An Attempt At Mitigating Concert Related COVID-19 Contamination

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

WHEW it’s getting real up in here y’all!

Cancellations galore in the music industry is increasingly stressing everyone out, both fans and industry folk alike. As a person who doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt from this, I have been weighing this decision heavily about how to proceed as a person for the next few months. I think we can all agree that missing your favorite band is better than someone getting really sick or dying.

THAT ALL SAID. If you’re going to give it a shot, here are some tips for how to navigate going to shows in a COVID-19 infested world:

• Don’t go to the show! No but really, REALLY have a conversation with yourself if it’s worth potentially being exposed and subsequently exposing someone to something that can get you killed is worth seeing someone.

  Social distancing is the most effective way to make sure no one gets hurt. It absolutely fucking sucks, but assume that the second things are free and clear that bands will be clamoring to hit the road so they can be adored by you. If you feel bad about missing the show, I strongly suggest you find their online merch store and buy enough merch to cover the ticket price you would have paid PLUS what you would have probably spent at the show on drinks/merch.

  Give that band all your fuckin money.🤑🤑🤑

  It’s an intentional move they will absolutely appreciate. If they don’t have enough of a variety and you have to buy multiples of the same thing, who cares!? Give it to a friend. You’re actually doing the band a bigger favor because merch is a gift that keeps on giving in terms of marketing. SPEAKING OF! Since we’re all about to be Very Online™ for awhile, now would be the time to like, RT, share, etc. as much of the band’s content as you can. I imagine some folks are gonna get really creative with ways to entertain you while we’re all laying low. Make it worth it to them! SHARE THAT SHIT.

Fuck okay you actually wanted to read more which means you’re actually gonna try go go okay remember I’M NOT A DOCTOR I’VE JUST BEEN READING A LOT THROUGH THE LENS OF A SHOW-GOER OKAY. Also industry fam if you see this and have thoughts I am SO HAPPY TO EDIT THIS!!!!

• Wash your fucking hands: Don’t be gross. Wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer if you can’t get to a sink. We’re all sharing the WashYourLyrics memes. Use that fuckin thing. 20 seconds minimum. No exceptions. Touch a thing you didn’t see someone wipe down with a fresh sanitizing wipe of some sort? Yep, you gotta do it fam. Your hands will sting by the end of the night, so this better fucking be worth it.

• Don’t touch your face: This doesn’t really have a lot to do with being a person at a show specifically, but you touch your face way more than you think you do, so if I tell you again not to do it, hopefully you’ll be more mindful of it. In general be really mindful of where your hands are going in general when you’re among other people. You should be doing this at shows anyway—keeping your hands to yourself, that is.

• Cough/sneeze into your elbow/shoulder: Remember that whole ✨we’re not tryna spread a deadly disease✨ thing? Even if you never get COVID-19, at least help other people stay calm by doing everything you can to keep your potential germs to yourself. If you find yourself in a coughing/sneezing fit, try to get the fuck away from everybody. WHO is saying you gotta be at least 3 feet away from someone who’s coughing. If you use a tissue or something, get rid of that shit ASAP. No pockets. Garbage can. Now. Not later. No chances.

• Arrive early to the show: This sounds weird and possibly uncool (*gag*), but if you’re the kinda stan who needs to be in the front row and don’t wanna have to push through people…. get there early! See all the openers instead of just the band you came to see! Oh no poor you, you saw more music in the process and possibly got another favorite band out of it. Wah wah You know what’s worse? Death, but you’re still doing this anyway.

• Bouncer/Ticketing interactions: these brave souls have to touch your IDs, put wristbands on you, stamp you, etc. Offer to put on your own wristband to limit the time you have to interact. Hand sanitizer is your bff. Consider being a fucking hero and bringing some disinfectant wipes and wipe the counter in front of any ticket windows. Pave that good germ free shit forward when you can.

• Limit your drinking: Try and be hydrated before you get to the show so you don’t have to pee and wash your hands a billion times. Also you don’t know who is taking the same precautions as you, so wading through a crowd, resting your hands on bars while you wait for your drinks, etc etc is just asking for more opportunities to make your hands sting with hand sanitizer. If you’re into green things, consider that instead and (I hate saying this) be greedy and don’t share. You don’t *need* a substance to enjoy a show. That said, if you don’t want to pregame, hand sanitizer is your friend. Tip the shit out of the bartenders because they’re taking risks too. Avoid cash if you can. Credit Cards + Hand Sanitizer/Wipes. Ugh. Are your hands not fucking burning yet?

• Avoid using your phone: Unless you have the receipts to prove that you wiped your phone down with a sanitizing wipe as you walked through the door of the venue, your phone is probably gross as fuck with god knows what. You should be paying attention to the band anyway, but that’s for another rant.

• Limit convos. See how fucking annoying this is getting to be outside? Having conversations at shows requires you to get super close to people because it’s loud as hell. Being super close to people is how this kinda germy stuff gets around real fast, which is why everyone is championing social distancing. Are you hype to have a really awkward time at a show? Welcome to #COVID19Concerts, my friends!

• Don’t touch anyone, especially not the band: I know you wanna shake their hand or give them a hug and tell them their show was so fucking worth risking your life and the lives of others, but for fucks sake have you been reading any of this? The band is already risking their livelihood by touring, don’t complicate shit any further. People are crushing it with the high elbows and foot tapping, if you insist on human contact of some sort, do that. Also, be content with where you’re at in the room. I imagine shoving your hand in between people to get through a crowd right now will result in someone screaming at you or worse, so just hold still.

• IRL MERCH interactions: Speaking of interactions with the band, think about your options here. Cash? 😬 Credit Cards? 😬 It’s already gonna be kinda iffy with the handing merch off bit (we are assuming bands are taking precautions obvi), but in an effort to spare everyone’s hands, offer to use Venmo or Paypal if you’re able to. If I were a band/merch person, I wouldn’t want you touching my device that has Square/whatever on it, although you might get lucky and they have one of those credit card machines with the tapping or where you could insert the card in yourself, but again with the screen touching on someone else’s device. Again, be mindful. If you’re too weirded out to touch shit, just make note of what you could get online and do that.

• Don’t come if you kind of feel sick: Tucking this here at the bottom because I’m trying to give y’all the benefit of the doubt, but don’t be an asshole and show up if you think you might be sick at all. You shouldn’t do this ever anyways, btw.

So yeah if all that seems doable for you, best of luck out there. Remember: you don’t have to be in full panic mode, you just have to be smart and more thoughtful of others around you than we have in the past. Common sense, facts, and keeping your hands clean are your new best friends when you go outside now. Also, moisturize your hands when you get home and wash your hands one more time before bed. This is gonna be a rough few months on your hands.

Spread love, not germs. 💖

[SONG OF THE DAY] SG Lewis X Clairo - "Throwaway"

Last week British producer SG Lewis unveiled a new track, “Throwaway”, from the third and final installment of his Dusk Dark Dawn series featuring vocal stylings of viral sensation and good friend to SG, Clairo. As the theme of the series has gone, “Throwaway” is this hazy glimmering downtempo production on its own, only to be further elevated by Clairo’s sugary sweet vocals. Fitting perfectly with the Dawn aesthetic, it’s reminiscent of the first few moments of sunrise.

Speaking on the track, SG shared, “Throwaway was written in LA one evening - we were both super tired and had some shit going on in our respective personal lives. We sat and talked for ages, and after that Throwaway flowed out in no time at all. Clairo is such a special artist and an incredible songwriter, and I'm super proud of this song.”

If you’re prepping to don a flower crown and dance your cares away in Indio at Coachella next month, be sure to catch SG Lewis’ set as he’ll be playing both weekends. In addition to the festival appearance, he’ll also be performing in support of Jaden Smith at Shrine Expo Hall in LA on April 16th. More info below!

SG LEWIS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
04/12 – Coachella Festival – Indio, CA
04/16 – Shrine Expo Hall – Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS*
04/19 – Coachella Festival – Indio, CA
*supporting Jaden Smith

[Watch] Steady Holiday - "Open Water"

From her forthcoming debut album, Under The Influence, LA songstress Dre Babinski aka Steady Holiday has unveiled the video for her latest single, "Open Water". It's possible that in the recent past you've caught a glimpse of Babinski perform live as she's been in a several LA bands in addition to opening for the likes of Fitz and the Tantrums and Fun.. Since then she's decided it was high time to step out on her own, thus here we are today. 

"Open Water" is equal parts seductive, melancholic, and almost saccharin-level-sweet. In this particular instance, I liken Babinski to a siren who is breathlessly luring us all out into open water, where the depths of our darkest memories could swallow us whole. The accompanying video is just as entrancing as the song itself. 

If you're heading to Coachella for either weekend, Steady Holiday will be performing on both Sundays, so be sure to keep an ear out. LA fam who aren't going to Coachella can catch her at her residency at The Satellite every Friday in May. 

Under The Influence is out June 24th courtesy of Infinite Best Recordings. 

Steady Holiday On Tour
04/17 - Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/24 - Indio, CA @ Coachella
06/06 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
06/13 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
06/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
06/27 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite

[Watch] RZA Joins James Blake On Stage at Coachella

While weekend two of Coachella winded down without much noise, there was one moment that stood out. During his performance last night James Blake was joined by RZA, where the two performed their collaborative cut from Overgrown. While RZA hadn't fully memorized the lyrics to "Take a Fall for Me" (and really, can we fault him for that?), it was still fantastic to see the two on stage together. Check out the performance below.

[Coachella 2013] Watch Full Sets from The xx, Blur, Vampire Weekend and Earl Sweatshirt, Highlights from Many More

The first weekend of Coachella flew by, and there were lots of memorable moments. Hell, R. Kelly joined Phoenix onstage in a surprise moment of the festival. Given the nature of the festival, with its well-established live streaming and eager fans with cameras in hand, it wasn't long before a decent amount of videos hit the web. After the jump, you can check out a whole swath of these uploaded videos, including full sets from The xx, Earl Sweatshirt, Blur and Vampire Weekend along with shorter clips from so many more. The joys of technology.

The xx (Full Set):

Earl Sweatshirt (Full Set):

Blur (Full Set):

Vampire Weekend (Full Set):

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Performing "Maps"/"Heads Will Roll"):

Beach House (Performing "Zebra"/"Wishes"):

James Blake (Performing "Voyeur" and "Digital Lion"):

Tame Impala (Performing "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" and "Elephant"):

Modest Mouse (Performing "Be Brave" and "Dramamine"):

Alt-J (Performing "Fitzpleasure" and "Breezeblocks"):

Major Lazer (Performing "Get Free" with Amber Coffman):

Hot Chip (Performing "Ready for the Floor"):

Wu-Tang Clan (Performing "Protect Ya Neck"):

Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (Live @ Coachella) by ffraudio

Disclosure (Performing "Running" with Jessie Ware):

Franz Ferdinand (Performing "Take Me Out" and "No You Girls"):

[Watch] Phoenix Joined By R. Kelly During Coachella Performance

It was rumored that Phoenix would be joined onstage by Daft Punk during their Coachella performance, but you might be surprised by who showed up: R. Kelly. The French rock outfit and the King of R&B dished out awesome mashups of "1901" with "Ignition (Remix)" and "Chloroform" with "I'm a Flirt." Watch fan footage of the collaboration below.

[Watch] Daft Punk Preview New Song "Get Lucky," Featuring Pharrell, at Coachella and on SNL

Continuing the Daft Punk bombardment, the French duo have unveiled a short preview of their much-teased song "Get Lucky". First appearing on screens across the Coachella grounds a few nights ago, the video featured Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers performing over a minute of the track. That's a lot longer than the 15-second previews we've been seeing, and this extended teaser sounds freakin' fantastic. Last night, a high quality version of the teaser aired during Saturday Night Live, which you can watch below.

The teaser video also revealed some other notable mentions, namely the full list of collaborators featured on Random Access Memories. We already knew names like Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Edwards, Pharrell, Chilly Gonzales and Panda Bear were contributing to the album, but it seems a few more names can be added to that list. The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas and DJ Falcon will also be adding their talents to what will certainly be an incredible album. As well, this fits with the supposedly confirmed tracklist for Random Access Memories. Take a look at below.

Random Access Memories Tracklist:
1. “Give Life Back to Music” (featuring Nile Rodgers)
2. “The Game of Love”
3. “Giorgio by Moroder” (featuring Giorgio Moroder)
4. “Within” (featuring Chilly Gonzales)
5. “Instant Crush” (featuring Julian Casablancas)
6. “Lose Yourself to Dance” (featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
7. “Touch” (featuring Paul Williams)
8. “Get Lucky” (featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
9. “Beyond”
10. “Motherhood”
11. “Fragments of Time” (featuring Todd Edwards)
12. “Doin’ It Right” (featuring Panda Bear)
13. “Contact” (featuring DJ Falcon)

[News] Coachella 2013 Lineup Revealed

Yes, I'm posting this a day and a half late, and yes, the Internet has already exploded with fanboys and haters reacting the announcement, but fuck it, I'll go ahead and write about the Coachella 2013 lineup announcement anyways. No harm in that, right? Back to business, though. After all the mandatory "fake lineup announcements" and specualation around who is headlining or performing at the massive Indio, CA festival, the lineup is officially out there for music fans to deliberate over.

Headlining the festival are Blur, The Stone Roses (not to be confused with The Rolling Stones), Phoenix, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Other notable acts are Wu-Tang Clan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Postal Service, Passion Pit, The xx, Sigur Rós, Vampire Weekend, How to Destroy Angels, New Order, Lou Reed, Modest Mouse, Grinderman, Pretty Lights, Modest Mouse, Jurassic 5, and Bassnectar.

Adding to the musical palette are Moby, Hot Chip, Beach House, Grizzly Bear, James Blake, Spiritualized, Franz Ferdinand, Tame Impala, Local Natives, Alt-J, Yeasayer, Simian Mobile Disco, Grimes, Puscifer, Portugal. the Man, Johnny Marr, Major Lazer, TNGHT, Pusha T, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, Purity Ring, Kurt Vile, Father John Misty, Cloud Nothings, Jessie Ware, Youth Lagoon, Action Bronson, El-P, Foals, Dinosaur Jr., Divine Fits, and Thee Oh Sees, and many more.

Check out the full Coachella 2013 lineup above. The festival takes place on two separate weekends, April 12th-14th and April 19th-21st, with general sale tickets to go on sale starting January 29th.