2020 Concerts you saw before COVID / 2020 Concerts you missed because of COVID

Steven Wilson just cancelled his European tour and is not rescheduling it. I have tickets for Van der Graaf Generator in the autumn but I'm not optimistic.

Sturgill Simpson cancelled his Webster Hall residency due to the current state of the pandemic. I actually went out to a bunch of shows for the first time in a long time last week, and Bob Mould's show at Webster Hall was one of them - I'd say most people (at least towards the back) weren't wearing masks despite requests by Mould, but there was a lot of beer consumption so it was difficult to see how mask-wearing would've been that prevalent and consistent.

The Lindsey Buckingham show at Town Hall had the most compliant audience in terms of mask wearing, mainly because the bars were outside of the actual theater rather than a part of it like most GA venues. Combined with a strict venue rule to wear masks at all other times (or be asked to leave), it was easily the safest show I had seen throughout the week.

I avoided seeing ZZ Top at our county fair, and while it was an outdoor concert, I didn’t feel like a county fair crowd with no vax or mask requirements would be a good place to immerse myself in right now.

Classical concerts however, I have no qualms about since everyone has to show proof of vaccination and be masked.

Tomorrow is my first live show since it all went down, Lucy Dacus/Bachelor. Given mask requirements, vax requirements, etc. and SF being just more on the ball in general, I'm looking forward, though my general plan for shows for the time being will be maybe hover briefly up front to get a quick photo or two and then go the back of the venue for more space/closer access to the outside if I feel I need it.

The Stones have even put it out a PSA for their fans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhQew-5jkEw

I think it all really comes down to the venue. Buckingham did talk about the pandemic in the context of the long, convoluted road it took to get the our started (basically a two-year delay which began with his open-heart surgery), but otherwise he didn't have to ask or plead - Town Hall's setup and rules took care of everything. Mould apparently has been butting heads with anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers on his own Facebook page - he asked nicely at his Webster Hall show, but I think he had enough after some of the more obnoxious assholes made a stink on his social media feeds.

Over at the tiny Poisson Rouge, there was no mask rule. Thurston Moore simply said, "I trust you're all vaccinated" before asking related follow-up questions like "how many have had their booster shot?" After the show, he masked up and hung out with the fans, but he didn't seem to give anyone a hard time for not wearing one if they asked for a photo or autograph. Patti Smith gently asked people to wear a mask because it wasn't a big deal, the least they can do - the older members of the crowd were all pretty good about it, but it was actually a pretty young crowd up front (college age) and I want to say most did comply. Regardless, there's a vaccine requirement at all shows and venues thanks to the city, and honestly, that's really the only way to do it at this point.

I should add it's been a week since I've been to shows and it doesn't look like I caught anything. Fully vaccinated, but I also wear an N95 that I wear properly and never take off - goes on before I leave home and stays on until I step back through the same door. (i.e no drinking much less eating at any of the shows) I don't even touch it unless my hands have been thoroughly washed or at least hand-sanitized.

Bob Dylan just announced the first batch of dates for the “Rough and Rowdy Ways” World Wide Tour 2021-2024.

My first show back was Wilco/Sleater-Kinney a month or so ago, an outdoor/vax required event so I felt pretty safe. It was a good warm-up for the college football game I attended a couple weeks after that, 110,000 screamers and no vax requirement! At this point I would feel comfortable at any kind of outdoor event, but am still a little wary of indoor venues.

Hopefully Bob swings back through Chicago at some point over that four year tour, I'm not ready to pull the trigger on tickets for an indoor show just yet.

Shows I had tickets for before Covid:
Holly Herndon
Floating Points
Squarepusher
Jenny Hval
Dan Deacon

Shows I bought tickets for in May/June thinking it would be safe to see and didn't go to because of my concerns with Delta:
Madlib & Freddie Gibbs

I think the Deacon show has been rescheduled, not sure of the rest (I think most if not all were canceled and either refunded or given to the artists)

Dead and Company cancelled their two Florida shows coming up next month. Official reasoning being "routing and production logistics", but I won't be surprised to lean that is has more to do with DeSantis and his anti-vaccine proof stance. They've been pretty big on proof of vaccine requirements at their shows and vocally concerned about Delta. Considering they are still managing the "routing and production logistics" are still getting them through North Carolina and Georgia, it's hard not to read between the lines about why only the Florida shows got scratched.

Shit, wrong thread, thought this was the other COVID tour thread.