Small music venues are usually meant to be places where fans come together to support their interests as well as party with people you know are into the same things as you.

However, when different interests collide between band and fans it can create issues. Hynes, a BCIT student, encountered such conflicting ideas while at an AWOLNATION concert in Riot fest in Toronto.

“I had stumbled into the crowd when all of the sudden the lead singer of AWOLNATION demanded that everyone start crowd surfing, as I turned to leave, I immediately saw a grown man throwing a grown woman at me. My instincts kicked in and my first reaction was to dodge the flailing crowd-surfer and I watched her tumble to the ground.”

This was an emotional moment Hynes as he didn’t know who to blame, AWOLNATION, the man, or himself. Hynes claims that he believed AWOLNATION was to blame as the vibe of the venue was not at all at the level of crowd surfing.

(demalchloride/Imgur)

Concerts and festivals are meant to be places to get a release from your day-to-day and the last thing a concert go-er would want is the dread and embarrassment that Hynes felt that day

Maybe this is just creating the question of should their be a sanctioned crowd surfing area because now Hynes is traumatized and a woman is hurt and probably the man is embarrassed because of a call the crowd surf in a small venue.

Hynes has not been to an AWOLNATION concert since