I still have tickets from shows that were rescheduled from last summer. According to Biden, Fauci et al - it could be until the END OF THE SUMMER before the masses have been vaccinated. Knowing three people who have died from Covid (many others who have survived) I, personally will not sit in a room or amphitheater with thousands of people. I'm equally uninterested in sitting and wearing a mask for 3 hours.
How do y'all feel about this?
I'm w/you. I was optimistic earlier when my group was scheduled for late January. Now, it's late spring & there are plenty of generations after me. I'm wondering if it won't take all of 2021.
I've heard pretty much every one I've wanted to several times & although I enjoy hearing new musicians, I'd rather take a long trip to some big open space after spending a year in an apt w/a daily walk.
I saw TTB Feb 2020 (before Covid scare), and that was the last show I saw prior to mid Dec when I saw socially distanced show in small theater with Allman Betts Band. I'm looking forward to getting back to my local tavern to hear local musicians and have a few beers. It's been since last January 2020. These days I'm much more selective on bigger acts 'cause I've seen most everybody I've wanted through the years, and many of my favs are playing music up in heaven. Once in a while I'll catch someone that interests me.
My wife and I made the trip to see TTB in Macon last January, and haven't gone to a concert since. Also had been putting a band together, and likewise haven't played music with anyone else since last February. I'm content to wait, it's just not worth the risk.
In recent months there have been a number of outdoor concerts in my south FL town, mostly regional bands. I give the city credit, they built pods to keep people relatively separate. Meanwhile, bars with stages have been carrying on as if nothing is happening since last fall or so. So as case numbers keep going up I can hear the concerts from my backyard. While I'm glad local musicians and bar staff can make money, I'm not feeling the rush. Most musicians I want to see and hear aren't back on the road anyways.
My own personal pity-party aside, the virus has pretty much killed the music industry.
The entertainment industry - including concerts, sporting events etc. - generates an incredible amount of cash flow. Conservative estimates of $30 BILLION dollars lost so far since last March. I had tickets for several major shows last summer. A few have auto-refunded (Rolling Stones). I still have tickets for a Ringo Starr & Allstars show from last June rescheduled for this coming June. Ringo is about to turn 81 ... I don't know how many reschedules he's got left in him.
Worse (for me) is the local level. Some of those bar stool strummers make a good portion (if not all) of their income from these local gigs. I live in a tourist area where hospitality/entertainment account for a good bit of the local economy. I know several who have been playing local gigs as their real live, sho-nuff job for many years. Most have managed to make comfortable livings this way. While there are still a handful of clubs that are still open - the people are just not coming out like they use to (signs of reason and sanity). The tip jars are shallow.
Then there are those acts who were about to make their first steps towards the big time. They put time, effort and money into producing an album (CD, etc) ... and now, have no means of promoting it. Many die on the vine.
I wonder if the government is attune ("in tune" would've been a noticeable pun) to this issue.
I take my aunt to get part one of her vaccine this Saturday. Locally, these events have turned into flusterclucks. Even with scheduling, masses seem to arrive at the same time. Sometimes, they actually have the vaccines on hand. I'm hoping that this doesn't turn into a spreader event - especially since I am not old enough to get the vax myself. At 18 I wanted a fake ID to buy beer ... at 63 I want a fake ID for a Covid vaccination.
I'm getting daily e-mails from TicketMaster and others touting upcoming shows. I'm not pulling the trigger on any of them until I've had my shot(s).
Sorry about the rant. I don't have much else to do on a rainy day under Covid house arrest.
I'm getting daily e-mails from TicketMaster and others touting upcoming shows. I'm not pulling the trigger on any of them until I've had my shot(s).
One of the guys I play guitars with is a project manager with Ticket Master. He told me how badly the revenue is down. He also has told me about several rounds of layoffs into the hundreds (maybe a thousand or more). Can't remember the exact number but a sizeable portion of staff. Several PM's in his same position have lost their jobs. Luckily he still has his.
I'm a huge concert goer. I'm hoping for a return by September, as I have several shows scheduled for that time, including a festival I'm flying to. I won't go to any big shows until I'm vaccinated. After that point, I'll be comfortable myself in going, even if not socially distanced.
I had a handful of shows get canceled last year, all of which were refunded. Except we chose to keep tickets to Chris Stapleton which was April 2020 rescheduled to April 2021. I'm not making any decisions on that right now although I don't know why we didn't just take the refund when it was available and buy again if we wanted to closer to show time. Think my wife said "oh we'll go April next year" - yeah, I'm not bringing that up right now.
Last show I was at was March 2020 at a stoner rock show at Westside Bowl Youngstown. It felt weird being there. I remember somebody yelling to somebody else "I don't have fcking covid" and everyone was thinking 'ah man this shit is out there and I'm not really sure about all of this'.
