Weekly survey: Will you attend a concert this year? Yes or no.
There’s so much about the crazy coronavirus that we don’t know. While some jurisdictions are easy restrictions on public spaces (a bad idea, IMHO), others are taking a wait-and-see attitude before opening things up.
And while the lockdown happened fast, opening things up again is going to take a lot longer. We have to consider the psychological impact of COVID-19 and how it’s made us afraid to connect with people in normal ways. How long will it take before you trust that your fellow human won’t make you sick?
Perhaps things will settle down enough so that we can go about our daily lives in a few months. But the question is, will we?
Take concerts for example. Given what you know about COVID-19 and how you’ve had to modify everything about your daily life–and assuming that parts of society will open up again–would you be willing to go to a concert later this year?
Knowing what we know about COVID-19 (and assuming society opens up again later this year) would you be willing to go to a concert as normal?
— Alan Cross (@alancross) April 20, 2020
How could I not?! I can’t live without concerts. Watching live show clipson youtube is helpful but not enough. I saw my first livestream with The Sounds. I was super excited because they weren’t touring near me this year. But, without the crowd, without that communal experience it felt empty.
I must confess that despite knowing that this virus/pandemic thing is bad, I feel so removed from it and I can’t wrap my head around it and so I’m not doing the masked, gloved thing. I already wash my hands a lot and in the opposite, I can’t stop fiddling with my hands and touching my face. That’s decades of antsy anxiety to unravel. But I’m staying home and I’m keeping my distance from most people. It’s not obedience full stop but it’s something
I’m not willing to live a life (if I’ve the choice) without live music or live theatre. There’s nothing comparable.