Post COVID lockdown gigging - how are you all doing?

[Notes_Norton]

COVID isn't over, but thanks to the millions who are vaccinated, the hospitals are no longer overwhelmed with patients, and thanks to continuing experience, we are learning and developing more ways to minimize it.

 

It seems like in February in Florida, somebody turned the virtual gig switch from "off" to "on". After two years of nothing, we are gigging our butts off. It's delightful.

 

We did 12.5 years at one marina, one day per week, and developed an audience. During COVID it got closed, and the new owners had a different idea about what they wanted for entertainment (smaller, less expensive). They seem like nice people, and we wish them luck.

 

We found another outdoor gig at one of their competitors. This one at a beach resort hotel, across from a public park and both the park and the hotel border the public beach.

 

It's outdoors, under a huge canvas cover, and they gave us a try. The first week they put one waitress on, second week four. That's a good increase in business. Then they added a second day, and following that, a third. The manager recently told us we are his "number one". Nobody else has more than one day.

 

We covered for a band that got COVID at a huge RV Resort, and we've become a regular there.

 

A few of our fans bugged the manager at another club to try us, and without hearing us he gave us a night. We are now filling in all his unfilled dates, and he wants us to be a regular for next season.

 

And the one-nighter parties that usually don't come in the summer are strong.

 

People are tired of not partying, and have the 'life is short - have fun now' attitude.

 

We're working in the slow season as often as we do in peak season. Mostly outdoor gigs. After two years of zero gigs, it feels great (although it took a few weeks to get our stamina back).

 

How is everybody else doing???

 

Gigs coming back?

 

Post your success stories if you have them, we all need good news.

 

Notes ♫

 

[analogika]

It's kinda crazy right now, and I'm assuming that it's not going to last, so I'm grabbing all the atmosphere and cash I can before the inevitable autumn lockdown. 

[Anderton]

Cases are increasing here in Tennessee. People are still getting covid, but they're surviving. I keep in touch with Martha from the Motels, they did a tour recently and now they all tested positive. They're vaccinated, but some are doing better than others.

 

A friend of mine knows 6 people who went to NAMM, and 5 of them came back positive with covid. My wife was at an outdoor picnic in Seattle last week. Two people who were there got covid immediately after the picnic, so they didn't get it there, but it just goes to show this isn't going away. Fortunately the ramifications are less severe.

 

Still, in the US, hundreds of people die from it every day. That's a big improvement over when thousands were dying every day, but the fact that it keeps creeping up is problematic. Also, apparently post-covid immunity doesn't help with the two most recent variants, and the vaccine has diminished effectiveness although it's still better than nothing. I heard from my source at the CDC that there will be a change to the vaccine's formulation in the fall to deal with new variants. So it looks like another booster will be in the future for those who want it.

 

It probably makes sense to do all the gigs you can now,  in the space between waves. I don't think the future will revert to the pre-vaccine gloom and doom scenario, and I also doubt there will be mandatory lockdowns (it didn't work out so well recently in China). But there will be the "voluntary lockdown effect" of people not wanting to take a risk and go to concerts if they see numbers climbing.

 

But what do I know?

 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

It’s been spiking on and off all spring around here.  For the most part folks are emotionally done and accept that sooner or later they’re going to catch it, possibly for the second or third time. We’re just hoping the variants get weaker and any complications from it aren’t life threatening.  
 

Jobs were plentiful August to December 2022.  That disappeared with the winter weather.  But spring has sprung and outdoors events are in full swing.  

[Notes_Norton]

I'm doing mostly outdoor gigs, fortunately Florida has nice weather for that.

 

And people have adapted. Before COVID outdoor gigs were uncommon. People preferred to party in Air Conditioned comfort. But with the outdoors being safer, people are happy to go outside for an event.

 

We just do our best to adapt to the changes that we encounter.

 

Notes ♫

[ElmerJFudd]

17 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

It’s been spiking on and off all spring around here.  For the most part folks are emotionally done and accept that sooner or later they’re going to catch it, possibly for the second or third time. We’re just hoping the variants get weaker and any complications from it aren’t life threatening.  
 

Jobs were plentiful August to December 2022.  That disappeared with the winter weather.  But spring has sprung and outdoors events are in full swing.  

Aug-Dec 2021 is what I meant of course.  🤦‍♂️ 

[harmonizer]

Our 7-piece covers band has finally started playing gigs again with our revised lineup (new drummer and lead singer). I play sax and do backup vocals, sometimes doing both on the same song, so I know I can't wear a mask and I don't even try. 5 of us in the band sing, so every rehearsal is a group indoor singing event, so all 7 of us in our new lineup are vaccinated. We did a bar gig on June 9, and I accepted that it was an elevated risk activity, and it felt really good to be playing out again. The June 9 gig was indoors but not a crowded scenario. We are booked for another bar gig at a different venue on August 5 where some of the audience will be only a few feet away from us. It will be significantly higher risk than the June 9 one was. For now are just playing it by ear.

[Notes_Norton]

I'm glad you're gigging. Yes, there is a risk, and I hope you and your bandmates come out of this unscathed by the virus.

 

I guess in time we in this profession will all have to take that risk. Being vaccinated and boosted seems to help with the severity of symptoms, so those of use who got jabbed have that advantage.

 

Notes ♫

[Greg Mein]

Last September we moved to a town that is 1/10 the size of where we were living so obviously gigging is not a primary motivating factor for us, however, there is one place where we do gigs "regularly". I use quotes because we travel extensively and are not always available.

 

This weekend will be rather unique for us, we'll be playing at our good friend's bar in Winslow AZ where we've organized a little birthday bash. It's not even a paying gig, we're just doing it as part of a gathering of friends in celebration. I'll probably take a guitar down to the corner at some point for a photo op.

[KuruPrionz]

I don't think we are post-Covid and I doubt we ever will be. 

Over time, things will change. Currently there is a strain that is spreading across the US and it is able to circumvent the immunity afforded by previous vaccines. 

 

At some point a successful variant will take precedence, it won't kill it's hosts - at least not in any great numbers. It will be a balane of humans building antibodies, current vaccines and weaker hosts passing on. More like the flu or a cold. 

 

We're not there yet. I'm busy with other projects, maybe I'll go back to gigging and maybe I won't. 

[Notes_Norton]

We're gigging like crazy, fortunately almost all outdoors.

 

It's summer in Florida, and for July, August and September, the 3 slowest months, We're lucky to get 4 gigs per month.

 

We have 14 in July, 15 in August, and 17 in September.

 

No, we're not post COVID, but people are just sick of it I guess and just want to live.

 

I play for an elderly audience, a good market in Florida, and the feeling is that they don't want to be in quarantine for the rest of their lives. Since outdoor gigs are safer, and we have a lot of nice outdoor places to gig, it seems like they are making up for lost time in the 2 years when there were no gigs.

 

Mrs. Notes and I are vaccinated and boosted, and we're still being cautious about the gigs we are taking. But we're gigging and digging it.

 

Notes ♫

[Anderton]

19 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

I don't think we are post-Covid and I doubt we ever will be. 

 

Yeah, I think people will end up separating Covid into periods - pre-vaccine Covid, initial post-vaccine Covid, and currently, the variants and dilutions period. Just another fun thing to add to our ever-growing list of Things that Complicate Life.

 

I think as long as people feel reasonably secure that they can get covid but not end up in a hospital or graveyard, life will return to more-or-less "normal."

[KuruPrionz]

21 minutes ago, Anderton said:

 

Yeah, I think people will end up separating Covid into periods - pre-vaccine Covid, initial post-vaccine Covid, and currently, the variants and dilutions period. Just another fun thing to add to our ever-growing list of Things that Complicate Life.

 

I think as long as people feel reasonably secure that they can get covid but not end up in a hospital or graveyard, life will return to more-or-less "normal."

At this point I am limiting my public interactions and wearing a mask at all times while shopping. 

We should have a new vaccine for the latest mutation by fall, I'll get that one - will be my 5th Covid shot. Flu shots are an annual thing, the last time I had the flu should be the last time and that was a long time ago. 

I am certain things will get "less worse" as time goes on. With a new virus we will see a fair share of "successful failure viruses", a virus that spreads easily but can kill it's host is a successfull failure. The common cold is a great example of a successful virus, it is part of everybody's life but fatalities are very rare. Since a virus will not survive for long in a deceased host, spreading is one thing but survival of the host is paramount to long term success. In the early stages (where we are now) we will see surges of successful failures for a while yet. 

 

We are so lucky to have the technology we have today, to fight things like this. 😇

 

Remember the big Ebola scare? It's a horrible disease but it broke out in an area that is not a significant destination to travel to or from. It kills it's host quickly, in a remote area that means the spread is more or less contained and will remain small unless there is an outlier of some sort. Let's hope not, so far so good as far as the world is concerned. 

It hasn't killed the world as we feared, it's trapped in a relatively small part of the world and outbreaks are few and far between. Covid has already spread internationally but the survival rate of the hosts is much higher so it's still around to mutate and infect. 

 

We will get through this. I'm just kind of tired of gigging right now anyway. I want to do something different if/when I return to playing in public. Not so loud, not so many band members.