Speaking of age, I have more and more perspective each year and I like to think this all could be turned around. We could end up better preparing for the next pandemic, addressing racism legally and in our hearts and minds, finding ways to mitigate climate change and prevent natural disasters, waking people up to not elect bad politicians. And getting older also has the benefit of helping me take work less seriously ... I hope to retire on a happy note.
So what does this all mean anyway? It means that I haven't been out to a fucking concert since The Kennedys in February! As you may recall, things shut down pretty quickly and people realized that a sweating mob of stoned/happy people in an enclosed space was a breeding ground for the virus which could kill us all. Best to cancel concerts and they did, left and right.
We'd had tickets for Phil Lesh, JRAD in Colorado, Kasey and Clayton, Hot Tuna, and of course the Green River Festival. At first people thought, "Oh it'll all be over by July and the GRF is outside anyway." But very quickly this was seen as unrealistic and we all shut ourselves away. And here it is the end of the year and we're still shut away.
At first, musicians took up the baton and showed many free webcasts. For a while it was Phish on Tuesdays, Weir on Wednesdays, Tedeschi Trucks on Thursdays, JRAD on Fridays, and Dead & Company on Saturdays. There was also a great "Shakedown Stream" on Fridays with many fun interviews followed by archival Dead footage, much of it un-aired previously. But then the bands ran out of old stuff to air for free.
Musicians and music venues have been suffering, as has an incredible amount of the economy and our culture, not to at all minimize the tragic fact that almost 2 million people have died already from COVID-19. People are finding ways to struggle along when they can, and we've been "buying tickets" to see live streams online. But nothing substitutes for live music. Sarah and I want to be super-cautious about going back into crowds, especially since we're old and so are more susceptible to the coronavirus. But we hope to be back seeing stuff live soon.
And when we do, the feeling will be thrilling. I'm looking forward to the emotion of seeing Phil again, if we can, rocking in cheap clubs with fantastic bands, nodding our heads to flat-picking in coffee houses, and running around between stages at outdoor festivals. Hope to see you there!
