J and I like to go to concerts. In 2019, we went to 5 different shows during the summer. I’m grateful that we went to so many shows last year since we probably won’t get to go to any this year. But that didn’t stop us from watching shows online. My uncle and cousin have a band and they also released their third album in April. They were all booked for an album release party at the Hard Rock Café, but of course that was cancelled. But that didn’t stop them from performing their show. Their basement is set up like a concert hall, complete with all musical instruments, stage, rock memorabilia on the wall, and a pub table. They continued to promote the show as an online through Facebook live show and even though it was half the band playing, they still put on a great concert. My aunt did the video for it on her phone and they played about 10 songs. Afterward, they did a little question and answer session with their fans. It was fun! While I still love going to concerts and dancing around like a fool, online concerts have their perks too. The beer was cheap, and the bathrooms were clean and stocked with toilet paper. There were no sweaty guys pushing in from of me to get to the mosh pit. I did miss dancing around, singing and clapping though, but that was ok. We’ll get back to shows soon.
At the end of July, my cousin released her first album and had an online show as an album release party. She played four of her songs from her new album on a Facebook watch party. It was just her playing the guitar and singing and it was a bit more mellow than the show they did back in April. It was nice to watch this show online and, in my opinion, fit the online space well. She did a great job performing and giving shout outs to all the people involved in helping her produce her first album. While I think we all missed the clapping at the end of each song, the awkward silence was becoming normal by the second song. Most of us posted the clapping hands icons in the comments after each song. She also did a question and answer session after her performance. It was lovely to see her preform and just to see her. We haven’t been hanging out with anyone very much during all this, so it was nice to her face.
My uncle made short videos of him playing a guitar riff every day during quarantine. He made 39 videos and stopped the day our governor moved us from the red phase to the yellow phase. It was like J’s goalie in quarantine videos, he would post one every day. Check out his top 11 guitar riffs here. He and my cousin also did two outdoor porch concerts. They took all their gear out to their front porch and played some songs for their neighbors.
We’ll sometimes have a “concert / music video” night too. J will find live Starset performances and we’ll watch them, then watch music videos afterward. Most of the videos include Fame on Fire, Fire from the Gods, Grabbitz, Falling in Reverse, and Starset…of course. Actually, in the middle of August, we were flipping through channels and found a live (but recorded) Metallica performance, shot somewhere in France in a building that looked like the Colosseum. We watched all of that. It’s funny, though, watching something like that now. It was recorded a year or two ago and there’s a crowd and people near each other and touching each other. I know it’s only been 6-ish months that we’ve been going through this, but it just seems taboo to be seeing people so close together. Oh how our minds can shift and adapt so quickly.
There is hope for shows coming back in 2021. We’ve been keeping an eye on the Bands in Town app and we’ve seen some shows scheduled for spring 2021. Looking forward to getting to go to one soon, whatever that looks like. While I do like to get into the middle of the mosh pit, I’d be ok with standing in a designated spot on the floor 6 feet away from everyone if that’s what needs to happen. Looking forward to seeing my family and friends back up on the stage again too!
If you’re jonesing for some new music to listen to, go check out Chip and the Charge Ups and Music by Maleena today!
One final thing. This quote reminds me of my uncle and cousin and their musical endeavors.
They both could have very easily given up on what they loved to do during this pandemic, but they didn’t. They found a way to keep going, even if it wasn’t a conventional way. There are lessons to be learned from this time in history. Use the tools you have to keep going. Just keep going, no matter what that looks like. Don’t give up because something may be hard. You’re smart and you have the drive, you’ll find a way. I’ve seen this time and time again, not only with my family and their music, but with local businesses too. Change is hard, but I’m sure it feels good to be able to adapt and succeed because of that change.
Thanks for reading this segment of my “This Damn Virus” story. Catch up on past segments here and come back next Wednesday for the next one! Sign up to receive a weekly reminder email about this blog here.
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