AS live music comes back, so does a new wave of covid cases. How do we find the balance between old and new? - Sarah clemens, 11th grade
Famous music festival Lollapalooza had two big controversies this year. The first surrounded rapper Dababy, who made homophobic remarks before he was set to perform. High profile celebrities like Elton John and Dua Lipa made public statements denouncing his actions. Twitter made jokes. So, Lollapalooza removed him from their line up. The second controversy was less easy to get rid of. It centered around the event’s existence—should such large gatherings even happen right now? It’s part of a bigger conversation that offers no easy answer. Is it rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s fault for performing in front of large crowds? Does the blame fall on her touring company, desperate to make money after CDC guidelines eased? Or are the people buying tickets, the seat fillers, the real villains?
It would be inaccurate to say there’s been no live music during non-vaccine COVID times. Last year, a Chainsmokers concert sparked ire from online and law enforcement. The general conclusion seemed to be “people are risking their lives for the Chainsmokers?” Why oh why would anyone want to go outside now? No baby. Do not pull me closer in the backseat of your rover. “Social distancing” and “quarantine” have become mindless phrases, repeated so often they’re devoid of meaning. Outrage over Rita Ora’s outings bled into outrage over Kim Kardashian’s super-spreader birthday party. There were so many celebrities, breaking all the rules. I suppose we grew numb to it over time.
The official CDC guidelines are as follows: avoid large gatherings and events, when possible. Consider the level of risk when deciding to host an event. Large gatherings are defined as meetings from many different households, that may require travel. Masks are always recommended, as well as getting both doses of the vaccine. The regulations for outdoor gathers vs indoor gatherings differ. Outdoor is deemed safer, but in general is discouraged.
Recently, Phoebe Bridgers changed her tour dates to all be at outdoor venues. Bridgers is a musician that somewhat exploded in popularity during quarantine. She writes hushed, sad lullabies and adds guitar solos at the end. Phoebe’s tweet about it read: “And please wear a mask. I love you. See you soon.” This also coincided with Neil Young cancelling his Farm Aid performance, citing COVID as a reason. Soon, another conversation about live music began.
Smaller artists pointed out that unlike Bridgers or Young, they can’t afford to make their shows the most COVID safe. Eve6 also expressed their thoughts via twitter. “[G]otta love these unfathomably rich rock stars doing their legacy lib victory laps and collecting blue ribbons for canceling tours… then mid tier bands...doing the same would be financially devastating”, the band wrote, “want us to stay home? cool! pay my fucking rent.” Ricky Montegomery, an indie musician best known for his viral Tik Tok songs “Line Without a Hook” and “Mr Loverman”, concurred: “i feel like a piece of shit for not being able to do the same thing just because our venues are smaller : )”
Of course, smaller musicians playing unsafe venues doesn’t end well. I’m a fan of a band called I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (often abbreviated to iDKHOW). They make indie pop, or, according to the band, “hipster nonsense.” Just a few weeks ago they began playing their biggest shows yet in the UK. One of them, Glasgow, was held in a concrete room affectionately called a ‘bunker’. British buildings are built to contain heat, so it was both packed and sweltering in there. The band’s frontman, Dallon Weekes, changed a song lyric to say “everybody here get your vaccination.” In the days after, multiple people have tested positive.
Even before COVID, there was some debate over iDKHOW’s touring. They’ve only done a smatter of shows this past few months, and did have a (roughly) two year touring hiatus. But before that, they toured almost nonstop. They were promoting a five song EP called “1981”. Fans noticed Weekes seemed tired at a few shows, dissected tweets about waiting to record an album, and rioted. #FUCKFEARLESS, a campaign against iDKHOW’s label, Fearless Records, flourished. Fans may have overreacted - but they weren’t wrong in criticizing the touring industry, per se.
Touring is the main way artists make money. U2 reported that in 2017, ninety-five percent of their money came from touring. Less than four percent was from streaming and album sales combined. Part of this is because record labels are notorious for withholding money from artists. For an upcoming act, non stop touring is often the only way to stay in the green. Of course, it’s grueling. One only has to look at the departure of Zayn Malik from mega famous boy band One Direction to paint a clear picture of it. One Direction is the kind of successful where if you only had the money from their t-shirt sales, you’d be a millionaire. Zayn can afford to never tour again. So he hasn’t. When asked why, his rep stated, “Have you ever been on the road for four years?”
Producer Mat Zo has. His vision of touring is very bleak. “Ninety-nine per cent of touring is the airports, the hotels, sitting in a metal tube for up to 16 hours at a time,” he’s said. “It’s easy to let your mind and body slip into decay, even for a person with a healthy emotional state. For those with anxiety, hotel rooms are like prison cells.” Of course, not every artist feels this way. Still it could be argued that the touring industry is massive and controlling. There’s so much money in it, things are bound to go awry.
In situations like these, the phrase “the right thing to do” abounds. Taylor Swift, another megastar, cancelled her Loverfest tour in February of 2021. “I miss you terribly and can’t wait til we can all safely be at shows together again,” she wrote. This was nearly two years after the tour dates had been announced. In that time, Swift had also released two more albums. The cancellation seemed overdue. Still, it was applauded as “the right thing to do”. She’s certainly keeping people safe--a Taylor Swift concert is less of a concert and more of an event. Yet again, it was something she could easily afford to do. Those aforementioned two albums, Folklore and Evermore, broke sales records across the globe. Her website sells merchandise including but not limited to beach towels, mugs, and purses. This is not said to criticize Swift, but to point out her vast empire. She’s an established brand.
My mom somewhat knows what that kind of big branding is like. She went to college in the 80’s. Worked as a ticket seller for the Grateful Dead for five and a half years in the 90’s. She’s credited in many of their booklets as an honorary band member. The Grateful Dead is known as more or less a “weed band.” Or, to put it more nicely, psychedelic. They have a loyal following called “deadheads”, who are known for following them from show to show. The Grateful Dead is the kind of band that is much better live. My mom, a devoted fan herself, will attest to this. She’s never put any of their music on, but she has taken my dad to a live show. “There’s something about the experience,” she says. “It’s beyond even music, even performance. It’s about the feeling a group of people coming together can create.”
My mom has been to roughly five hundred live performances. She’ll go even if she doesn’t know the artist, even if it’s just for one headliner in a sea of uncertain openers. She doesn’t care about whether you have nosebleed seats or not. Her enjoyment of live music is one of the purest things I’ve ever seen. In that regard, I’ve always wanted to be just like her. In my notes app is a list of all the concerts I’ve ever been to, and little write ups about how it was. This is what live music is like in the minds of dreamers. It is a little community within stadium walls.
For a while, I only had one concert in mind: Hella Mega Tour. It was 2019. I loved Weezer. I loved Green Day. I especially loved Fall Out Boy. Still do--I’m wearing a Fall Out Boy shirt as I write this. I did six weeks of nonstop chores to convince my dad buying the expensive tickets was worth it. Legends of Rock Tour, was the moniker. There is a certain love between a queer teenage girl and the band posters on her wall, that is all powerful. The tour got cancelled. Then un-cancelled. It was two years later that me and my dad showed up to the Oracle stadium. Masks on our faces. Vaccines in our bloodstream.
A few days earlier, Fall Out Boy had tweeted a photo of a show they played. It displayed practically zero masks. The show at Oracle stadium was more of the same. Plenty of masks shoved aside, masks in purses, or maskless mobs. It’s a cliche, but everyone really was packed in like sardines. Stadiums are big. Stadiums are monuments to being big. There was a sky above us, but it didn’t really matter. Weezer was the first band to come on. The band’s frontman, Rivers Cuomo sang an altered lyric, “COVID got me down…” to a maskless mega crowd.
The last band to come on was Green Day. Their set began typically, with a man dressed in a bunny suit running around the stage. I can’t say I know all of Green Day’s songs, but I’ve loved quite a few of their albums. I wanted to stay. Halfway through, Billie Joe Armstrong, their lead singer, stopped singing. He begged everyone to turn off their phones. “Cause these last few years, we’ve all been cooped up, on our phones, doing nothing!” We should all be together now, he said. We were all so beautiful. People kept their phones out anyway. I left early.
It’s hard to know, looking over all of this, who to blame. We have a habit of putting all our faith in rockstars, then casting them aside. Urging celebrities to be good, to do right, then shaming them for doing so. Rage Against The Machine recently mandated that you need to be vaccinated to go to their shows. After being praised for being a political band, they’re now being criticized for “doing what the man told them.” (It is, of course, odd that vaccines are political now, and even odder that they’re seen as some oppressive force.) We let famous people sell us products, music, and films. At the same time we treat them like fictional characters. The power of the customer, the product, and the seller seem all consuming. To take on the touring industry, to take on Lollapalooza crowds, to take on rockstars… it feels impossible.
There is no way to halt the live music industry now that it’s come back. Simply too much money is involved. One can feel like a wet blanket pointing out positive COVID tests. And like a hypocrite, for praying a favorite artist will play nearby. We will have to find a balance between super spreader stadiums and upcoming artists starving. I’ve said that COVID is still serious and deadly many times. Still, it bears repeating.
It would be inaccurate to say there’s been no live music during non-vaccine COVID times. Last year, a Chainsmokers concert sparked ire from online and law enforcement. The general conclusion seemed to be “people are risking their lives for the Chainsmokers?” Why oh why would anyone want to go outside now? No baby. Do not pull me closer in the backseat of your rover. “Social distancing” and “quarantine” have become mindless phrases, repeated so often they’re devoid of meaning. Outrage over Rita Ora’s outings bled into outrage over Kim Kardashian’s super-spreader birthday party. There were so many celebrities, breaking all the rules. I suppose we grew numb to it over time.
The official CDC guidelines are as follows: avoid large gatherings and events, when possible. Consider the level of risk when deciding to host an event. Large gatherings are defined as meetings from many different households, that may require travel. Masks are always recommended, as well as getting both doses of the vaccine. The regulations for outdoor gathers vs indoor gatherings differ. Outdoor is deemed safer, but in general is discouraged.
Recently, Phoebe Bridgers changed her tour dates to all be at outdoor venues. Bridgers is a musician that somewhat exploded in popularity during quarantine. She writes hushed, sad lullabies and adds guitar solos at the end. Phoebe’s tweet about it read: “And please wear a mask. I love you. See you soon.” This also coincided with Neil Young cancelling his Farm Aid performance, citing COVID as a reason. Soon, another conversation about live music began.
Smaller artists pointed out that unlike Bridgers or Young, they can’t afford to make their shows the most COVID safe. Eve6 also expressed their thoughts via twitter. “[G]otta love these unfathomably rich rock stars doing their legacy lib victory laps and collecting blue ribbons for canceling tours… then mid tier bands...doing the same would be financially devastating”, the band wrote, “want us to stay home? cool! pay my fucking rent.” Ricky Montegomery, an indie musician best known for his viral Tik Tok songs “Line Without a Hook” and “Mr Loverman”, concurred: “i feel like a piece of shit for not being able to do the same thing just because our venues are smaller : )”
Of course, smaller musicians playing unsafe venues doesn’t end well. I’m a fan of a band called I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (often abbreviated to iDKHOW). They make indie pop, or, according to the band, “hipster nonsense.” Just a few weeks ago they began playing their biggest shows yet in the UK. One of them, Glasgow, was held in a concrete room affectionately called a ‘bunker’. British buildings are built to contain heat, so it was both packed and sweltering in there. The band’s frontman, Dallon Weekes, changed a song lyric to say “everybody here get your vaccination.” In the days after, multiple people have tested positive.
Even before COVID, there was some debate over iDKHOW’s touring. They’ve only done a smatter of shows this past few months, and did have a (roughly) two year touring hiatus. But before that, they toured almost nonstop. They were promoting a five song EP called “1981”. Fans noticed Weekes seemed tired at a few shows, dissected tweets about waiting to record an album, and rioted. #FUCKFEARLESS, a campaign against iDKHOW’s label, Fearless Records, flourished. Fans may have overreacted - but they weren’t wrong in criticizing the touring industry, per se.
Touring is the main way artists make money. U2 reported that in 2017, ninety-five percent of their money came from touring. Less than four percent was from streaming and album sales combined. Part of this is because record labels are notorious for withholding money from artists. For an upcoming act, non stop touring is often the only way to stay in the green. Of course, it’s grueling. One only has to look at the departure of Zayn Malik from mega famous boy band One Direction to paint a clear picture of it. One Direction is the kind of successful where if you only had the money from their t-shirt sales, you’d be a millionaire. Zayn can afford to never tour again. So he hasn’t. When asked why, his rep stated, “Have you ever been on the road for four years?”
Producer Mat Zo has. His vision of touring is very bleak. “Ninety-nine per cent of touring is the airports, the hotels, sitting in a metal tube for up to 16 hours at a time,” he’s said. “It’s easy to let your mind and body slip into decay, even for a person with a healthy emotional state. For those with anxiety, hotel rooms are like prison cells.” Of course, not every artist feels this way. Still it could be argued that the touring industry is massive and controlling. There’s so much money in it, things are bound to go awry.
In situations like these, the phrase “the right thing to do” abounds. Taylor Swift, another megastar, cancelled her Loverfest tour in February of 2021. “I miss you terribly and can’t wait til we can all safely be at shows together again,” she wrote. This was nearly two years after the tour dates had been announced. In that time, Swift had also released two more albums. The cancellation seemed overdue. Still, it was applauded as “the right thing to do”. She’s certainly keeping people safe--a Taylor Swift concert is less of a concert and more of an event. Yet again, it was something she could easily afford to do. Those aforementioned two albums, Folklore and Evermore, broke sales records across the globe. Her website sells merchandise including but not limited to beach towels, mugs, and purses. This is not said to criticize Swift, but to point out her vast empire. She’s an established brand.
My mom somewhat knows what that kind of big branding is like. She went to college in the 80’s. Worked as a ticket seller for the Grateful Dead for five and a half years in the 90’s. She’s credited in many of their booklets as an honorary band member. The Grateful Dead is known as more or less a “weed band.” Or, to put it more nicely, psychedelic. They have a loyal following called “deadheads”, who are known for following them from show to show. The Grateful Dead is the kind of band that is much better live. My mom, a devoted fan herself, will attest to this. She’s never put any of their music on, but she has taken my dad to a live show. “There’s something about the experience,” she says. “It’s beyond even music, even performance. It’s about the feeling a group of people coming together can create.”
My mom has been to roughly five hundred live performances. She’ll go even if she doesn’t know the artist, even if it’s just for one headliner in a sea of uncertain openers. She doesn’t care about whether you have nosebleed seats or not. Her enjoyment of live music is one of the purest things I’ve ever seen. In that regard, I’ve always wanted to be just like her. In my notes app is a list of all the concerts I’ve ever been to, and little write ups about how it was. This is what live music is like in the minds of dreamers. It is a little community within stadium walls.
For a while, I only had one concert in mind: Hella Mega Tour. It was 2019. I loved Weezer. I loved Green Day. I especially loved Fall Out Boy. Still do--I’m wearing a Fall Out Boy shirt as I write this. I did six weeks of nonstop chores to convince my dad buying the expensive tickets was worth it. Legends of Rock Tour, was the moniker. There is a certain love between a queer teenage girl and the band posters on her wall, that is all powerful. The tour got cancelled. Then un-cancelled. It was two years later that me and my dad showed up to the Oracle stadium. Masks on our faces. Vaccines in our bloodstream.
A few days earlier, Fall Out Boy had tweeted a photo of a show they played. It displayed practically zero masks. The show at Oracle stadium was more of the same. Plenty of masks shoved aside, masks in purses, or maskless mobs. It’s a cliche, but everyone really was packed in like sardines. Stadiums are big. Stadiums are monuments to being big. There was a sky above us, but it didn’t really matter. Weezer was the first band to come on. The band’s frontman, Rivers Cuomo sang an altered lyric, “COVID got me down…” to a maskless mega crowd.
The last band to come on was Green Day. Their set began typically, with a man dressed in a bunny suit running around the stage. I can’t say I know all of Green Day’s songs, but I’ve loved quite a few of their albums. I wanted to stay. Halfway through, Billie Joe Armstrong, their lead singer, stopped singing. He begged everyone to turn off their phones. “Cause these last few years, we’ve all been cooped up, on our phones, doing nothing!” We should all be together now, he said. We were all so beautiful. People kept their phones out anyway. I left early.
It’s hard to know, looking over all of this, who to blame. We have a habit of putting all our faith in rockstars, then casting them aside. Urging celebrities to be good, to do right, then shaming them for doing so. Rage Against The Machine recently mandated that you need to be vaccinated to go to their shows. After being praised for being a political band, they’re now being criticized for “doing what the man told them.” (It is, of course, odd that vaccines are political now, and even odder that they’re seen as some oppressive force.) We let famous people sell us products, music, and films. At the same time we treat them like fictional characters. The power of the customer, the product, and the seller seem all consuming. To take on the touring industry, to take on Lollapalooza crowds, to take on rockstars… it feels impossible.
There is no way to halt the live music industry now that it’s come back. Simply too much money is involved. One can feel like a wet blanket pointing out positive COVID tests. And like a hypocrite, for praying a favorite artist will play nearby. We will have to find a balance between super spreader stadiums and upcoming artists starving. I’ve said that COVID is still serious and deadly many times. Still, it bears repeating.
