FEATURE:
Live and Clicking
IN THIS PHOTO: Christine and the Queens performing at Primavera Sound in 2019 (she is an artist who performed a number of great streamed sets/performances last year)
The Reality of Gigs in 2021
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WE are only just in 2021…
PHOTO CREDIT: @nainoa/Unsplash
and so there is uncertainty regarding gigs and what form they will take. Certainly, there is positivity regarding vaccines and the fact that things may improve significantly by the summer. For festivals, this creates a dilemma: Do they postpone them again this year or push them back until August or later? I think that the second option is best, as it would allow for greater safety and a chance for infection numbers to drop further. They may have to make a call in the next month or so, as a lot of planning goes into festivals and they cannot wait until the last moment. Gigs are slightly different. Last year, there were gigs where punters were socially distanced or watching from their cars. There were a couple where people were watching outside and there was a limited capacity. On other occasions, artists performed from empty venues and streamed it to people at home - whereas some performed these high-concept virtual gigs where one paid to watch something that is akin to a scaled-down version of a what they would deliver on tour. Artists are eager to get back on the stage and connect with their fans because, ten months after most large-scale gigs occurred, there is that hunger and demand. I want to bring in an article from the BBC. They looked at live performances in 2020 and what sort of live performances fans got to see in lieu of traditional gigs:
“The early days of lockdown were a voyeur's wish come true, as the world's biggest pop stars invited you into their living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms to play some tunes (highlight: The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts playing drums on his armchair). By the end of the year, the productions had become a little more ambitious.
In November, Dua Lipa's Studio 2054 set a new bar for livestreams, with two dozen dancers, gigantic Day-Glo hula hoops, even more gigantic glitter balls, a roller disco and a generous helping of special guests - from Kylie and Miley to Sir Elton John, harrumphing his way through Rocket Man
IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa.
The concert cost $1.5m (£1.1m) and took five months to put together - but it more than made that sum back, with 284,000 ticket sales and streaming deals in India and China. In the end, the concert was seen by more than five million people worldwide.
"We'll definitely do it again," Dua's manager Ben Mawson told Rolling Stone. "Certainly for the rest of our artists, we'll do more."
But virtual gigs don't just make financial sense: Fans who can't afford to travel to big cities like London and New York can suddenly attend an exclusive show - and, because the audience is huge, tickets are more affordable (Dua's prices started at £7.50).
We can expect to see them become part of the regular tapestry of the music industry, even when concerts resume.
The second part of the article that I want to source from speculates when tours might return. It does seem that, even with some good news about vaccines, it will take a while to immunise people and see coronavirus cases fall sufficiently. Maybe we will not see big tours return until late this year:
Depending on who you ask, live music will be back by Easter, or maybe the summer, but it could be the end of the year. And even with a vaccine, it will be a while before tours can go back to normal.
While bands like Steps and Little Mix have announced arena shows for November, others, like Nick Cave, have already cancelled their 2021 tour plans.
Initially, at least, social distancing will be enforced at indoor venues, with enforced one-way systems to the bar and toilets.
Rapid turnaround Covid-19 tests at festival gates is another prospect, although the idea isn't foolproof. Other proposals include thermo scanners, spraying fans with a disinfectant "fog" as they enter a venue, and interactive wristbands that vibrate to indicate a lack of social distancing.
Ticketmaster has also been looking at whether it is possible to link digital tickets to your vaccine status or a negative Covid test through a smartphone app.
However, the company stressed it could not enforce such measures - which would be enacted at the discretion of the event organiser”.
That will come as a sobering blow for those who want to see live music very soon! Maybe intimate or slightly smaller gigs can resume because of the relative ease at which venue owners can screen ticket buyers regarding their COVID-19 status – or admitting people who have had two doses of a certain vaccine. The problem comes when you have to check and screen thousands of people – once more casting doubt on whether festivals can come back as soon as we’d hoped. Let us hope that we can enjoy some form of live music by the time the summer rolls around. After such a hard and quiet 2020 for live music, there is going to be an explosion of desire for that first taste of something approaching normality.
That sort of turns things to virtual and streamed gigs. I do not think, as I have said before, that this type of live performance will become the norm. That said, one did not really see too many of them in 2019; many artists have popularised streamed gigs at a time when they have not been able to get on the stage. Whilst streamed gigs are always at the mercy of technology and its unreliability, the ones I have seen covered and reviewed have been very professional and smooth. I think, until the summer at the very earliest, artists will continue with live-streamed gigs in place of tours. It will take a long time before bigger artists can tour the world safely; a more practical and realistic way of ‘touring’ is going to be through our screens. For many people, these streamed gigs provide an experience they might not have otherwise enjoyed. It can be costly travelling to venues and buying tickets so, at a reduced rate, one can enjoy something quite ambitious and spectacular. Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 was one such event that got some great reviews and gave fans a taste, in some sense, of a bigger live gig. A lot of smaller artists have had to rely on more stripped-back streamed gigs but, with no travel involved, many have been able to provide more gigs to their fans than they usually would.
I think this year will be one of two halves. The reality until the summer is going to be virtual sets and performances where we are sat looking at a screen. I do think we will see artists emulate the sort of feats that the likes of Dua Lipa created - it will be interesting to see whether musicians find new ways to stream and device original concepts. Then, later this year, there will be a slow return to live music. There will be a sort of tiered system where socially distanced gigs can come back; then smaller venues may be able to open, before large venues and festivals think about reopening. It will be sad if festivals were postponed until next year, but they are in a tough position right now regarding making that impossible decision. If you are interested, I think you will be able to look back on some streamed/virtual gigs that happened last year. I think these types of performances will be prevalent for a few more months at least. I also think, as I have remarked before, that many artists will combine traditional gigs with live-streamed ones when things start to get back to normal. It will be good to see live music return in a way where people get together and bond but, when it comes to how we experience live music, we are going to have to get used to streamed and virtual gigs for a while longer. There are positives and negatives of this type of performance, but I think artists have adapted wonderfully in a very tough period. The most interesting thing will be seeing how musicians across the board take streamed live performances and…
PUSH them to new levels.