Meet Me In the Pit w/ SYDNEY
Ableism loves to tell us where we do and don’t belong, but that decision should be yours.
When I first started going to shows in my chair I was anxiously looking for advice from other chair users. Here's some from an intrepid concert fan. Conducted over email due to a lack of spoons on the part of the interviewer.
Hello! Can you introduce yourself a bit! You're a really dedicated concert goer. What kind of music do you go see, how many shows have you seen this year?
SYDNEY: Hi, thank you! I’m Sydney, I’m 19, and I’m both disabled and a very dedicated music fan, determined to prove that those two things can and do coexist. Concerts are my primary hobby and music is a huge part of my daily existence.
I’m always listening to music (writing this interview in my headphones), at a show, or working on my record collection. I collect setlists, guitar picks, and signed records. I go to all kinds of shows - and being so into live music has hugely expanded my tastes - but most of what I see is somewhere in the indie rock realm, and almost always female, non-binary, and/or queer musicians. I’ve also gotten into other fun things in 2022 like hardcore & hyperpop. I saw a grand total of 47 shows last year alone! I want to beat that record in 2023.
Can you also let readers know anything that feels important to you about your disability?
SYDNEY: I have a genetic disability that has been progressing over time (as well as other chronic illnesses) that affects everything - but especially my joints, muscles, nerves, etc, and I’m autistic. I’ve used all kinds of mobility aids in my life and now use a power wheelchair full time, as well as my service dog Wish (she’s a Golden Retriever) to do pretty much everything I can’t or find difficult - picking up dropped objects, helping me take socks and jackets off, opening and closing doors, flipping light switches, pushing door opener buttons, and more. She’s a smart girl! Wish doesn’t come to shows if I’m in the pit, but has been to a few where it’s safe for her in the seats or separate accessible seating (and in her hearing protection). Otherwise, I use a “service human” in the form of a friend or my mom.
What kind of chair do you use?
SYDNEY: I use a power wheelchair. I also think that being a power wheelchair user enables me to go to shows and be up front in a way that is not available to (or easy for) all wheelchair users, since I have an elevating seat, so I can get eye level or even a bit taller than the people next to me. I have a manual wheelchair with power assist that I use only when absolutely necessary since it’s physically more difficult for me - I get tired faster, my baseline level of pain is much higher, I can’t do even half as much, I’m shorter in it, etc.
Where do you usually sit at shows?
SYDNEY: I half-jokingly say that I’m a “front row or don’t go” kind of person - you will almost always find me in the pit, at the barricade, front and center. Usually if I’m anywhere other than the front row, I either wasn’t able to buy a pit ticket because they sold out too quickly or the venue was discriminatory and tried to prevent me from being there because of my wheelchair. Or, I did intentionally stay further back from the stage at a hardcore show recently because I can’t really mosh in my powerchair. (I totally would, but I don’t want to get tipped over or accidentally squish toes. Hahaha.)
What advice do you have for other wheelchair users who want to go to shows? I only recently started going back to shows because I got my chair, but it can be really intimidating to think about taking a chair to the pit.
SYDNEY: I think it’s important to check in with yourself and ask yourself what you want to do for seating and shows. I’ve met lots of wheelchair users who find what I do exciting, and just as many others who find the idea of being in the pit or on the floor scary, or simply not something they’re interested in. Both sides are valid, and the whole point of my advocacy these days - and in this space specifically - is for the right of choice. Really, I just want us as disabled music fans to be given the same amount of choice that abled people get, but I am in no way suggesting that the pit is right for every wheelchair user.
Just as an abled person doesn’t have to be in the pit because someone like them enjoys that experience, the same goes for us! Disability is so individual.
For the pit, you need to consider many things: how big is the venue? Are you ready that if you’re in the pit, you will not be able to leave it during the show, and it will be very crowded and tight? Are you ready to be pushed and bumped accidentally by other fans (especially dependent on the genre & artist you’re seeing)?
If you do want to be in the pit, I also strongly recommend researching and/or contacting the venue in advance and making sure that there are no physical barriers to you being in there and that the venue does not have a policy against you doing so. Even though those policies are discriminatory and technically illegal, we still live in a time where they are unfortunately out there. On the other hand, many venues welcome me to the pit/floor and remember me!
I am lucky to say my positive experiences far outnumber the negative ones. Smaller shows are generally easier as well, I will say that I don’t really do arena shows or stadium shows. The biggest shows I go to these days are for Florence + the Machine.
Lastly, if the venue has a barricade (the metal fence between the stage and the crowd that generally comes up to a standing person’s chest), you probably won’t be able to see over it in a manual wheelchair. Venues that have a barricade should be able to offer you an alternate accommodation if this is your situation (such as seating you in front of the barricade off to one side, or a separate accessible section). I have done two shows in my manual wheelchair where there was a barricade, and I was able to see just enough, but this will vary from venue to venue and individual to individual. (If you want to be behind a barricade in a manual wheelchair you also have to be prepared for the fact that you must be front row to see. Many venues will let you in first if you ask.)
You mentioned doing advocacy for disabled people's right to be at shows, can you talk about that?
SYDNEY: Yes, I spend a lot of time talking to venues, staff, managers, etc. about accessibility and our right to the floor. Because I often line up to get a good spot in the pit, it gives me time and I will really talk to anyone at the venue that will listen! I always make friends in line as well and my advocacy usually comes up- I think educating our peers is important too.
I’m currently working on pressuring two of our venues in town to fix those policies I mentioned earlier that keep wheelchair users out of the pit for no good reason, and when I’m talking to venues I’ll explain the importance of having an accessible seating section separate from the pit and an accessible floor. If walking people get to pick between seats and the floor, we should be able to as well! The only reason that venues still have accessible seating but no accessible floor (or won’t allow wheelchair users to the floor or pit) is plain ableism, and the assumption that we are less worthy of autonomy and independent choice, or the assumption that we don’t deserve an equal experience. Society often does not view us as people, even subconsciously.
Any etiquette advice for non wheelchair users at shows when they’re in the crowd with someone using a chair?
SYDNEY: Honestly, use the same etiquette that you would for a walking person! I had a frustrating experience in the pit at Beabadoobee in December where people felt they could lean on me or grab onto my push handles, which isn’t at all appropriate. How I explained it to people later, and how I still explain it now, is that the same things that are okay for a walking fan are okay for a wheelchair-using one. Accidental bumping or pushing is understandable absolutely, and I won’t be mad, but treating me like furniture isn’t. My armrests are for me to rest my arms on, not strangers. It’s like leaning on some standing person’s shoulder in the pit… you just wouldn’t. My wheelchair is my body, and leaning on me makes me incredibly uncomfortable at best and could damage my (expensive, custom) wheelchair at worst.
Aside from that, just talk to us normally and don’t make weird disability jokes if you’re a stranger (but you can also laugh at my jokes if I do make one, I promise!). I can always tell when people are speaking down to me, or are surprised to see me, or are amused by my presence in the pit as if I don’t deserve to be there. Just talk to me like you would if I were a standing person, I promise I’m nice and would love to talk to you about anything music related!
Anything else you want to add?
SYDNEY: I would encourage other disabled people to try out anything that interests them and see if there’s a way they can make it work. Ableism (both our own internalized ableism as well as the more obvious societal ableism) loves to tell us where we do and don’t belong, but that decision should be yours. I’ve always loved music and concerts, but only started going so frequently and being up front and advocating for my place there when I randomly had the opportunity last spring to be front row. It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t have even known I love that experience (and eventually learned I love being front row and in the pit at all kinds of shows) if I hadn’t just tried it. Whether it’s at a concert or anywhere else, you deserve to be there if you want to be and you are allowed to take up space both literally and metaphorically.
Showing up to a space especially as a visibly disabled person is a powerful act of resistance, and I’m proud of every disabled person reading this and finding their place in the world.
Originally published in print in Cripple Punk Mag 3, March 2023.
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