Stage diving, headbanging: An encore explanation of inexplicable rock traditions – National
Where did the term “rock’n’roll” come from? What’s the difference between “rock’n’roll” and “rock?” Why are many musicians so short? Who came up with metal’s devil horns gesture? And why is there always some idiot in the crowd yelling “‘Freedbird!’” when it’s not a Lynyrd Skynyrd show?
Let’s pick up on that theme with more handy and useful explanations.
Why do bands insist on the charade of the encore?
We’ve all seen it. A band goes through their set and then disappears with the houselights still down while the crowd goes crazy, demanding more. What about the big hits they’ve yet to play? Surely the gig isn’t over yet.
We know they’re coming back. The band knows it’s going to return. So what’s the point?
The encore is a tradition that goes back to at least the 18th century, a time before there was recorded music. The only way you could hear your favourite music was to wait for an opportunity to attend a concert where someone would perform it for you. Once the performance was over, the audience shouted, “Encore,” which, of course, is French for “again.” Others would yell “Un autre!” (“one other”). In Italy, it was common to yell “Ancora!”
Whatever the case, this was a demand by the audience (and the performer’s wealthy patrons) to play the most popular bits of the gig again. And back then, these exhortations didn’t necessarily come at the end of the show. Sometimes, the audience would demand a re-play right in the middle of the evening.
Encores weren’t always appreciated, though. There was a period when some European opera houses banned encores for being too disruptive. Emperor Joseph II of Austria, a big Mozart fan, was one of the first to make such a ruling. Encores were also banned in Italy and Germany. This meant that as time went on, cries of “encore” became something you only heard at, shall we say, less prestigious events. By 1900, the encore was considered uncouth.
But when rock arrived in the 1950s, the tradition was revived. Why? Probably because excitable audiences just didn’t want the gig to end. It was also a spillover from Broadway performances when a well-received production would necessitate the actors/singers to return to the stage to take an extra bow.
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The tradition continues today, although many acts — Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Elvis Costello among them — refused to do it. But chances are, the next show you attend will have an encore. Or two. Or in the case of The Cure, up to five.
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Yes, performer ego plays into this as they look for additional validation. Other times, it’s part of the show. After a long set, a break is required so the artist can return to play their biggest hits with renewed vigour, ending the show on a high note. As annoying as some may find them, encores are here to stay.
Who came up with the idea of headbanging?
If you’ve been to a hard rock or metal show, you’ve seen enthusiastic fans bobbing their heads violently in time with the music. The origins of headbanging can be traced to the 1950s during shows by Jerry Lee Lewis. The curls on his head came loose with sweat and fall into his face. He had to continuously flip it back so he could see what he was doing. This became something of a signature move and fans started imitating him.
We can also point to a 1969 North American tour by Led Zeppelin. Between Jan. 22 and 25 of that year, the group played a venue in Boston called The Boston Tea Party. During the heavier parts of the shows, fans down front were seen banging their heads on the stage in time with the music. A year later, Zep was back in London and it happened again. The front row collective banged its head on the stage.
Moving deeper into the 1970s, there’s filmed evidence of both Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler headbanging during a Black Sabbath show. It also showed up with Angus Young and AC/DC a few years after that.
Finally, if you talked to Lemmy of Motorhead, he would say that the term “headbanging” came from the name of his band, which he called “motorheadbanging.” That must have hurt; some of their songs reached 200 beats per minute.
Whatever the case, everyone in hard rock and metal was headbanging by the 1980s. Doctors began to note injuries from strained necks and whiplash to damaged carotid arteries and even neck fractures. Medical literature records the case of a 50-year-old German man who presented with a headache that just kept getting worse. He was eventually diagnosed with a large subdural hematoma. Doctors drilled into his skull, removed the clot, and he recovered. What caused it? He’d been to a Motorhead show a month earlier.
Terry Balsalmo of Evanescence, a serious headbanger during shows, threw a clot and had a stroke. Tom Araya of Slayer headbanged so hard that he ended up with back problems that required spinal fusion therapy. Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine thinks his spinal stenosis was caused by years of headbanging. And Jonathan Davis of Korn was diagnosed with immune, thrombocytopenic purpuria, a blood-clotting disorder that, if left untreated, could have resulted in a brain hemmorhage had he continued to headbang. He would have died on the spot.
Let’s be careful out there.
Fine. What about stage diving?
There are two types of stage diving. The first is when the performer leaps off the stage into the crowd. The second is when a member of the audience clambers up onstage and then dives back into the crowd.
Of the former, there’s debate over who did it first. It might have been Jim Morrison of The Doors sometime between 1967 and 1969, but there doesn’t seem to be any filmed documentation of this. We do have footage of Iggy Pop taking dives from as early as 1969.
As for crowd participation, the first documented evidence of a fan taking a leap off the stage was at a Rolling Stones show in The Netherlands on Aug. 8, 1964. Fans were said to have jumped on the stage and immediately jumped off. That was so long ago that we didn’t even have a name for this activity yet.
Over the years, this has become the thing to do at many shows, especially those by punk and metal artists. It can be fun, but there are many instances of terrible injuries, ranging from paralysis to death. Here’s an example.
On Nov. 13, 1997, Everclear was playing The Paradise, a venue in Boston. There was stage diving as usual, but then three members of the New England Patriots — quarterback Drew Bledsoe, backup quarterback Scott Zolak, and 300-pound lineman Max Lane — thought they’d have a go. Lane landed on 23-year-old Tameeka Messier, crushing her. She suffered injuries to her neck, shoulders, and arms. Two herniated discs were removed and three vertebrae had to be fused together. She filed suit against the Patriots, the band, and the club. In the end, she received a settlement of US$1.2 million for pain and suffering.
Got a rock thing that needs explaining? Drop me a note at alan@alancross.ca.
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