High Tension: "The pit is not an area to be opportunistic or an open invitation to violate"

If like me, you were at the Deafheaven show in Melbourne on Friday night and saw High Tension's set, then you may have noticed the incident of a male punter groping a female audience member halfway through their set.

Obviously, that kind of thing is NEVER okay and the band's vocalist, Karina Utomo, called the guy in question out on the night, right before he was told to bugger off by her and others in attendance. Now, I didn't see the culprit in question again after that incident, so here's hoping that he did leave The Corner Hotel, as he was more or less public enemy number one at that point.

More recently, on behalf of the Melbourne-based band, Utomo penned a lengthy but well-worded post through Facebook about the importance of safety at shows, and how these incidents hurt the metal/hardcore community and make it a place of fear rather than one of acceptance. Check it out below.

"TW: Intolerable pit behaviour

First show with Deafheaven and Hope Drone on Friday night was well-attended by a diverse and discerning audience; I felt that sense of celebration of a cross-section of metal. I am disheartened to address that it was overshadowed by a shitty incident and sadly one that is not an anomaly.

A member of the audience was groped by another member of the audience during High Tension's set. We are appalled that this gross behaviour still continues at shows. This behaviour will never, ever be tolerated.

This gross behaviour oppresses not only the persons being violated but also oppresses other metal fans. How are we meant to feel safe and respected when attending shows when we are constantly fearful of putting ourselves at risk of being violated? By continuing oppression of others you are stunting the growth of the metal community, you are breeding fear and affirming the bad experiences of other metal fans that are more vulnerable. Do you ever wonder as to why the attendance of women and members of the LGBTIA community at metal shows is almost always a mere percentage? Even though a love for metal / aggressive music is NOT exclusive to men?

Every person deserves to enjoy the show from the barrier, from the pit or from any area of the venue. The pit is not an area to be opportunistic or an open invitation to violate.

How are we meant to achieve progress when a number of individuals do not understand this very basic common decency? Still?

My upmost respect and solidarity to the metal fan who addressed the personal violation that happened to them during our set. You took control and you spoke out. You may not know this yet, but your action last night gave every person who have had a similar experience, every person who have ever been fearful, reluctant to enter the ''pit"... your action gave them a voice. You are one of brave few and I am sorry that you were exposed to such a gross act. Unfortunately it has happened to a lot of us. Unfortunately the gross behaviour you experienced is not uncommon. Unfortunately when these incidents occur, it is shocking and we don't always feel comfortable to address it immediately. But you took action and faced confrontation. Thank you for not being afraid to speak out. You prevented them from trying it on another member of the audience.

We succeeded in getting this person, who thought they would not get caught groping another audience member kicked out. This person truly had no idea of how to be respectful of others and did not deserve to participate anymore. I can only hope that this person is reflecting on the negative impact they caused, that they will change their behaviour. In retrospect we wish we could have done more than assist in kicking them out of the venue. Calling that person out during our set was not enough. I wish that we could have them acknowledge that what they did was unacceptable and held them accountable for their actions.

I've been asked multiple times on my own vulnerability. The utter trust I feel every time I am engaged with the audience is supported by the fact that I always have a microphone in my hand, my voice is amplified for that 30 minutes where I feel control. This is not the case for every audience member, some more vulnerable than others and without a mic. I fear of similar incidents when members of the audience cannot speak out and these incidents go unnoticed.

Thank you to the other members of this audience for not tolerating this person's actions. Crowd accountability is crucial to keep everyone safe. Look out for one another and remember everyone's experiences matter.

Discussing this with my band mates, and also in light of a similar incident that occurred only last weekend at Camp Cope's show - It is clear that it is a bigger conversation that we should all have. We want to make shows a safer experience. Hammel had a brilliant idea of organising a proper discussion to address this issue. We will be inviting fans of metal / aggressive music specifically to share their experiences and offer their ideas / insights. We hope to do this in the coming weeks. We have some ideas on how we may be able improve the safety of our fans and make our shows feel more inclusive, because frankly, we can't believe this shit is still happening.

- Karina, on behalf of High Tension"

I couldn't have said it better myself, honestly.

However, one look at the comments section of that post and you'll find many fans and punters, male and female alike, sharing such experiences with these creeps while attending shows. Which is just a damn shame that this is still so common in our scene.

Likewise, I'm very interested to see what the band mean cook up with "inviting fans of metal / aggressive music specifically to share their experiences and offer their ideas / insights", that could make for a great topic of discussion among the fans, promoters, the media and band alike, for how to handle this issue going forward.

So please, stay safe out there people. Help each out when you can, because if you see something - say something! Got it? Cool!