Hola ..
Random Musing For Today ::
When I owned and ran my mid-level Concert PA and Lighting business, I always had a loan on the gear .. it's quite difficult to have the cash on hand to pay for something that costs north of 500K and I had a relatively modest system .. so, during the regular season of outdoor shows / County Fairs / Festivals, etc, I relied on the cash flow to pay that loan as well as my crew, transport costs and other expenses .. most folks that are in the Business rely on loans / lines of credit ..
It was a great life while I did it, although not very good for personal relationships .. pulling in, setting up the stage and the gear .. hearing that low level hum as things warmed up, making sure everything was as perfect as possible and running smoothly .. the rush of a Band hitting the stage and having your fingers crossed that everything would run flawlessly ..
The live entertainment Business has likely been hit as hard as any segment of the Economy .. other than isolated instances such as Sturgis, the need for this type of work has dried up, and, I suppose, rightfully so .. really, Entertainment in general, theaters, street festivals, any venue that depends upon a gathering of people ..
Yes, there are those "virtual" things, but nothing can replace the energy and joy of just plain old good live Entertainment .. more folks than most would think work not only as Entertainers, but behind-the-scenes as well .. and that goes for Joes Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band all the way up the chain .. the vast majority of these folks are not well off financially, work when they can and go from one gig to the next .. sure, the top end folks can hunker down and still do fine, but that's the exception, not the rule ..
It was hard and grueling enough when things were normal ..
I don't know if things will ever get back to the "good old days" .. the fear that has been instilled in a large portion of the Populace will cause people to hold back until they are fully and completely comfortable with gathering again in larger groups .. and, that will take time ..
We've, I think, reached a point now where we have adapted as best we can .. it's been long enough that, for most of us, our ways and habits have molded themselves to this River of the Unknown that continues to flow and is, obviously, not going away ..
