits anyway). However, the second the opening band comes on stage, chances are exceedingly high that you'll just lose your s**t like everyone else and any anxiety is pretty much obliterated.

That's the beauty of metal shows. IMO, nothing in music compares to the electricity right before a good band starts playing.

Electrified Aspies dancing like they're possessed? Is that even possible?

Heavy metal is not my thing. And yeah, goth people do scare me.
"Abby" on NCIS is goth, for those of you who are wondering what goth is. She has the dark hair, the weird clothes, and a dog collar around her neck. She sleeps in coffins and has voodoo dolls. But she's not completely goth, because she also hugs her fellow co-workers, likes dogs, bowls with nuns, and drinks coffee. What's that about?

It wouldn't scare me, but it would hurt my ears, and it's not my kind of music even when it's not too loud.

You don't find it somewhat hypocritical to be scared of someone just because they are different, even though you are an aspie which inherently implies being different and what many NTs would find 'weird'? I'm not saying gothic people are born gothic or that being gothic is a neurological condition, but I think there is a more abstract similarity to be drawn. To me it seems people with AS would be used to being that 'other' person, and may be more willing to not hold things that are different about others against them just because they are different. But I suppose it wouldn't be the first time that what seems right to me isn't really the case.

Unless you are superstitious and believe voodoo dolls actually do something, then I suppose I could understand the reaction.

Also, I'm confused why you brought up having "the dark hair" in your list of gothic traits, or why you think gothic people can't hug, like dogs, bowl with people who aren't like them or drink coffee? Is this sarcasm?