As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, the 24-hour news cycle spouts endless updates and statistics. Information is thrown at us incessantly in a cacophony of online soundbite noise, some of which is true, or at least as scientifically accurate as possible based on what is currently known to be true and factual, some is utter nonsense and crazed conspiracy theories, and even more of it resides, I suspect, somewhere in between. I’ve almost given up trying to make sense of it all and am resolved, nay, resigned, to just riding it out as best we can. Who knows – maybe the Alien Lizard Grand Order of “They” did create this thing as the first step in a grandiose and complex plan to take over the world? A plan so complex in fact, that its success depends on the complicity and consent of sovereign governments all over the world and the silence and secrecy of millions of civil servants and frontline workers in every country, yet it is explained in great detail by the astute few among us plebs who have somehow “woken up to it” and constantly tell the rest of us “sheeple” to “do your research”. (“Research”, in this context, means little more than Google.) Well sod it, if that’s all true, then the lizards are welcome to it – they surely can’t be any worse at running things than the world leaders we’ve had up to now (because apparently they are the world leaders we have had up to now). 🙂
Meanwhile, in various countries the “how to reopen the economy” discussion is in full swing, including here in Singapore. It seems the government here is taking its trademark measured approach, opening up the most essential, or should I say least non-essential, industries first in mid-May, and progressively opening others after June 1st. In some cases, businesses are going to have to “wait longer”, although nobody is sure how much longer. One of the sectors affected by this is, of course, hospitality, and in particular I address the pub/club/live entertainment sector.
It looks like it is going to be quite some time before the places where folks like me used to earn our living can go back to operating as they did. In fact, they may never go back to operating as they did. For one thing, a number of them might not survive this prolonged period of closure and never re-open at all. Those that do, will have to go through a recovery period to get back on their feet before they can think about the affordability of hiring live entertainment. And of course, a lot of that recovery will depend on the support and patronage they get post-Covid, which in turn will depend on how attitudes/habits in the wider community will have changed. Will people go out and frequent these places as much as they used to? Will staying home with considerably cheaper supermarket booze and home cooked food, while enjoying online live entertainment, become the new norm – borne of financial necessity as much as preference? Will artists/musicians/entertainers find that it has become possible, maybe even preferable, to generate a sustainable independent living performing online shows for groups of people gathered around huge TV screens in someone’s house, with attendees paying a virtual cover charge into the artists’ PayPal or Patreon account?
Personally, I think this is entirely possible, but I would like to see the “new” normal being somewhere in between. Playing live streams has a lot going for it, not least of which is the potential to reach a global audience, but I would hope, worldwide, that as many local venues as possible survive and return to putting on live shows, because no amount of technology can replace the experience of a live show in a great pub when an unspoken connection happens between performer and audience and they feed off each other. As great as they are, (and let me just say here that this technology has been a godsend in the current situation), you just don’t get the same adrenaline buzz from doing an online show, or from attending one for that matter. Which would you prefer given the choice, to go and see your favourite band in concert, or pay, say, half as much to watch it live from home? I know what I’d rather do.
Mind you, speaking as a performer, as much as I miss playing live to people in the flesh, the buzz you get when you finish a live stream and you get a notification on your phone that you’ve received enough in virtual tips to pay your internet bill this month and keep going is almost as good 🙂
Whatever the eventual outcome will be once all the fallout has settled, one thing is for sure, little of the way we used to live is going to come back unchanged, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Stay safe folks, and I’ll see you on the other side of this. In the meantime, do tune in to my online shows when you can at https://www.facebook.com/germythen (tipping is completely optional – all are welcome to just enjoy the songs). Details are in the picture above, and subscribe to my nascent YouTube channel while you’re at it https://tinyurl.com.germythen
Ciao for now
GM
Ger Mythen 
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