THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210085
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
``We want all the guys in the pit to yell `TESTOSTERONE!' ''
``TESTOSTERONE!''
``And all the girls yell `ESTROGEN!' ''
``ESTROGEN!''
The celebration of youthful mosh pit energy came courtesy of the Caulfields, one of several co-headliners Saturday at modern-rock radio station WROX's outdoor 96X Fest next to Strawberry Banks Motel. The cheers, which drew an appreciative chuckle from at least one woman near the back of the large field-turned-concert venue, were followed by the band's vigorous cover of the '70s Captain and Tennille hit ``Love Will Keep Us Together.''
Near where the woman stood, several hundred yards from the stage and the pit - sort of a '90s dance floor, for practioners of crowd-surfing and moshing, a variant on punk-inspired slam dancing - a few bodies were stretched out, eyes closed, apparently sleeping, somehow lulled by the sound of guitars at 100-plus decibels.
They were a tiny minority, though. The rest of the audience, which promoters numbered at a sold-out 4,500, was crowd-surfing, moshing, walking, talking, eating, drinking, kissing, playing hacky-sack and checking out members of the opposite sex. Almost everyone hung out in the heat for more than six hours to catch the day's final act, British grunge outfit Bush.
Largely in their teens and 20s, they provided an equally eclectic display of current and timeless youth styles - tattoos, baseball caps (worn backward and forward), goatees, baggy jeans, and an endless array of T-shirts ranging from Kurt Cobain memorials to one carrying the simple plea ``violets not violence.''
One of the youngest people in the mass ignored the music. Brad White of Virginia Beach was at Strawberry Banks to hear the rap-metal group Phunk Junkeez, but his 14-month-old daughter Susan was content simply to smile and toddle around in her flowered dress and matching sun hat.
``She's not into it, dude,'' White said.
Some slightly older females were, though. Kempsville High School junior Jamie Ferguson entered the pit during the Caulfields' set and came out exhilarated, a believer in rock power.
Had she been nervous?
``Yeah. Oh yeah. I screamed.''
``You were?'' asked bystander Liz Mumm, a junior at Bayside High.
``Yeah,'' said Ferguson. But, she added, ``the guys, they care. If you fall, they pick you up.''
Mumm said she felt a sense of kinship with her fellow alternative-rock fans.
``I feel it's more laid back. I think the people are more laid back. Everyone's out to have a good time.''
``It's good, healthy fun,'' Ferguson said of her adventure. ``I've been trying to tell my parents that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Crowd-surfing was one activity enjoyed Saturday at the 96X Fest
outside the Strawberry Banks Motel in Hampton. A sold-out audience
of about 4,500 came for a day of alternative music.
by CNB