For festival beginners: What does the commonly heard term 'dive' mean?

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• Festival-loving girlMizuki Imae
  I got totally hooked on BUMP OF CHICKEN after my best friend introduced them to me in junior high, and that’s when I woke up to music. In high school, a senior led me into the world of melodic hardcore, and I fell for it completely. Heavily influenced by the boyfriend I was dating back then, I’ve been a huge fan of 10-FEET from then until now. After graduating from my days as a hairstylist—spent staring down wigs every day—I now work staff for studios, live houses, and wedding sound, spending my days hunting for new bands. Despite being out at festivals and shows all year round, I’m still a hopeless kid who can’t even do a two-step.

What does “dive” mean?

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It’s especially common at live shows by rock bands, as well as hardcore, metal, and punk bands.The act of an excited fan rolling over the top of other fans (i.e., crowd surfing)This is exactly what is called a 'dive.'

A person who is diving is called a 'diver.'

It's a kind of performance, and you often see it at festivals and live shows.

Not only fans, but sometimes the artists themselves dive onto the fans.

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Danger! Many venues prohibit diving.

Q.

I dove and ended up injuring someone...

A.

Stage diving and moshing are extremely dangerous activities and are strictly prohibited.

While the organizers will make every effort to prevent such behavior, please be aware that the organizers, venue, and artists accept no responsibility for any accidents, incidents, injuries, etc. resulting from activities such as diving or moshing.

Please ensure that any issues are resolved strictly between the parties involved. The organizer will not be involved in any discussions or problem resolution whatsoever. Thank you for your understanding in advance.

TranslationFAQ – SUMMER SONIC 2017

Moshing, stage diving, and other dangerous activities are prohibited.

Citation: Festival Important Information | FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

As a fundamental premise, Dive is rolling over people.

In other words, if you try to do it in a place where people aren’t crowded together, it’ll end up falling where there are no people, which is quite dangerous.

If you don’t land properly, it can lead to serious injuries.

Furthermore, even if I’m fine, I might end up causing injury to someone else.

A common issue is accidentally kicking people who are just watching the show, or breaking things like their glasses.

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Even if diving is a way to express excitement, you must not forget that it could cause trouble for someone.

These days, injuries and damage have become more common, and many venues have banned stage diving altogether. Please enjoy the show with that in mind—follow the venue’s rules and remember that you are fully responsible for your own actions.

Situations where dives occur

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I used to wonder, too: “How do divers roll over everyone like that?”

There are two kinds of divers.

First, there is a person who, while still being carried on someone’s shoulders, rolls forward just like that.

Another one islaunch padA person who is launched/fired by someone called (X).

The person referred to as the “launch pad” is often tall and well-built. The person who wants to dive asks that person for permission, then borrows their back and rolls forward off of it—that’s the basic idea.

The timing for dives varies depending on the song, and there are also songs where you shouldn’t dive at all, so please be careful when diving.

Also, never forget that injuries to others are always a possibility, whether at a live house or an outdoor festival.

History of diving

According to the English Wikipedia, as early as the 1960s Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison (The Doors) were already diving into the audience.

The major catalyst for diving to become as widespread in Japan as it is now was probably the mid-1990s.Hi-STANDARDThat it sparked the popularity of many punk and melodic hardcore bands, among others.

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In recent years, Hi-Standard’s “AIR JAM,” and Japan’s first full-scale outdoor festival,FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL」「SUMMER SONIC” or “ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVALAs the number of festival-goers such as these has increased, terms like 'mosh' and 'dive' have become more familiar.

It seems to have become so established that people are even saying, 'Diving is dangerous, but I'd miss it if it were gone!'

Lastly

In recent times, as the number of festival attendees has increased, you may be hearing the term “dive” more often, but diving is a dangerous act.

Keeping “personal responsibility” in mind, let’s create an environment where both you and those around you can enjoy music comfortably.