Coronavirus: Live concerts making tentative return to Jacksonville

At the David Nail concert at the Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park last month, a woman walked away from the lobby bar and put down her mask to take a mouthful.

Within a second, the security guard told her that she must wear a mask at all times in the hall.

"Then how should I drink it?" she asked. "I just bought a cup. Oh my goodness."

Welcome to live music in the age of COVID-19. The crowd is crowded, the social distance is far away, you must wear masks, the temperature check at the door, the non-contact preferential pipeline and the drinks on your seat are new habits, because the promoters and venues are trying to find music without harming anyone The way it will. 

Numa Saisselin, president of the Florida Theater, said: "I really look forward to greeting people in the lobby again and then telling them to leave me and sit down."

Since the virus outbreak in mid-March, live concerts, plays, dance recitals and symphony performances, and almost all forms of entertainment that require people to gather in large numbers have almost disappeared. The last big show in the area was in March

Military appreciation day ceremony. 

Catherine said that since the Zeppelin tribute band Get the Led Out performed at the Florida Theater on March 12, the Florida Theater has not hosted a live performance.

Since then, hundreds of shows have been cancelled or postponed, and some move dates are three to four times. A pair of "drive-in" programs by

In October, the TIAA Bank Field parking lot attracted a large crowd, but Nail's performance (attracting less than 300 fans to the 1,750-seat venue) was the first indoor popular concert since March.

The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is one of the few orchestras in the United States.

, Even if these audiences are much smaller than in the past.

Anna Zirbel, the executive director of Thrasher-Horne Center, said from the stage when introducing Nail: "For any theater, this is really not a long-term sustainable business model." 

A few minutes later, Nail himself responded to this view. He told the audience: "I don't know how many shows we have this year, but there are less than 10." "That's not enough."

The Florida Theater held a series of concerts this week that will test whether fans, musicians and venues are ready to resume business. Swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will perform on holiday on Wednesday, rockers .38 Special will hold a homecoming concert on Thursday; cartoonist Brian Reagan will be there on Friday; tribute to classic record company Live playing Fleetwood Mac’s "Rumours" on Saturday; country singer Travis Tritt performed on Sunday. 

Kurt Sodergren, who plays for the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy drum band, said his band has only participated in a few charity admissions performances since March. They are eager to get back on the road, but only if they are safe. The Florida Theater Concert will be the second performance of six nights in Florida.

Sodergren said that the band’s managers have received COVID-19 compliance training and will ensure that they stay as safe as possible during the tour. The band will be masked backstage and in the car at the show, but not on the stage.

He said: "Obviously, I am nervous." "We will all abide by the rules absolutely. I hope we can get some kind of roadmap from it for future use." 

Catherine said that despite travel restrictions and the virus surge, everyone is eager to return to live concerts. He said: "These behaviors want to work. Everyone wants to get back to work." "The other good news is that the audience wants to go out."

But no one wants to have another outbreak or spread the virus to one person, so fans can expect many precautions to make it as safe as possible. Cesslin said: "The virus has had a huge impact." "Even if it is safe, people should be cautious."

The fan can expect to check the temperature at the door, and if it fails, it will be sent home. There is no opening ceremony, no break. The Florida Theater Bar will be closed during the performance. Only half of the seats will be sold, and people will sit in the "pods" with two empty seats left, right, front and left rear.

Catherine said that fans will also be required to wear face masks at all times, including in the seats, and staff will not fool around with people who choose not to comply. 

He said: "We will do our best to be as polite and friendly as possible, and hope that people will cooperate." "If they don't, they will be asked to leave."

He said that he had heard some complaints about the mask policy, but most importantly, there was no performance at all. 

He said: "The virus is here and it won't go away anytime soon." "We all have to find a way to live. We want people to realize that it's a choice. We don't like the idea of ​​driving someone out."

The upcoming performance will be the first performance since all seats in the Florida Theater were replaced and a new sound system was installed as part of a long-term planned renovation project.

The city owns venues, but the independent Florida Theater Performing Arts Center Co., Ltd. is responsible for operations. He said: "I never thought we would live so long." "We let this place use its strength and initiative. All this is on our shoulders." 

Since the performance of John Fogerty in February, the St. Augustine Amphitheater has not yet held a full performance. The general manager of St. John's County, Gabriel Pellicer, who owns the venue, said they plan to hold two JJ Gray & Mofro performances from January 15th to 16th to reopen.

Pellicer said that this may be a role model for the future, at least until the COVID crisis passes, the behavior will broadcast multiple programs to people with limited ability. St. Johns County also has the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, which will take Raul Malo to two performances on January 9.

The performance capacity of Grey's amphitheater is limited to 36% of the venue's capacity, or approximately 1,700 seats. Gray, who lives in the Jacksonville area, used to show sold-out performances in the amphitheater. If allowed, it is likely to be shown on the venue of this theater. 

Pellicer said that if performances want to make money close to their income from one performance, then participating in multiple performances in order to safely accommodate a large number of fans seems to be the most economical option. The venue must pay the staff for each performance, but the artist only needs to set up and remove the equipment once.

In small venues like Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, the seats are reduced to 114, and artists can play multiple shows in one day. He said that in the amphitheater, there are many crowds, which is not practical.

During the closure, the amphitheater also installed all new seats. Pellicer explained that the new seat can be locked in an upright position, allowing employees to create and strengthen social distancing. Seats are sold in "pods", usually in the form of two, three or four tickets, and only those seats can be unlocked.

Pellicer said that they will comply with all CDC guidelines on COVID-19 safety, which means that fans must be "moved masked" (however, in most cases, they will be able to remove the mask on the seat), And the staff will perform disinfection. Common areas are frequent.

Pellicer said that upside will be shorter and fans will have more elbow room. 

He said that you will not have a person sitting in front of you, so the feeling will spread. It will look good from the stage and feel good from the crowd. Just wear a sports mask. " 

When the Jacksonville Icemans hockey team played their home game for the first time, the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena welcomed the crowd on Saturday for the first time in months. ASM Global Jacksonville runs the arena together with the Times Alliance Center, Ritz Theatre and Prime Osborn Convention Center. The company has launched a new JaxEvents app, which The program will allow fans to order and store digital tickets, pre-purchase parking spaces and order food and beverages on stage. The JaxEvents application can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.