I've never thrown sticks into a crowd...
But anytime I play in a place with a really high ceiling like at least 20 feet or so, or outdoor, what I do like to do is to toss a spinning stick as high as I can straight above my knee where I'm sitting, without hitting the ceiling. Or outdoor, just as high as I can. Right from the throne. Then catch it when it comes down, yeah.
Which doesn't always happen ha ha. I do that like one time a night maybe two at the most, between songs, in places with really high ceilings. Just to stay in practice. It's all about getting a dead straight spinning toss, perfectly vertical.
I'm not nearly good enough to do that while playing, but that would be badass looking if I could