One more casualty of COVID-19: Live musical performances.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

- especially choral music or opera and other musical theater, because singing blows the viruses everywhere. And the same is probably true of instruments that require strong breathing, e.g., brass instruments. According to this article there probably won't be any such performances - not even of choirs in churches - for a couple of years, or until there has been mass vaccination or immunity. At some point there might be an improvement in the technology for internet meetings like Zoom but right now there's too much lag to make rehearsals or live performances possible. The composer Eric Whitacre is doing a thing where you can record and submit your part of a piece he's written and then he puts it all together for the final "performance" but that's not practical for most groups. If you're a musician this is just one more shitty, depressing thing about this epidemic (made exponentially worse by Trump's criminal negligence). While it's certainly not as bad as being dead, it's just something else to add to the list of things that suck. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/05/09/choirs-may-have-to-remain-silent-long-after-society-reopens/?fbclid=IwAR1_oQt8b5_tieKJjwIE-Xo4a43snU8vNw9jBD2fh6lSjFt-ezVIfZVgRO0#

[bbernardini]

1. Yep. I'm getting hit as both a musician and concert-goer.

I've had a number of gigs with my wedding band postponed until later in the year. I was also supposed to go see both Alison Krauss and The Residents (not on the same bill) earlier this month, but they were both rescheduled as well.

[tavernier]

2. Had tickets for over a year to see a really great Queen tribute band

in my old hometown and plane and hotel reservations, etc.
That was last month, canceled of course, but moved up to September. Whether it will be canceled again and moved, who knows, and will I really want to get on a plane in September? Oh well, maybe someday. Don’t know if Either ticket will be reimbursed. The airline did give me a year to use the ticket, but that too is an unknown.

[Initech]

5. Yeah I had trips to Canada and Hawaii planned before the pandemic.

Both of those got canceled. And I really wonder when / if I will be able to reuse those tickets. The airlines gave me until next year but yeah that's an unknown too.

[Lochloosa]

6. I feel for you. Had 4th row seats for the Stones in Dallas.

Postponed, but I don't see it happening.

[Initech]

8. I was supposed to go see System Of A Down 2 nights in a row.

Instead that show got canceled and probably postponed to next year. Hell I had tickets to shows all the way through October including Hamilton, 311, Nick Cave, Dave Matthews, Green Day, Phish, and Deftones. I don't see any of those happening this year. And like I said, I am done with live shows until we get a vaccine, and I love live music as much as anybody.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

15. Wow, some great shows there

I was supposed to see the Chicago musical this Friday and Jim Gaffigan at the end of the month. Both shows are cancelled and not even rescheduled. I was going to take my son to see Jurassic World Live. It was supposed to be a surprise. I guess it is a good thing I never said anything about it to him, because that was also cancelled. At least he never knew about it, so he's not disappointed. Other shows have been rescheduled to the end of the year, so we'll see if those actually happen. Last live music show I saw was X Ambassadors in January and they were excellent. I saw modern dance group and a really impressive magic show in February. The last shows I saw were some local comedians and then the Portland Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of March.

[Initech]

16. I went to Vegas for 311 Day this year.

I was literally at the last concert in the country before live music shut down for good. Hell I was in Vegas the day they shut down the Strip. That was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I hope that when I get to go back to the next 311 Day, which will most likely be 2022, live music is back for good and it won't be the end of the world.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

22. I hope so too. :) n/t

[Lochloosa]

18. That was some nice shows. I also missed Phil and Friends at Suwanee Rising in April.

[winstars]

24. See you there in 2021 most likely...

[Lochloosa]

28. Fingers crossed.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

11. Funny, I have tickets to see Queen tribute band in August n/t

[tavernier]

14. Which one?

Almost Queen for me.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

19. One Night of Queen

Don't know much about them, but seemed like it would be fun to see them. n/t

[RussBLib]

3. revive the drive-in theaters!

Put a band on the stage in front of the screen, build a riser if you need to. Project the band on the screen. Everyone comes in their cars and stays in their cars while they tune in to the performance on Sirius or FM radio.

Voila!

[Initech]

4. Hell no.

I'm just flat out not going out until we get a vaccine or this pandemic is over. I am not paying money to watch a show from my car on a screen. Shit, I might as well watch it on Youtube.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. That doesn't help the musicians, though.

They still have to rehearse and perform together, and even maintaining 6' of distance won't help much, especially if any of them are singing or playing wind or brass instruments. My post had to do with the musicians themselves, who would be putting themselves at risk every time they rehearsed or performed.

[jmg257]

9. The union roadies will likely be happy, and the lighting and sound and staging companies.

Like closed plays, Lack of concert touring is bad.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

10. Hey, fellow Mainer

Yeah, this is depressing. What is Janet Mills going to do about the performance venues in Portland? I am still hoping some of the shows will go on. I have some tickets for August through November. I would be very bummed if those venues went out of business. Portland and life in Maine would never be the same without them. Life without live music and comedy sucks, IMO. Just simply being alive sucks without social interaction. The web/virtual stuff is bullshit.

[Initech]

12. Yeah I really wonder what would happen if live music returns and no venues?

It's not Staples Center and the Disney Concert Hall that I'm worried about. I'm worried about the smaller venues like the Troubadour, the Roxy, the Palladium, the Observatory, etc. All mom and pop venues that are struggling right now.

And yeah social distancing really fucking sucks. I can't wait until there's a vaccine. Virtual concerts can bite me.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

21. Portland, ME is all about the small venues.

There are lots of them there. I love Portland so much. It is a fabulous little city and those theaters are at the heart of what makes it a great place. The whole economy of Maine is going to be crushed by all this quarantine stuff because it is very dependent on tourism.

[Initech]

44. So does it here in LA.

Yeah we Staples Center, the Greek Theater, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Forum. But then we have the smaller venues like the Roxy, the Troubadour, the Observatory, the Palladium, the Key Club, the El Rey, and so on. And you can't get to the big venues if you don't play the small ones first.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I'm not from Maine, but MN. The situation is the same here, though.

The shows won't go on because the musicians can't rehearse without putting themselves in danger. I belong to a small choral ensemble and we haven't been able to even rehearse since our last concert in February (an April concert had to be canceled). I don't know when we'll be up and running again but probably not for all of next year.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

17. You posted a Press Herald link, so I thought you were from Maine.

I have some family connections to Minnesota. My mom was from there. Used to visit there as a child a lot.

[Yavin4]

20. Stand up comedy is dead as well.

Cannot have people laughing in a small enclosed room.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

25. I love stand up too.

Quite a bummer.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

27. Dancers and any sort of live performance artists are all negatively impacted

It is a real bad time for the arts.

[Yavin4]

30. Art galleries as well.

The complete human devastation of this virus is hard to comprehend.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

40. Yeah, although I think they might have an easier time re-opening the art galleries

and just limit the number of people in there to a time as the grocery stores are doing.

[Tracer]

23. Most of my customers are in the entertainment business.

Performances, concerts, comedy, conferences etc.

And they are all done. Cancelled. Finished. Out of business.

And so am I.

When performers depend on an audience or a company depends on attendance and that can't happen, it puts many, many people out of work.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

26. Sorry to hear your business had been negatively affected :( n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Folks are complaining about having to miss concerts, and that's regrettable,

but this post is really about the musicians themselves. The professionals and the people who support their work - like you - are unemployed, and even the amateurs have lost something of great importance and joy in their lives. There is currently no way to restore the ability of musicians to rehearse and perform in groups. Maybe the technology that supports apps like Zoom can be improved to make that possible, but as of now there's no way we can keep doing what we were doing. It's very painful, and not just financially.

[dsc]

29. I am the board chair of a gay men's chorus in NC

our season runs from Aug to June so we had one concert in Dec. and were going to have one in June. Of course no June and now we are facing in all likelihood no season next year. At least thanks to an amazingly successful year last year we can survive this but it is devastating and frankly I don't know how many gay and lesbian choruses are going to be killed by this but likely many. When your chorus exists for reasons over and above singing, the loss leaves you grief stricken.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. I hear you. I'm on the board as well as a member, of a small choral group

that had a pretty successful concert in February and had another scheduled for April, which of course was canceled. Right now we don't know when we can regroup but I'm sure it won't be for a long time. Fund-raising is always tough for performing arts groups, and when (if?) we do start up again there will be fierce competition for whatever meager funds are available through grants and donations. There is a gay men's chorus in this area that's been around for years and they are quite good. I hope they make it through this. I hope you, and we, do too.

[dsc]

35. Yeah fundraising is going to be brutal

just think of the outrage over the Kennedy Center money in the first stimulus bill and you can see what is likely to happen. Only saving grace will be demand for live music should be through the roof when we finally can do so.

[2golddogs]

32. I was so excited...

Rammstein in August. It’s a small thing in the scope of what others are losing, I keep reminding myself. Prob no Key West in late June, just holding out hope for Maine in late September. Again, I know others are losing so much more. I miss live music a lot, though.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

42. Wow, Rammstein

Where were they going to be playing?
Were you going to be visiting Maine in September? I'll be there then because I live there, LOL.

[Initech]

43. Yeah I had tickets to their LA show.

I've wanted to see Rammstein forever, now I will most likely be watching Youtube videos of Rammstein until we can see them live again.

Also I had tickets to Motley Crue and Def Leppard. I was really looking forward to seeing the new Rams stadium this year.

[2golddogs]

46. Initech

Those sound like great shows, Motley Crue is high on my list of bands I’ve never seen and would like to. When you get a chance to see Rammstein live you will not be disappointed. I saw them a few years ago indoors here at the Philadelphia Flyers stadium and it was fantastic.

[Initech]

47. Oh man I have wanted to see Rammstein live so badly.

Same with Nick Cave. And of course the one year I think I get to see both, this shit happens. I guess like many other things it will have to wait until next year or whenever there is a vaccine.

[2golddogs]

49. Oh wow,

Nick Cave too. You did have a good year planned.👍🏼

[Initech]

50. Had a good year planned.

I love live music and I go to a lot of shows every year. This has just wrecked me. I had shows all the way through October. Whenever it's safe to go to live shows again I will definitely be taking advantage again.

[2golddogs]

51. Me too

The best thing we can do to support all the things in this thread is to jump in there and buy tix and patronize as soon as shows and performances and galleries start up again. Go to the big shows and also see the local live bands and buy a little merch. I’ve been looking around at merch online lately too, just to spend a little money with the artists.

[Initech]

52. I've been trying to support my local record stores for the time being.

I'm worried about their future too. They're just as important to the music scene as the music itself.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

54. I love live shows too

We just started going to them in the last couple of years now that our kids are older. I'm always looking out for good local shows to go to.

[2golddogs]

45. ZZZ

I think this whole summer Rammstein tour is outdoor venues. Our tix are for the Phillies stadium in Phila. It’s a nice stadium and we have pretty good seats, as far as I remember. Mr. Golddogs has never seen them live, so it’ll be a great show for him to see them go hog wild with their pyrotechnics outside.

As for Maine, a coworker and I have rented an RV and we’re gonna tour our way up to spend time with relatives of hers in Lubec. It should be fun, we each have a large young rambunctious dog to bring on the trip. Lol, we may never be invited back. I’m hoping by then life will be normal enough that we can still do this trip.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

53. Lubec

I've never been that far downeast before, but I was thinking about going over there some time soon. I've been as far as Schoodic Point, which is quite impressive if you go there during high tide on a day when the waves are big. I was actually going to go over to Lubec, then to Campobello, check out New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, but probably can't go to Canada this summer with the quarantine business. If I go that far east, I'd want to be able to spend some time in Canada too, so probably another year.

Have you checked out Acadia National Park at all? Schoodic Point is a part of the national park even though it is not on Mt Desert Island. One of my favorite things to do over on Mt Desert Island is to do the hike to Bar Island at low tide. You just have to give yourself enough time to beat the high tide on the way back. Also, Thuya Garden in North East Harbor is really nice and there is gate in the back that leads to a trail up a small mountain with ocean views. Asticou Azalea Garden is right near Thuya Garden and also very nice. Just some things worth checking out if you are in the area (and if it is allowed at the time).

[2golddogs]

58. Oh wow...

Thanks so much, it’s like a little jackpot of new ideas. Closest I’ve been to anywhere near Lubec is Old Town so it’s all new to me around there. I’ll def pass these places on to my coworker for things we can add to our itinerary. She grew up on a farm and is really into flowers and birding and things like that, the gardens you mention jump off the page as things she’d love.

[FakeNoose]

33. Tell me about it!

I have tickets to James Taylor and Jackson Browne who were scheduled to play in Pittsburgh on June 16th. I didn't spend a fortune but these tickets aren't cheap either! Now the concert is postponed indefinitely. Ticketmaster won't give a refund unless the concert is cancelled - so of course they're never going to do that. It's going to remain postponed indefinitely while they hang on to everyone's money. When it finally does get rescheduled - maybe next year (who knows?) - watch it be on a date that doesn't work for me. Then I'll be screwed both ways, I'll miss a great concert and I won't get a refund.

If you resell your tickets, they keep the transaction fee and then they charge you a 2nd fee for the resale.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. That's a shame; hope you get a refund, but my main concern is with the musicians,

almost all of whom will be out of work for the foreseeable future, along with everyone associated with producing their performances. They can't even rehearse together, let alone perform. Even amateurs will be losing something of great importance in their lives.

[FakeNoose]

38. Yes I sing with a small chorus of mostly older folks

We've had no rehearsals or concerts since mid-February and no plans to return until the fall or next year.

My friend is a guitar player who used to play regularly at open-mic nights with his friends. They're all amateur musicians older "hippie" types, but quite good. They entertain themselves and anybody who comes to the bar for open-mic. So these have all been shut down of course, just like the professional musicians as you have pointed out. It's truly a shame. I'm thinking this way of life is all changing for us older folks.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

39. Yes, it sucks in so many ways - for both performers and audiences.

The only positive thing I can think of is that there will be a lot of pent-up demand for live performances in a couple of years, so the musicians need to keep practicing as much as they can - but it's tough to do that if your gig is in a group.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

41. My experience with ticketmaster has been that they are good about issuing the refunds

but you'll probably have to wait a bit. It takes about a month after the show has been cancelled, but they'll e-mail you and automatically issue you the refund. If they reschedule and you can't make the date, you can also request a refund. Basically, they are waiting to hear back from the organizers on whether the show is cancelled. It isn't up to ticketmaster. I think some of the organizers are waiting for as long as they can to see if it is possible for the show to go off. They might not cancel or reschedule until a couple weeks before the show. You can get refunds for reschedules though. I know I have a had one reschedule with ticketmaster and they ask if you would like or money back or if you can attend the rescheduled date. Don't worry. You won't be paying for a show you can't go to.

[bluedigger]

36. I saw an interview with The Liberal Redneck a couple days ago.

As a stand up comedian, he has no expectations of resuming his career anytime soon. Hard to do stand up without a packed crowd in a small room.

[MotorCityBeard]

48. Oh hell, this is one that hits close to home

I'm a big Broadway musical fan, and my partner has never seen a musical on stage. Since we got this extra money from temporary unemployment, my first thought was we can FINALLY afford decent seats to see a live musical. And Frozen is coming to Detroit in August! That would be a great introduction for him (although I would love for him to see A Chorus Line) as we both loved the movie.
Then you hit that stop.... wait a minute, do you really think by August they'll be able to pack a theater for a Broadway show? I don't think that'll happen and I just think, "Well, shit..."

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

56. Yeah, I love Broadway musicals too

I try to go to Broadway tour shows whenever they come to my area. Last one I saw was Waitress in January. I had tickets to Chicago and that show was supposed to be tomorrow, but that's cancelled of course.

[MoonlitKnight]

55. I have tickets for a bunch of concerts

Elton John
Ozzy
Stones
Guns N Roses
And Genesis was kicking off a reunion tour.

Would prefer that they all go ahead and cancel as the money is more useful now. At least Ozzy canceled just prior to the pandemic due to health reasons, so I got that refund.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

57. Funny, I had tickets to Ozzy too

The show was supposed to be last year and then he delayed it to this year and then cancelled it.

I did not know Guns N Roses was touring. I would love to see them. Elton would be good too, but I bet his tickets are pricey. I doubt either of them would have had shows in my area.