I Survived Knocked Loose

The joys of hardcore

Grace Bingle

I survived Knocked Loose. On Sept. 29, my life changed and I’m alive to tell the story. Usually, I go to shows alone, but this time I had the joy of going with my roommate and friend, Lily. We took two buses in the cold rain. It was a nice bonding experience. Upon arrival we got our overpriced merch and then tuned in for the first of three openers. The opening acts were Boundaries, Super Heaven, and the solo rapper Denzel Curry, all of whom were solid performers.

During Denzel Curry I got kicked in the nose by a crowd surfer. That hurt pretty badly, but that’s simply part of the experience. Then Knocked Loose came out and literal flames rose from the stage. We were approximately 15 feet from the barricade, and I could physically feel the heat from the flames. The second Knocked Loose started playing, the crowd went crazy. Me and Lily immediately got separated. As a mosher, this was the wildest pit I’ve been a part of. People were losing their minds and getting into fights. During this show I appreciated how the lead singer, Bryan Garris, asked the crowd to stop the push-pit and let the hardcore dancers shine.

Pro tip: if you get tired, just crowd surf to the front to get out of the pit. All in all, I probably crowd surfed five times. It’s fun singing the words to a song while floating on a crowd of people. Music is a beautiful thing. Despite the wicked world we live in, we were able to have a “peaceful” couple of hours. After the show, I was able to say a few words to Denzel Curry before he went in his trailer. I thanked him for representing people of color. As a Black musician, seeing fellow Black musicians in the hardcore scene warms my heart. The night ended on a high note. You know the hardcore show was good when you wake up with a sore body.