Last week, word began to spread among the Boston music community about Gov. Charlie Baker’s bombshell decision to open up “concert halls, theaters and indoor performance spaces” with a 50% capacity and a 500-person limit on March 1. There was some cautious celebration, but, moreover, major concerns limned with dismay and confusion.
Then, on Friday, Mayor Marty Walsh laid down a speedbump vis-à-vis Boston, delaying city openings until March 22, with the same criteria.
Part of the confusion came because it appeared from news reports the governor’s protocols pertained to both to seated clubs and theaters – where chairs and tables can be marked off and it’s feasible to maintain six feet of distance – but also clubs where people stand and/or dance.
Did the governor’s dictate include mostly stand-up clubs, popular places like the House of Blues, Royale, The Sinclair, Big Night Live and The Paradise Rock Club?
Well, yes, but …
A post on the mass.gov website reads: “A performance venue is a facility where performers are in a designated area, such as a stage, audience members remain in fixed or assigned seating during the performance, and seated dining service is not provided.
“For live performances, singing and the playing of brass and wind instruments is discouraged. Singing is not permitted in any indoor performance venues.”
How does a standing member of the audience remain in a “fixed” position throughout a concert? Must they stand on an X, six feet apart from everyone else? How do you maintain or police that space?
Masking up is part of the requirement, no matter what.
But there are a host of other issues and obstacles causing uncertainty. Singing is not permitted? How many bands don’t have a singer? Half-capacity? Can a club or band make money with half a house? Or will ticket prices have to double and if so, will patrons be willing to pay that? Will patrons be comfortable going out to a gig –vaccinated or not vaccinated – no matter what the official rules and regulations are? Keep in mind, the primary demographic for live music shows have not been vaccinated.
Matt Smith considers opening Club Passim, his small Harvard Square folk music club, as improbable. “We’re looking at it in terms of social distancing guidelines,” the general manager and talent buyer said. “Can you imagine Club Passim with people six feet away? You’d get maybe a dozen people in the room. We surveyed our audience early on and asked when they would feel safe returning. The overwhelming response was when there’s a vaccine and until 90 percent are vaccinated.”
Can you imagine Club Passim with people six feet away? You’d get maybe a dozen people in the room.
Matt Smith
“I think it’s too soon and a mistake,” said Sean McNally, a Boston-based independent promoter who has booked some drive-in shows during the pandemic. “I also think [the governor] was getting a ton of pressure not to lose the income from a second St. Patrick’s Day for many establishments.”
City Winery may be in a better position than many venues because shows are sit-down affairs and thus more controllable. The shift from March 1 to March 22 is of no consequence.
“Realistically,” said Michael Dorf, CEO of the seven restaurant/club chain, “we wouldn’t be able to put on a first show for five weeks to six weeks It takes a while to get the machine going – finding talent, marketing, programming, the operations. This whole process, from closing to being restricted in what we can to do reopen, is painful and super costly – mentally and in so many ways. We’re fatigued on so many fronts.”
Dorf believes the new configuration at his Boston club will allow for 130-140 people, about 40 percent of capacity. He’s trying to figure out what he could offer a major artist to play the club with those restrictions. “Get them to agree to perform four or five nights and charge the public $100 a ticket for a show?”
Another problem, Dorf…
Read More: Boston Performance Venues Greet Reopening Guidelines With Caution, And Confusion