Written and photographed by Robin Ervolina
Oh Attila ... no, let me start over.
Oh Robin, what the hell were you thinking when you decided, "Let's go into the Attila photo pit. It will be fun," she said, "a great privilege to capture their energy," she said. SHE can kiss my ass, repeatedly.
Maybe I should start from the beginning.
It's a Thursday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fl and The Chaos Tour featuring Attila, Chelsea Grin, Emmure, and Sylar role into town. What could go wrong? I strap on the camera and head out to get metalcore wasted.
Opening the show was Sylar who were just ... adorably down to melt faces. I don't know how else to put it. They were so metal, but so damned chill. There's a great vibe and energy from these guys. I also appreciated, wholeheartedly, the little (well, it wasn't little) practical joke that occurred toward the end of their set. It's NSFW so put on your big girl panties and make sure you're logged out of the office wifi.
It's a challenge at Revolution Live to keep a crowd hot due to the zero tolerance policy on crowd surfing, but Emmure picked up the torch and stoked the flames. It's not even halfway through the night and there is a lot of sweat and missing shirts in the circle pit.
After a brief break Chelsea Grin took the stage. I've heard about wildfires, and how the heat sucks the breath out of everything before the flame consumes you. That's what happened for me, my first time seeing Alex Koehler. There were a lot more missing shirts, but mostly from the girls on the rail this time. I can't judge; Koehler's voice is perfection and his stage presence is intoxicating.
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From a spark to a flame to a fire ... let's just burn the whole place down, Attila, shall we? Standing in the pit, shooting six feet up (seriously, Revolution Live, can we do something about that ridiculsouly high stage) I'm feeling the heat. The first song ends and my spirit animal Fronz stands front and center and says, "First rule at an Attila show: there are no rules. Where are my crowd surfers? I want to see every motherfucker IN.THE.AIR!" This is the "Oh shit" moment that I ignore. The smoke alarm is beeping and I think it's just a dead battery. I move to the side to catch a few crowd surfers in my view finder, and I think, "This could be good." It was with that powerful positivity that I found myself airborne briefly, then solidly on my ass in a pit slimy with spill-over beer from eager front rail attendees. Look, what I know is I was taking pictures, then I both felt AND heard by camera smashing against the stage just prior to feeling my head contact the iron railing behind me. It wasn't until I got home that it all made sense. Please don't mind the fact that I shot through it. It's what I do.
This guy ... this first brave crowd surfer ... this is the villain in our sidebar. Tag him. He owes me a shot. Take that any way you want.
Note Chris Linck in the background. Hindsight: If you're not going to watch where you're standing, watch what you're shooting.
Note the security guard ... and that guy
Thanks Bro.
Ground control to major ass. Kids, this is what it looks like when you keep your finger on the trigger while being pummeled.
The author of this article would like to take a moment to thank Fronz and Linck for running to the stage to make sure I was okay, and for pointing me out to the crowd, who actually rushed into the pit to help me up and OUT. I will forever be in debt to some seriously cool metal heads, and to these guys.
At this point it's obviously time for me to get the hell to high ground. I make my way through the amoeba that is the pit, losing one of my photo buddies in the process when his camera strap became a leash for an overzealous mosher. (Chris the look on your face as you got sucked into the mob was like something out of a sci-fi movie).
I limped to the bar and bought myself a well-earned shot. Checked out my gear and it was thankfully intact and functional (thanks Nikon and Tamron). I admired everything in front of me and around me. As much as I loved shooting Attila, I didn't belong there with a camera. Attila is a time to let go, and their shows are for their fans who rose to meet them spiritually AND physically. It was peace and love and metal, Baby, just the way I like it. Just ... like, from the bar, you know, as a professional courtesy.
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