New world, new entertainments

CREATIVITY FINDS A WAY

Some readers will know that as well as occasionally posting on here I also, on a separate blog, write reviews of gigs, plays and films we go to see.  Purely for my own amusement, I don't expect anyone to read them, but you need a few hobbies in retirement, and that's one that gives my brain a small challenge and adds another dimension to being an audience member.  Over the course of a year I'll usually write well over a hundred of these, with the bulk of them reflecting our assiduous attendance at the various festivals the city has to offer from April to August and beyond.

But, for obvious reasons, not in 2020.  Our last live entertainment, the excellent Boo Hewerdine, was almost three weeks ago and it looks like being many months before there's another one.  That's a big element of our lives put on hold, my little hobby suspended - and a large chunk of disposable income not being spent!  For us that's an annoyance, but such a minor one in the context of what's going on in the world it's barely worth a thought.  For the performers - musicians, comedians, actors - we'd have been going to see it's much more serious, as that's how they pay the bills.  And how they express their essential creativity.  So it's been fascinating to see how they are coming to terms with the new reality, one that could be with us for some time to come and is, surely, going to change much about the world we've known until now.

We can't go to see them, they can't come to us, but there is this thing called the internet, and it has always offered endless possibilities for new ways to interact with others.  Seeing artists adapt to this is fascinating, and I've sat watching several music gigs and a couple of comedy shows.  It gives them an outlet for their talents, us a substitute for the raw entertainment we are missing, and, possibly a way for performers to earn some much needed dosh in the hard times they are experiencing.

The first one of these I watched was pretty impromptu.  The band Talisk found themselves stranded in the US when the bulk of their tour, and income, went awol.  They launched a crowdfunder to help them get flights back home and cover some of the debts they had outstanding.  As a thank you for the money raised they did a Facebook Live broadcast from a hotel room in Nashville.  It was manic, shambolic and probably more verbal rambling than actual music.  But it was also very funny, had some great music and curiously involving.  Partly because FL provides for real-time commenting by viewers, but also the sense of this being the start of something that would become our main source of 'live' entertainment for who knows how many weeks to come - and maybe beyond.

Since then  I've watched a few live, or almost live, music performances, and a couple of the Saturday night shows the Stand Comedy Club have done.  In every case there's a palpable sense of nervous experimentation, and trying to find ways to cope with the lack of any immediate audience response.  It's going to be fascinating to see how this evolves, but for now I won't bother trying to write reviews.  As a performance medium it's still too raw, too feeling-the-way, to be able to criticise.  But by the end of April...?