Midmorning With Aundrea - July 15, 2020 (Part 2)

(Part 2 of 2) The coronavirus pandemic has forced many musicians to cancel concerts this summer, but some bands have found creative ways to perform live shows safely.

Are you ready for drive-in concerts?

Summer is traditionally the peak season for live concerts.

But the vast majority have been cancelled or postponed over health and safety concerns.

So musicians have gotten creative to keep the music playing -- from live streams into our homes..

To turning cars into concert seats.

Dana jacobson explains.

Nat whether it's beyonce nat / badlands bruce springsteen nat / fix you or coldplay concerts pre covid were a give and take betweeen musicians and fans.

It's a communal experience john lyon knows well.

John lyon: 12:15:28 i mean, they are the ones that you get the energy from, they get the energy from you, it's a big transfer john lyon - southside johnny of the asbury jukes - has been making music for 50 years.

But says nothing prepared him for the past 3 months.

John lyon: 12:14:04 there was a lot of musicians who are really hurting financially, but i think the most painful part of it is not being able to play.

Dana jacobson: 12:14:49 why?

John lyon: 12:14:51 because it's what we do.//it's like a painter who can't paint, or-it's all of the things that you do that make your life worthwhile have been taken away from you.

This weekend-in this parking lot across from new jersey's monmouth park racetrack, he'll get a little of it back when his band plays its first drive in concert.

Dana jacobson: 12:17:26 what did you think when the idea was proposed of doing a drive in concert?

John lyon: 12:17:34 well-- you know, i thought, whatever.//if you're willing to try it i'm willing to do it, you know?

Playing to a bunch of cars.

Okay.

You know, what the heck, as long as i get to sing dana jacobson: 13:32:34 how quickly did you sell out?

Dennis drason: 13:32:37 pretty quick.

Dennis drason is the chairman of monmouth park racetrack dennis drason: 13:32:40 i was getting calls from friends before they went on sale, you know, "ca you do anything?"

Dana jacobson: 13:32:47 people want live music.

Dennis drason: 13:32:49 they do.

Keith urban was one of the first to run with the drive in concert idea& followed by artists like alan jackson and even dave matthews.

D ennis drason: 13:32:15 so there'll be a big video screen all the way where you were standing which is where the bands will be which is down at the far end of the parking lot.

Dana jacobson: 13:32:24 and how many cars are you gonna have in here?// dennis drason: 1000 cars.// up to four people a car.

Back in new jersey a thousand cars are expected for the show with up to 4 people per car.

The biggest challenge according to organizers, the fluidity of restrictions - from fans being kept in or allowed out of cars to concession sales.

Dennis drason: 13:42:39 at the end of the day, we're all in to work together and try and make sure this is a safe good experience for the people who wanna get out of their houses already.

Peter shapiro: 15:20:25 corona has you know it was just and immediate bam that's how hard it was.

Peter shapiro is a promotor and venue owner?&with concert spots in new york, nashville and las vegas?

Dana jacobson: is this the hardest thing you've had to face?

Peter shapiro: 15:31:06 yeah//this is the hardest thing we've had to face because it's not over.

Shapiro says that creativity and flexibility have been the keys to keeping the music playing during the pandemic peter shapiro: 15:22:24 people watching concerts at home, that was so immediate, right?

You could play in your living room tonight and put it on instagram or facebook or youtube//the fans i think loved seeing their favorite artists in their living rooms. dana jacobson: 15:22:53 it was very personal.

Peter shapiro: 15:22:54 yeah.

But then after a while you wanna see them in a venue.

And now people are doing-- performances in venues like these, empty, you know, but live.

People like jason isbell who did a live stream from shapiro's brooklyn bowl venue in nashville - and then took it one step further& peter shapiro: 15:38:12 we brought the fans from their zooms into the venue and put 'em on the wall, on our screen.//and jason could see them.// he was totally feeding off of it.

And someone held a sign.// "hello fro orlando," stage could see-- he'd say like, "hello, orlando.

And you could see the impact on people// it can work virtually.

That moment did.

Live.

00:09:29.640 jon foreman: even soundcheck was a kind of a euphoric moment jon foreman, lead singer of the san diego based band switchfoot, agrees.

In may?, they played a drive in show at petco park.

00:09:54.120 jon foreman: to just kind of sit back and feel the energy and the pressure of live music drums, all of these things//i fell in love with about music in the first place.//and so to feel it again felt like a beautiful homecoming.

00:03:08.760 dana jacobson: were you able to feed off the crowd with how they had to be regulated to be safe.

Jon foreman: yeah, i definitely could//feel the energy coming back at me.

//in between songs, everyone's kind of honking their horns//making the most of//what it was//.

There's this hemingway quote from old man and the sea that talks about how now is not the time to lament what we can't do now's the time to do what can be done.

And that's what we're trying to do as a band.

Which was more than enough for switchfoot fans like the brodsky family 00:07:33.960 dana jacobson: did this make you feel more normal again.

Or did it make you miss concerts more again.

All: both.

Courtney brodsky: us as a family// we like to go see live music and it's very cathartic even when we're not in a like a concert type arena or a venue.

Dana jacobson: 15:39:47 how confident are you that the music industry will survive this, certainly the concert industry peter shapiro: 15:40:04 rock and roll//the history of it is so adaptable, it's resilient.

And if-- if it takes longer for the vaccine there'll be more drive-in concerts//digital stuff in empty venues// but we're gonna//fight like a cockroach to//figure out different ways//hopefully the end is not us sitting in cars watching concerts //but if we have to, you know-- i would do it.

And so will southside johnny& john lyon: 12:36:10 this is gonna be a real challenge.

But i trust my audience, i trust my band.

And//i just wanna play.

.

For now&.

Dana jacobson: 12:21:51 have you allowed yourself to think about what that first concert will be like that can be in the old normal that we knew?

John lyon: 12:22:01 i can only tell that the last show we did was in florida before everything got canceled//the audience knew that this was the last show//they were insane.

So i'm expecting the first show that we do that is actually live with people to be bonkers.

And we don't-- you know, we could go up there with-- two flute and a bongo and they'd still go crazy.

Th that and more on the next midmorning.