Never say never cause here it is, a review of a live concert in The Bay Area after March 2020!
That's right. Last month the Burlingame Golf Range in Bayshore Park which is just a hop, skip and jump away from SFO, transformed into a drive-in, for shows. Think drive- in movie but music! The concert series was called Bayshore Drive-In and consisted of 9 show dates spanning three consecutive weekends from Thursday October 22nd through Saturday November 7th.
Thundercat kicked things off on opening night and though ticket sales/car pass sales were good I'm not sure if it was sold-out.
I am sure that after than night and the 70+ noise complaints that were made, the PA system was not used for any of the other shows. This meant that for the remaining shows, in true drive-in style, attendees had to tune in via their car radio.
Major Lazer was set to play The Bay Shore Drive-In on Saturday, October 24th as one of the first stops on their Drive-In tour after releasing their fourth album the day before on Friday October 23rd. They played two shows that day, an early show that started around 5:00pm and a late show that started around 9:00pm. I imagine that it was the early show that got added by popular demand after the late show sold-out and honestly it seemed like both shows were sold-out.
These were the first live shows in about 8 months since COVID-19 put everything on lockdown, including concerts, tours and music festivals. There is no doubt that everyone was stoked to be there. People packed into cars, some rented trucks, some drove convertibles, all eager to get parked in a spot for the show.
Some people dressed up in full raver gear: rave booty shorts, glitter/rhinestones/sparkles, festive hosiery and platform boots. Some people wore Halloween costumes.
Almost everyone wore a mask, a face mask you know the ones, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Major Lazer @ Bayshore Drive-In 10/24/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
There were different rules for every show at The Bayshore Drive-In: advertised as a concert from your car, it seemed that every night attendees were allowed to get out of their car to enjoy the show but they had to stay close to their car/parking spot and not mingle with the parties next them. Some people opted to back into their parking spot to watch the show from the back of their car or bed of their truck.
Some of shows allowed lawn chairs to be placed next to cars so people could enjoy the show that way. Other shows did not allow the use of lawn chairs. At the Major Lazer show a lot of people danced around their cars or on top of their cars. All attendees were suppose to wear a face mask at all times if /when out of their car, obviously. As it turns out, policing and enforcing that at an event with minimal staff to do it, is difficult.
It was the second stop of Major Lazer's Drive-In tour and their only Bay Area show(s) in 2020, clearly. It's nice to know, as this concert series proved, that some things never change as most of the Bayshore Drive-In shows did not start at the scheduled start time but rather 15 to 30 minutes later in true "rock star" form. There were even a few people who grumbled about the delayed start times just like in pre-covid times, aww.
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Major Lazer @ Bayshore Drive-In 10/24/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The now three piece that makes up Major Lazer were all there: Ape Drums, Walshy Fire and Diplo plus two female dancers and they were all juiced. They hit the stage with an explosive energy which paralleled the excitability pumping through the crowd. The trio hopped around the stage, hopped on and off of the table that was set up for Dj-ing purposes. They danced and preformed on top of the table while the two female dancers held it down center stage.
The Major Lazer crew hyped up the crowd with shout outs and charismatic banter. The effort they put into engaging with the crowd almost made it feel like a pre-COVID show: fans ate it up every time it was served and Major Lazer kept dishing it out. .
People are always stoked to be at a show, right? They like the music enough to buy a ticket and choose to spend their time there. They want to have a good time, it makes them happy. That's why they're there.
These shows hit different.
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Major Lazer @ Bayshore Drive-In 10/24/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini
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There were a couple of times when COVID compliancy slipped the minds of Major Lazer. For instance when they told the crowd to give the person next to them a high five and hug the people around them. It is easy to forget that we are still in a time of pandemic with a highly contagious infection virus, especially in the middle of having a good time but hopefully those simple, easily avoidable slip ups didn't happen at the other stops at on their Drive-In tour.
Most attendees could not see the stage, the PA wasn't blasting the dance hits and there wasn't crowd of sweaty happy people in front of the stage but none of that mattered. Major Lazer was vibing hard, giving fans what we've all been painfully missing for nearly 8 months, a show. A live show. The magic of music, that comradery amongst strangers that brings them together for one reason. That
reason being to have a shared good time experiencing music brought to life and that was ever present at these Major Lazer shows.
You could feel it.
I don't know about you but 8 months without going to a live show was excruciating.
I honestly didn't think it'd be back, albeit in a much different capacity, this soon. It was an eye-opening experience for what has to be done to bring live music back safely, for everyone.
More hand sanitizer needs to be available all around site, not just outside of port-o-potties.
Good ol' port-o-potties should not be the norm for events like this anymore. They weren't getting sanitized after each and every use at the Bayshore Drive-In shows and they weren't pumped between double-header shows like Major Lazer (gross). If there's not a structure bathroom facility to offer attendees then restroom trailers like Porta Lisas should be rented and used rather than port-o-potties. Sure, restroom trailers are more expensive but they are way more sanitary and easier to sanitize.
Along with more security on-site patrolling to make sure people are following COVID compliance safety, there should also be the same amount of CCOs (COVID compliance officers) on-site. CCOs know what to look for and how to keep people safe therefore they should be enforcing COVID compliance protocols and security would be there to assist if someone got unruly.
Artists should not out right invite people to fall out of COVID compliance protocols, period.
I don't know if that would be a contractual thing or what but...
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Major Lazer @ Bayshore Drive-In 10/24/2020
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Obviously, masks are key.
Please wear your mask everywhere you go, everything you do. If more people consistently wore masks live music would come back sooner. Restaurants, bars, gyms, salons...everything would come back sooner.
If you don't do it for yourself or for other people do it for music.
If you're one of those people who's reasoning for not wearing a mask is that "the government shouldn't tell people what to do" please, kindly, get over yourself. Seriously, stop and listen to yourself, look at your life. What else are you doing that the government or society tells you to do? Is it more than simply wearing a mask during a pandemic?
The way I see it, people who
still make the conscious decision to not wear a mask in public continue to take away my livelihood and the livelihood of thousands of live event workers and crew (that includes professional sports all you sports fans). Think about that the next time to decide not to wear a mask because it's your choice. It's not my choice to have the industry doing what I love disappear but every time a person doesn't wear a mask they are making that choice for me and thousands of other people around the world.
Huge shout out to
1690 Collective, the parking and traffic team! Their hard working crew put their health and safety on the line to usher cars in and get them parked (socially distanced of course) for all of the Bayshore Drive-In shows.
