I enjoy their experimental style but underestimated how much I liked the band. I was hit by a wave of adrenalin and euphoric rage in the first three songs (SIC, Eyeless, Wait and Bleed, the first threee songs on their first album) and made my way from the saftey of the back to the middle of the "Pit" area.  Later "Before I forget" and "Surfacing" tapped unseen energy reserves, and I was inspired to do more than watch. When I saw Prong and Static X I enjoyed them but didn't have this physical reaction. #1 Credit to Jeannette for coming to the concert for "Valentine's Day." She followed me to the pit and at the first sign of mayhem said, "I'm outta here." Then I looked back and she re emerged, she moved to different areas trying to find the safest spot and best point to view the band. Finally settling on the back of the pit 2-3 people behind me. Overall Grade "A+" for energy, performance and interaction with the crowd. -Best rock concert performance I've ever seen was AC/DC in Madison Square Garden 1982. White Zombie had great effects at Nissan in the mid 1990s. Other good concerts I've seen include, Gypsie Kings, Supremes, Temptations, Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Black Flag, Prong and Paul McCartney and Wings (1976). But the energy of Slipknot was second only to AC/DC, a HUGE compliment really. (I did NOT see Funkadelic or Parliament in the early 80s... my only musical regret) They moved well and the lead singer did not lose his voice. -Three drummers, never seen that in a metal band before (Butthole surfers had two-a brother and sister, Test Dept. and Einstruzende were metal percussion bands) lot of power. The band had 9 people on stage. Adherence to the 4-piece band is weak. Rock fans pretend to be rebellious and tough while violently sticking to the Guitar-bass-drummer-singer format that is decades out of date. Slipknot tries diffferent line-ups with each concert. -Slipknot got the crowd to lay down for the final song, not at all easy, in a crowd full of defiant disaffected people, who listen to defiant music. Many audience members refused to kneel down... some of these people had o be "helped"' down. I participated in "convincing" one of them. Mainly I wanted to see what the band had in store. At a signal the band and the crowd jumped into the air, or flung each other as high as 10-15 feet into the air for a gargantuan full-audience mosh. Incredible burst of energy. The build up was tremendous. -Getting the entire audience to raise middle fingers for "Surfacing" was somewhat more easy but visually effective. Especially as the main lyric to the song begins with the letter "F" !!!!!! Important, there were NO lighters held up in the air, or cell phones as people often do for metal ballads. Thank goodness!!!!!!! Time to bury all of that mid-70s concert garbage. Nothing "Mellow" about the show. Grade of "B" for  technical innovation, lights and effects. -A piston turned the drummer unside down for the final song "Spit it out." Never seen that before. The other effects were relatively common but well done. I think Baltimore is a little out of the way for some bands, so we didn't get the royal treatment for effects, so the band had to carry things with their talent and energy. Crowd, "A-" for participation. -Nearly the entire crowd knew almost ALL the lyrics to ALL of the songs, they were into it. -There was a LOT of angry people but none of them turning it on each other outside of thrashing... nothing personal -Mosh pit was full of HUGE steroid eating muscular guys, lots of serious-looking skinheads. -They did a good job of helping each other up after flattening each other.  -One guy picked up my "old Style" mosh and added it to his dance -Lots of girls in the pit. One got flattened, looked painful, she got up and kept going.  -Big guys eascorted women to an from the pit to make sure they were safe. One minus, a lone skinhead raised his hand in a nazi salute and goose-stepped through the pit and no one nailed the f#cker. Mosh pit damage I'm too old to do too much damage these days. I'm not dancing to every song in the middle of the pit as I used to. My plan was to stand on the edge of the pit and fend off the bone heads as they came crashing in. The back of the pit allows you to: 1. Have the best view because the moshers clear out people in front of you. 2. You can see them coming and brace yourself in a way that you can't standing up front. I leapt into the air at key moments during songs and bounced up and down like Muhammed Ali throughout most of the show. With the final three songs I was finally overtaken by primal urges and made my way to the middle of the pit, with a little help from the two hardcore girls behind me who pushed me out. My shirts came off for the encore  I think it was "Surfacing," "People=Shit" and "Spit it out." Not sure. I caught an elbow to the face, but it hurt HIM more than me, The kick to the shin was a little worse, will need some ice. Dropped a few pounds so it was all worht it. Fans, "A" Good "people watching," 1-Goth Lesbian couple kissing a lot, girl with red hair, incredibly big, pael legs, with a tiny leather skirt on. 1-Hot chick showing her tits. 3-Latin American metal fans (MS13 started asa group of Salvadorans going to metal shows) 1-Totally bulked out black skinhead going toe-to-toe with the white guys. 1-African American Middle aged ex-skinhead with a middle aged white woman in the pit. T-Shirt sloguns A Great negativity, "God will not Save you." "Trample the weak, Step over the dead." "Slipknot, All hope is gone tour."