Thread by @I_Ailurophile, (CN/CW: indirect discussion of COVID-19; social anxiety)We got an early glimpse of [...]

(CN/CW: indirect discussion of COVID-19; social anxiety)

We got an early glimpse of this with news of the first post-lockdown concert held in Arkansas on 18 May.

I& #39;ve had a somewhat tenuous, on-again-off-again relationship with live music in my life, and I have some thoughts. https://twitter.com/metalsucks/status/1263543004717088769">https://twitter.com/metalsuck...

https://twitter.com/metalsucks/status/1263543004717088769

Up until I graduated high school, the number of live events of any kind (concert, play, musical) that I attended is stuck in the single digits (IIRC). It wasn& #39;t until after college that I started really getting into it. 2011 was the peak, when I averaged one event every 4-5 days.

At the height of the days when I was going to shows, I needed it, & loved it, & needed it. At that point I thought there could be nothing I wanted more (except maybe, you know, hanging out with my cat/s). Even when considering a more selective number I get to, I love them all.

Despite a brief resurgence in the past couple years, after 2013 my calendar dropped off precipitously. Life got busy, I was dealing with things, and I altogether kind of fell away from the scenes, websites, and anything else I would keep up with to even track shows and tours.

I had 5 events coming up later in 2020 before lockdown:
1) the rest of Pittsburgh Opera& #39;s 2019-20 season was canceled
2) Maryland Deathfest XVIII is postponed to next May, but I find that a bit optimistic
3) Roger Waters& #39; North American tour is postponed, not yet rescheduled

4) Migration Fest III rescheduled to Oct 2021. It *could* happen--but new circumstances make that questionable--if the venue, a local pillar, is even still around by then
5) Rammstein haven& #39;t yet officially rescheduled/postponed their N. American stadium tour, to begin in August

Now here& #39;s the thing. I struggle with social anxiety. People I know, fine, but strangers/acquaintances less so. The more, the worse.

It& #39;s a bit of a strange contradiction that in the past I& #39;ve had little issue with going to shows. Because for me, it& #39;s not a social environment.

Sure, massive crowds of people are ... not great, but when I& #39;m at shows, I& #39;m there for the music/performance. If it& #39;s crowded, sweaty, hot, I can deal, as long as there& #39;s no expectation to interact with people around me. If I can get lost in the crowd & stay focused, I& #39;m good.

Now, in the past I& #39;ve been to a few shows that were not well attended, the venue mostly empty. Tbh those were worse than the biggest crowds. Despite the artists& #39; best efforts, there was no energy in the room, & worse, every single person who WAS there stood out like a lighthouse.

(There& #39;s a reason I& #39;ve never been to a house show.)

Which brings us back to expectations of live events for the foreseeable future. It sounds very much like a mirror of those few low attendance shows I& #39;ve been to in the past, a place that& #39;s deeply uncomfortable for me. "Never say never," but be that as it may... I think I& #39;m done?

Experiences with social anxiety vary from person to person, but for me, there& #39;s little worse than a huge crowd of people--yet one of those few things is standing out like a sore thumb because there& #39;s very few faces around to look at or deflect attention.

I was ambivalent about going to Maryland Deathfest next year even before COVID led to this year& #39;s event being rescheduled (they say, presumptively). For a few different reasons, I figured going to this year& #39;s festival would& #39;ve been my last hurrah. Now, last year& #39;s probably was.

Especially for rock, metal, or punk there& #39;s a level of interdependence between crowd & artist. A roiling, surging, moshing audience feeds off the band, & vice versa. As some metal luminaries have reflected, social distancing at an average metal show is about as feasible as seats.

COVID will greatly impact all live performance, but that& #39;s especially true for a genre already on the fringe both artistically & financially, bands barely scraping by for their passion, depending largely on small, indie venues that also must be packed to make any event worthwhile

And, look: Art is good, and needed, and necessary. I have before and certainly now want to do everything I can to support the arts, the organizations behind them, the artists who create and perform, the venues where events are held.

That said...

For several reasons, I was already of the mind that after this year I& #39;d likely cut back (even more) on live events.

Now?

......

As a note, discussion here & in articles like the QRT has focused around live music--not theater. Though changes are very much in store there, too.

Anyway, this is all a bit presumptuous. There are reasonable expectations for what we& #39;ll see in the future, but it& #39;s far too early to actually tell at this point. I can only speak for myself, and again, I& #39;m not exactly a social person to begin with.

FWIW, check in with your local theater & arts organizations for how you can support them--& the artists THEY support--while they& #39;re shut down. Support small indie artists & creators online, many of whom rely on conventions that are cancelled; most have a Patreon or some such.

Check in on your local music venues and promoters, especially the small indie ones that don& #39;t have ties to Live Nation, Ticketmaster, etc. Many have active fundraisers for staff & upkeep, & many belong to @nivassoc in an effort toward financial support for these small businesses.

I don& #39;t really have a conclusion. This is more a minor collection of thoughts then anything else. So let me just end this thread by saying STAY HOME, you jerks, and WEAR A GODDAMN MASK.

Stay safe, everyone

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Red heart" aria-label="Emoji: Red heart">

Latest Threads Unrolled: