What does being a hardcore kid mean if you can't leave your bed?

Long Covid Blues and a song that's making me feel better

Well folks, I finally got Long Covid. It felt inevitable since I've worked retail and taken public transit for most of this pandemic, often as the only person wearing a mask.

I'm currently housebound, except for trips to doctors, and so the question (among many questions) is how to access live music?

Song: Hold On (Skitch) by Faulty Wires.

1. I've started to help book shows in a DIY space and I love it even though it's definitely bittersweet to help organize a show I don't get to see. But there's a lot potential to build something cool there, especially in a location that's all ages and physically accessible, and I hope I'll get to go in person one of these days. Our first show was masked and I'm going to push for future ones to be as well.

2. The culture of livestreaming big shows has been devisive I know, whether it's  people on their phones on instagram or big professional platforms like Veeps. I won't relitigate that too much here, but I think it's hard to argue that streaming shows makes them way more accessible than they are otherwise.  And even over stream, live events are fun and exciting in a way that's different from a recording* - sports have built an entire culture around this, why is it different for music? While I know it's exhausting to imagine being sold yet another streaming service, I would buy a season pass to a venue or a band's tour in order to see a good quality stream every week.

*although I'm also in favor of filming more concerts professionally.

3. We need to get more creative and less rigid about how live music happens

I've been looking everywhere in my neighborhood for live music. While I usually go to punk shows, I've been so thirsty for music I could physically get to without tanking my body that I would basically go see any genre at the moment, and there is nothing within walking distance, which I imagine that's true for a lot of us. Until I find a friend with a car, what's the solution here? Meet ups in the park? In my living room?


4. And finally, what does being a hardcore kid mean if you can't leave your bed? Punk more than many other scenes is defined my whose in the room, but I want to know who else is out there. I need this music as much as any able bodied fan, and that love and that need contribute to the scene even if its in ways that are invisible, like background radiation.

Do you have thoughts? Answers? Questions? Reach out