A FOO ON WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR

An editorial in The Atlantic by Foo Fighters frontman and Ambassador of Rock Dave Grohl has captured much of what we're feeling about the absence of live music.

In "The Day the Live Concert Returns," Grohl acknowledges the myriad difficulties of convening at shows in the near future, but also underlines the necessity—the spiritual importance—of doing so.

Here's a representative excerpt:

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has reduced today’s live music to unflattering little windows that look like doorbell security footage and sound like Neil Armstrong’s distorted transmissions from the moon, so stuttered and compressed. It’s enough to make Max Headroom seem lifelike. Don’t get me wrong, I can deal with the monotony and limited cuisine of quarantine (my lasagna game is on point!), and I know that those of us who don’t have to work in hospitals or deliver packages are the lucky ones, but still, I’m hungry for a big old plate of sweaty, ear-shredding, live rock and roll, ASAP. The kind that makes your heart race, your body move, and your soul stir with passion.

We've been feeling the same way. Sure, we can have intimate online perfs from our favorite artists, immersive VR fantasies and sometimes even socially distanced, high-energy rock 'n' roll. But being there in the middle of that glorious din, as part of a collective experience of true uplift, can't be replicated digitally. "Arm in arm, I have sung at the top of my lungs with people I may never see again," Grohl writes. "All to celebrate and share the tangible, communal power of music."

Major props are due to Dave for crystallizing our feelings and amping up the call for live music, especially rock. Read the whole sweet sermon here.