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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Rock Fist Dos and Don'ts

Posted By Kiernan Maletsky on Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 10:33 AM

Do, obviously. - ALL PHOTOS BY TODD OWYOUNG

All photos by Todd Owyoung
Do, obviously.

The rock fist is a tradition as old as time -- or at least as old as the fifteenth century, when it was used to measure the distance between positions on the tenor trombone and also to ward off bad luck. At least according to Wikipedia, but Wikipedia also veers off pretty quickly into ball-grabbing and later asserts that it was used in Chicago and Cleveland during the '50s and '60s to mean "bullshit" [citation needed], to which we say, "Bullshit."

Regardless, it definitely means, "Thank you sir, may I have another" when you are at a rock and roll show, which the attendees of Mayhem Festival last weekend at the Verizon Wireless Divot were. Photographer Todd Owyoung was there to capture the many shades of rock fist, and we present to you this handy guide to the symbol's etiquette. Though I don't know why you'd follow our advice. That's not very rock and roll.

Do: Crowd surfing + rock fist. Excellent. Bonus points because his wristband (bracelet?) says "Fuck" something. "Fuck Off," hopefully.