Concert Violence

Pantera, Slayer, Slipknot, System of a Down…all these are bands. These are bands that have been associated with violent behavior since their inception. Their lyrics incite aggressive emotions, which follows up with fast paced music. These are signs for concert violence. However, the question that needs to be asked is why does this happen. Sure we can say “it’s because the music is loud”, or that “they incite people with their lyrics”, but it doesn’t seem like many people are stepping forward in the general public to explain why this is. The key word is “why”. This can be explained.

Rock music has always been associated with violence. The first rock concert in 1952 (called a Moon Dog Ball), which was organized by disc jockey Alan Freed, resulted in a riot that sent mobs of young people rampaging through the streets of Cleveland, Ohio. Riots, beatings, and stabbings occurred at other Freed concerts. Following a riot in Boston in 1958, rock concerts were banned in several cities and Freed was kicked out of the concert business. Freed, called by Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock "the original Pied Pipe

. . .
These aggressive emotions can be described as being biological triggered emotions as a result of increased

amounts of adrenaline and testosterone coursing through the body. This is described as a form of violence used to release feelings of anger or frustration. Violence at rock concerts is only a single example of a form of violence that cannot be determined to a certainty. Even through the “flower power” age of the 60’s and 70’s,

bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Doors, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, and more, had a monumental influence on rock and roll and how people perceived violence. r of rock & roll," allegedly was the first to apply the term "rock and roll" to Blues-based music. Of course, this does not excuse those people who truly are influenced by the music and raw emotion of being at a live rock concert. Violence, in all its forms can be explained, but can it be truly proven?

. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s website, they have several “signs” of violence. While this probably focuses on domestic sources, who’s to say that people are not influenced by the rock stars themselves? These people are on stage encouraging the spectators to “go nuts”, often with other forms of colorful language. There are so many forms of violence with many different descriptions and combinations that it becomes hard to classify so many flaring emotions under one word. This shows us that violence in rock music is nothing new. With all the biological evidence along with psychological evidence to not only support one another, but to also disagree, this only leads to the conclusion that a more complex theory of concert violence needs to be created. Evidence of this can be collected right off the soundtracks.

Another sign for violence by the APA is that “violence is a learned behavior”.

Common topics in this essay:
Psychiatric Associations, Black Sabbath, System Down…all, Pied Piper, Ohio Riots, Oyster Cult, Alan Freed, Dog Ball, aggressive emotions, rock roll, violence rock, rock music, rock concerts, black sabbath, Encyclopedia Rock, people influenced rock, people influenced, influenced rock, roll people, rock concert, rock roll people, incite aggressive emotions,

Approximate Word count = 770
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Already a member? Click here