Where Have All the Concerts Gone?
"I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you, that I almost believe that they’re real...”
Miami Horror at Fine Line in Minneapolis
Talking with my friend over FaceTime the other day and I came to a very stark realization. It has been almost a year since my last trip for a concert. It was Miami Horror at the Fine Line. They’re an indie synth-pop band from Australia that was a very important group for me during my college days. I heard them through the Australian radio station Triple J and their song “Don’t Be On With Her” was an instant classic with me. I am a huge fan of both of their LPs Illumination and All Possible Futures, and I always said to myself if they ever came to the cities I would have to go. They did, and it was a terrific show. Everything I would hope a Miami Horror performance would be like. Super synth sounds, a terrific light spectacle, and an abundance of dancing. After the show I even got three members who were all incredibly nice to sign the show poster including Benjamin Plant who is the founder of the group and their producer. I told him their Bravado EP is one of my favorite EPs and he said to me “I suppose it would be my favorite too if it was the first thing I heard by us.” He mentioned he is not a fan of it. My friend and I laughed about this interaction on the way back to the car.
I’ve been very fortunate these pre-2020 years to have gone to a lot of concerts. I was averaging around 13-14 big shows a year, and I was sort of planning after 2020 to start dropping that number by half. I felt a little worn out to be honest. Maybe I would start having higher criteria for what makes a band a must-see? I still had big plans for the year, though. Especially in April and May when I had tickets for Bombay Bicycle Club, oso oso, Prince Daddy & the Hyena, Foxing, Jimmy Eat World, and Peter Bjorn and John. All bands I would say would make it on my bucket list. Then COVID happened and I slowly watched as all of them one by one were cancelled.
Preoccupations at the Aquarium in Fargo.
Now that it has been a year since I’ve been to a concert, I’ve had time to think about what it is I loved about going to them. They were a big part of my life, and some of my best memories are from concerts. It wasn’t just about the music. I miss the entire experience.
Growing up in the country, Fargo was the closest concert hub and it was two hours away. I did not go to many concerts. I went to a few shows at places like the Alerus Center in Grand Forks and Fargodome in (you guessed it) Fargo. Guess Who and Joe Cocker were my first show (which was awesome) then years later Kiss and Aerosmith (Kiss was great, Aerosmith not so much). Even in college, concerts weren’t really my thing. It wasn’t until I moved to Fargo in 2011 that it all changed.
Ra Ra Riot at Exit/In in Nashville
I didn’t know a lot of people in Fargo when I moved there, so I would do a little exploring on my own to find things to do. The two major discoveries for me as the Fargo Theatre which finally gave me a chance to see all the indie movie releases, and The Aquarium where I discovered my love of concerts.
The first show I remember going to there was the synth pop group Austra. I had heard of them in music magazines and blogs and I was into their new album at the time Feel it Break. They put on a great show. The Aquarium is not big and has 150 person capacity so it is a sort of intimate setting when it comes to live music. Austra is a perfect band to see in the Aquarium. The room was filled with sound, the synth hooks were easy to dance to, and they knew how to perform for a crowd of any size. After that I knew I needed to come back again. I wasn’t making a lot of money at the time, but I always made sure I had enough to go to shows at least once a month. Luckily shows were only $12-18 at the Aquarium. During my two years in Fargo I saw Father John Misty, Kurt Vile, Dessa, The Men, Youth Lagoon, DIIV, Screaming Females, Deer Tick, and the legendary Bob Dylan (and pretty much whatever cheap shows were playing at the Aquarium on a random Friday/Saturday night). I also made my first trip to First Ave with my brother to see Tame Impala. I think of those days fondly. I was finally seeing artists that I could only read about before and they were mostly just a fifteen minute drive away. I would dress in the hippest clothes I had, buy one Pabst Blue Ribbon, eventually buy earplugs, and rock all night. I didn’t really make any friends at these shows (would say “hey” to the local record store owner who recognized from the store), but that never mattered. Part of the charm was not knowing anybody at these shows. Concerts became a sort of release for me. You didn’t have to think about your troubles for a couple hours. You just let yourself go to the music, and that’s an attitude I’ve carried throughout my concert going journey.
Charles Bradley at First Ave. in Minneapolis
When I moved back to Bemidji, I knew I still needed the experience I could only get at concerts. I attended a lot of local band shows in Bemidji, but would make various trips to the cities and Fargo for bigger shows as well. It was longer drives but it really recharged me, especially shows in the cities. It’s a four hour drive from Bemidji to Minneapolis, and I would just listen to music the whole way down. It might be the band I’m about to see or just my favorite albums, but I loved the solitude of just being in a car driving to the music. Usually I would meet up with old friends before the show, do a little record shopping, grab something to eat, and head to the show. When friends would come with we would have a blast, and when I was alone I still managed to have a lot of fun. No matter how stressful life would be, these trips always recharged me. It felt like I put my life on pause until I came back. Like taking a nice deep breath before diving back into the water. Concerts can really make a person feel free. You’re no one at a concert. Just a small piece of a crowd. There’s something indescribably magical about that.
Say Anything at Marathon Music Works in Nashville
Of course I’ve had some bad moments at concerts. I had a beer can thrown at my head at a Japandroids concert, there are people who love to talk during an entire show, people behind me spill drinks on my back, and I have unwillingly ended up in a mosh pit on more than one occasion. However, I would endure every one of those things to have concerts back. What I wouldn’t give to have a chance to have an (sometimes awkward) conversation with the artists after their show, or race to get the show poster off the wall or setlist on the stage. To do the obligatory clap to get the band back onstage for an encore, and wait in line for merch you don’t really need but want to somehow support the band. I miss the trips to the nearest place with food after the show with friends, or the standing on the street after a show to cool down because it may be a hot summer night outside but it’s a lot hotter inside.
Japandroids joined by Craig Finn at First Ave. in Minneapolis
It doesn’t look like concerts are going to come back anytime soon, and while I enjoy supporting artists I love, livestreams aren’t quite the same either. I miss being able to sing along to every word to a song with fellow super-fans. I miss camaraderie with strangers at a show. For just one night we’re all friends and then never see each other again. The only silver lining is that people will hopefully really support live music when this is over. Every show is sold out, and everyone screams along to every song. Will that ever come back? Maybe not the way it was before, but we can hope. It’s going to be tough these next few months (probably years) for musicians, so I guess I’m asking you to do what you can to help artists out. Buy a record directly from their website or bandcamp. Buy a ticket for a livestream. Get the new t-shirt. Without the concert revenue I don’t know if a lot bands are going to make it through this, so please give what you can so we can get back to these artists’ concerts when this is all done.
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And to make sure we still have venues for concerts to come back to, please consider contacting Congress to help indie venues in the next COVID relief package.
More information on how to do it is it the Save Our Stages website.
https://www.saveourstages.com/