And the crowd say...

In his essay 'Sonic Dominance and Reggae Sound System Sessions', Julian Henriques discusses the power of Sonic Dominance in affecting the body and bringing people together. I had the pleasure of experiencing this first hand this weekend as I went to watch Skelmersdale FC in the Unibond North.

Amongst about 300 fans, much of the game was a visually dominant experience bar the occasional shout from the crowd, thud from the pitch or warming smell of hot bovril. But, with the game tied at 1-1 with fifteen minutes to go and the rain beginning to hammer down, something clicked in the stands and we came together to drive Skem on to a 3-1 victory.

The isolated stabs of "come on" became more frequent, husky voices gradually overlapping, subtle differences in accent merging closer together to form a murmur, a whir, a roar, louder and louder, words becoming less decipherable, feelings of warmth, togetherness, belonging, passion overtaking my body.

Suddenly we are furiously banging on the metallic stands, feet are stamping and the noise is engulfing, echoing, tripping, all encompassing. The team begin to find their rhythm, and as the decisive 2nd goal goes in for Skem the banging is synthesised with cheering and screaming, the feeling of complete elation.

It's easy to see how these things can occasionally erupt into violence; I've never even seen the team before but the sound and togetherness of the occasion drove me delirious, noise took control of my body and threw it to the crowd.

For fifteen minutes I was in a sonic bubble, protected, invincible, hidden, no longer self, but an indistinguishable multiplicity living amongst the body without organs of the crowd. This was my heaven.