The fiance and I went to Mayhem a few weeks back and had Pit tickets. While I'm not a big guy, I always enjoy a good mosh pit, but what the hell is happening? The two main stage bands I would have expected to have the most action, Slayer and Slipknot, where severely disappointing. Don't get me wrong, Slipknot put on one HELL of a show, but at least half of the people in the pit had their

ing cell phones out for the majority of the set, snapping pictures and taking video. A few people would start shoving, and the others would get pissed because their potential Youtube video was getting messed up.
I see no problem with taking your phone/camera out every so often, snapping a pic or two, putting it away and actually enjoying the show, like we do, but this shit is ridiculous, especially when they get pissed because they got bumped into.
This moshpit was outshined by much less "hardcore" shows, such as Flogging Molly and Social D. One other interesting correlation is that the good pit shows were indoor venues, while the crappy ones were outdoors. Coincidence? Who knows.
About seated venues, I agree that I don't waste my time unless there is a GA/Pit section. If I wanted to sit comfortably and listen to music, I'd stay home, sit my ass on the couch and crank the stereo. We've only gone to one show where we had a VIP box, (Marilyn Manson) and that was only because the guy we got them from was selling them for less than GA. The only perks we used were the VIP Parking Pass and the VIP entrance, and we sat in the box for the opening act before going to the GA for Manson.