Seated gigs, no moshing and 'brutally exhausting' sets: the strange new world of live music
It’s been a welcome return in some cities – but with bands pushing their bodies and bank accounts to the limit, are Covid-safe concerts sustainable?
For live music fans in most Australian states, a long winter deprived of gigs broke a few months ago, as artists began taking strange and tentative steps back onto the stage.
But it’s a new normal for these concerts, and yet another uncanny valley of the post-Covid world: a social experience where we can’t socialise; a show where dancing, hugging and head-banging are essentially illegal. Sweaty dance floors and beer queues are out, replaced by parlour-style seating and severely reduced capacities, often resulting in artists performing multiple shows a night. Dinner and a show has, against all odds, become the norm again.
It’s a welcome return for the industry and venues, but a strange experience for
