The Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle, England, which bills itself as the first socially distant concert venue, kicked off the first of several concerts on Tuesday with a performance by English indie rock act Sam Fender, who performed a set for a few played thousands of fans scattered across the horse-track-turned arena in their own socially distant pods.
Regional promoter SSD concerts had begun planning for these socially distant shows in April and announced the concept definitively in July, when it became clear that the promoter could pull off the event. It is one of several experiments that the live music industry has attempted to bring back live shows, as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has silenced the entire industry. The concert series will feature a list of well-known UK artists, including Van Morrison, the Libertines, and Two Door Cinema Club.
Social distance gigging #samfender pic.twitter.com/IAx1prJvYW
– Andrew Watson (@ AndyWatson148) August 12, 2020
Images and footage of concert attendees show an organized effort on the part of SSD (though a little less of a noisy performance than one might expect at a rock concert), as fans sat outside each of their individual groups in a row.
Fantastic night! Sam Fender was classy! Can all concerts be like this ?! Brilliantly organized! Thank you! pic.twitter.com/faWOYBJ9IU
– Tracy Guthrie (@tracylguthrie) 11 August 2020
These shows are no different from the drive-in shows that have been increasingly frequent this summer, but instead of making dedicated spaces for cars, SSD fans had attended in their own spaces after introducing socially-distant queues. Compared to the Chainsmokers’ disastrous Hamptons concert like this weekend’s South Dakota show from Smash Mouth – where organizers and attendees cautioned against packing, mask-free shows ignoring an ongoing deadly pandemic – the event of SSD seems to take much more precautionary measures.
Participants looked relatively limited to their individual elevated platforms, which were separated far enough apart to stay with social distance. A venue the size of the Unity Arena could potentially hold 20,000 people, organizers said earlier Rolling stone, but shows will close at 2,500. To avoid lines, fans pre-ordered food and drinks they received when they entered the venue.
The UK’s first socially distant gig is now taking place in Newcastle @samfendermusic headlining, and where participants have their own private viewing area with 2m of space between them. Here’s what it looks like #samfender #unityarena pic.twitter.com/YBdxpAjYyi
– Kieron Donoghue (@kierondonoghue) 11 August 2020
“The lack of human connection has been hard, and we wanted to be at the forefront of finding ways to safely walk around people doing what they love,” Libertines co-frontman Carl Barât said Rolling stone of the band’s upcoming show at the arena. ‘But the method of it is bizarre, man; it tells how things are right now. The fact that we are in a place where people have to sit in their own bubbles to go to shows is mental. Like everyone else we did not really understand how it could work in the first place, but if this is the first thing we can do legally, then, register us then. ”
