Gigs cancelled due to virus...

[prowla]

Northern Guitar Show postponed, F1 postponed, footy postponed - shame for the folks relying on them or looking forward to them.

My train in to work today, which is usually rammed with people standing had at least half of the seats empty.

[Cato]

Looks like the UK Govt is about to reverse position and ban mass public gatherings.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/uk-to-ban-mass-gatherings-in-coronavirus-u-turn

I doubt the average pub gig will be included within the new rules, but it may well increase reluctance for any venue to put on live music.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Cato

[casapete]

Our theatre gig tonight went ahead as planned, but in a sold out auditorium there were quite a few vacant seats so some people obviously didn’t think it was worth the risk. Gigging tomorrow night and so far it’s still on, but I’m thinking it could be the last we do for a while. Our 8 piece band plus 3 crew members will subsequently all be out of work for the foreseeable, which is worrying everyone a great deal as it’s all our main source of income. 

As mentioned above, the NE Guitar show has been postponed from this coming Sunday to June 14th. ( Was thinking it might be a bit daft going so the decision has been made for me. Looks like I’ll be staying in now.😟)

[Al Krow]

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

First Central London gig for tomorrow night cancelled.

Our local East End regular pub gig still going ahead tonight and one in the diary in 2 weeks' time at the same venue with my other band on a Sat night, but doubt they will be able to fork out for bands over the next few months if punters are staying away, so tonight could be our last one for a while.

The pub was a fair bit busier than either we or the pub landlord were expecting. He'd had a decent duo in last week who unfortunately (particularly as I'd made the intro!) bombed. Made us both appreciate the importance of the rhythm section!

Overall a good night, tonight, and probably more Fridays to follow at the venue once CV has blown over. Felt a bit poignant having a drink with band mates after , 'cos it may be our last gig for a while 😔

[gjones]

Next gig is a week on Saturday at a crowded music pub. Our singer has had a problem with colds/flu turning into pneumonia, in recent years. I tend to think that if the venue doesn't cancel, she will.

[arthurhenry]

If smaller social gatherings such as pub gigs are prohibited and we are effectively prevented by law from doing our job, will there be some means by which we can recover the lost income? If not would it be legitimate to add up the lost earnings and deduct it from profit on the next tax return?

[gjones]

24 minutes ago, arthurhenry said:

If smaller social gatherings such as pub gigs are prohibited and we are effectively prevented by law from doing our job, will there be some means by which we can recover the lost income? If not would it be legitimate to add up the lost earnings and deduct it from profit on the next tax return?

If you're a pro musician, I have a lot of sympathy for you. I know a lot of people who make a living from music and are going to be in big financial trouble.

Edit: Musicians union is thinking along similar lines https://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/News/2020/Mar/Dr-Rosena-Allin-Khan-calls-for-better-support-for

Edited March 14, 2020 by gjones

[Linus27]

Tonight's gig is a 60th birthday party in a hall and is still on.

Next Saturday is a 50th party to 170 people in a club. I can see it being cancelled but by the club and not the organiser.

The Saturday after that is another 60th birthday party so who knows.

[prowla]

1 hour ago, arthurhenry said:

If smaller social gatherings such as pub gigs are prohibited and we are effectively prevented by law from doing our job, will there be some means by which we can recover the lost income? If not would it be legitimate to add up the lost earnings and deduct it from profit on the next tax return?

Well, they are doing some tax breaks for small businesses, aimed at catering/ents...

As far as the law goes, it's an emergency measure for the greater good, though it's sad that some decent folks get to lose out...

[gjones]

Weirdly, my band have been getting offers of gigs due to coronavirus related, band cancellations.

We had an offer last weekend, which we couldn't do because we were already gigging that night, and we have just had an offer for tonight, because a band has pulled out, due to illness.

I don't know if these bands are cancelling because they actually have the virus or because they're afraid that a crowded music bar is an unsafe place to be, at this time.

My opinion is that I'm going to get this virus sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner I suppose. So I'm happy to do the gig. 

[TRBboy]

Well, none of ours seem to have been cancelled yet. We have a pub gig on Friday and the owners are still keen for us to go ahead (desperate to bring the punters in I think!). We've got a 40th the weekend after and a pub gig I think and various others over the next couple of months. I'm sure some if not all will be cancelled. 

I'm agonising over whether WE should cancel next Fridays gig though.... I've been banging on about how much we can all do to reduce the spread of this virus, limit the severity, and ultimately reduce associated deaths, and the strain on the NHS. To do this, as well as good hygiene, we all need to be limiting non-essential social interactions as much as we can: and I feel gigs fall into this category; it's not essential, it's entertainment. 

So I kinda feel I have a social responsibility to cancel all upcoming gigs...... 

I feel for the guys that rely on it for a living (my wife is a self employed vocal coach), and as painful as it may be, the more we can do now to reduce the spread and severity, the easier it will be for the NHS to deal with, and the sooner we'll be past it. I know people want to get out there and earn money, but the less action we take now, the longer period of restrictions we'll be looking at in my opinion. 

It's just so hard to know what to do right now, and I don't think the government are giving everyone the right/quick enough guidance. 'keep calm and carry on' isn't gonna cut it IMHO..... 

[julietgreen]

28 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

So I kinda feel I have a social responsibility to cancel all upcoming gigs...

I sort of wish our bands (or venues) would do the same. We're definitely non-essential.

[Linus27]

1 hour ago, julietgreen said:

I sort of wish our bands (or venues) would do the same. We're definitely non-essential.

I think we need to wait for what the government decide over the next few days and then go from there. You may have no option but not play or it might be deemed irresponsible to play and you make the decision to pull out. Things should be clearer early next week.

[Lozz196]

My old band were due to be joining GBH for a few days in Germany but had to pull out due to an unrelated health issue. GBH apparently played on Thurs then the whole tour has been cancelled.  

[leschirons]

Next five gigs cancelled so far and just heard Printemp Bourges,  a huge festival week for a whole large town involving about 100 bands has been cancelled.

[MGB]

Here in the Netherlands since this Thursday up to the first of April (for now) all gatherings involving more than hundred people are forbidden.

So all my gigs till then went up in smoke. And the government is also urgently advising "social abstinence" for the time being. 

 

[Drax]

From what (little) we know about the virus growth, appears futile that anywhere would push dates back a few months. I guess it keeps the booking ‘live’ - but if the guitar show isn’t happening in March, you’d assume it’s definitely not happening in June.. 

The stress for the self employed is immense. My business is already losing money, but I have the benefit of sick pay and I’m able to WFH easily. My wife’s mother is a single, self employed hairdresser - she can’t pay the bills without work. We’ve told her we’ll cover any lost work to try and keep her sane - but this loss, and the stress it brings with it - will be played out across the country / world.

The economic situation will eclipse the 2008 crash - but regardless of how big business fares, we have to hope / pray that the govt intervenes to take some pressure off individuals (mortgages , utilities etc ). Emergency measures never considered before will need to be created for the self employed.  

[SICbass]

My bread and butter gig, a show in a hotel 5 nights a week closed its doors after the show last night (upon order of the state authorities here in Germany) until April 19th. The current show would have run until then and I‘m not involved in the next production, so I‘m just a little bit screwed. It’s the nearest a freelancer can get to being made redundant. The city has banned all gatherings of more than 50 people so all other gigs are gone too.

I‘m still digesting all this.

Edited March 15, 2020 by SICbass

[ead]

We gigged last night in a local pub.  Decent crowd too.  We did take the precaution of ensuring the band mascot Bob was suitably protected.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Full house last night for us, as the previous weekend, with little sign of gig-going people buying the media's scaremongering. (Don't get me wrong, I know we need to be careful, but I for one believe that shutting or crippling pubs, restaurants et al would screw up the economy but NOT help the health point of view one single bit.)

 

[mike257]

All my upcoming international touring work is off, majority of my UK stuff is off or at least up in the air. All the corporate event production falling off too. I run my business with minimal overheads and have no direct employees, just a pool of freelancers, but I'm already having to look at finding work in other industries outside of live touring/event production. Plummeting consumer confidence is hitting attendances and advance ticket sales right across the year and sensible estimates are that this industry won't recover until towards at least after summer. I'll basically be putting my business on pause for 6-9 months minimum and starting over in something different. Very concerned for all my friends and colleagues in the industry, almost everyone I know, individuals and small businesses, has had their diaries wiped and are looking at huge financial loss already. 

[Tubster]

Here in Spain all venues are closed until further notice and we are ordered to stay home.

I play with a bunch of guys some of whom survive gig to gig so these draconian measures have put paid to many wage packets; the economic fallout will be enormous.

We just have food shops and pharmacies open. Government took these measures as our infection rate was rising precipitously.

[jimmyb625]

Our May gig has been pulled and the band I tech for has had their Kendal gig pulled for this Thursday.

I'm also the chairman for our local theatre and we're meeting tomorrow night to discuss what we're going to do about our next play, due the 1st week in April. Given that a lot of our audience are edging towards the most at risk category, I have a feeling that we won't run it.

[TRBboy]

3 hours ago, Drax said:

From what (little) we know about the virus growth, appears futile that anywhere would push dates back a few months. I guess it keeps the booking ‘live’ - but if the guitar show isn’t happening in March, you’d assume it’s definitely not happening in June.. 

The stress for the self employed is immense. My business is already losing money, but I have the benefit of sick pay and I’m able to WFH easily. My wife’s mother is a single, self employed hairdresser - she can’t pay the bills without work. We’ve told her we’ll cover any lost work to try and keep her sane - but this loss, and the stress it brings with it - will be played out across the country / world.

The economic situation will eclipse the 2008 crash - but regardless of how big business fares, we have to hope / pray that the govt intervenes to take some pressure off individuals (mortgages , utilities etc ). Emergency measures never considered before will need to be created for the self employed.  

You're absolutely right, the economic impact of this will be gargantuan. I think the government are going to have to step in and put measures in place to try and balance the impact across the board and minimise irreparable damage as much as they can. 

I think no area of the economy is safe. Small businesses and the self employed will feel the immediate strain, but bigger businesses will follow suit, and the impacts will be even greater. The business I work for is by far the biggest employer in my home city, contributing millions to the local economy with around 2000 people at the site I'm on, with 18 sites nationally. Our product is low profit, high turnover. We rely heavily on manual labour to meet our customers needs. If our workforce starts going down, we face a huge challenge. Additionally our whole supply chain is extremely finely balanced and delicate, the slightest disruption can topple everything, with very far reaching effects. 

The economic effects are almost as concerning as the health effects; who knows what we will be left with after this is all over? 

[phil.c60]

Just had an email to say that tonight's Elvis Costello gig in Oxford is cancelled.(well,  "postponed", but I doubt it will happen any time soon) which we had tickets for and were going if it was on.  The last two shows at Cardiff and Birmingham are off as well, obviously.  Local pub gig for me this afternoon instead then , to see some mates play. I've a feeling that my bands upcoming gig schedule is going to get thinned out really soon......the drummer has already started making noises "I'm 63, I'm in a higher risk group..."........