Long Live Rock: Celebrate The Chaos

ABRAMORAMA

Caught in a mosh.

It’s difficult to know whether this view from the mosh pit is intended as a documentary on the US live metal scene or a souvenir for the fans. But it doesn’t matter. The film highlights the fans’ tribal and diverse camaraderie, ranging from a corrections officer (aka prison officer) who meets his former inmates at shows, to the trauma nurse who splits her free time between fishing and moshing and still wants her daddy to walk her down the aisle.

Women are particularly empowered by crowd surfing (woe betide any groper who gets caught), and there’s a notably empowering scene of a woman arriving in front of the stage, followed by her wheelchair.

The film is non-judgemental about drugs, but points out that singers – Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington, to name but three – are more at risk than the fans, many of whom are more family-oriented than your average ‘straight’. ■■■■■■■■■■