When the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year, one of the first activities that came to a halt were concerts. As time has passed, it’s become clear that the future of live shows remain uncertain. While many artists have taken to doing livestreams as a substitute, the new concert experimentation that’s taking over is using the space of drive-in theatres. Canadian alt-rock band July Talk did just that with two sold out shows at the Stardust Drive-In in Sharon, Ont., providing a socially distanced show for fans from the comfort of their cars.
Obviously, this show is different from your traditional concert. There’s no standing room, you’re not bumping shoulders against the person next you, clapping and cheering have been replaced with horn honking and light flashing. And of course, you’re sitting in your car. But for those of us who have been itching to see live music, this is a pretty unique alternative.
Before the concert, July Talk ensured that the show remain as safe as possible with health and safety measure intact. All staff and crew were wearing masks, fans who were going outside of their cars needed to wear them too, vehicles were separated 6ft apart and washrooms were disinfected regularly. For those who couldn’t be in attendance, the band provided a paid livestream, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to various charities around the world.
Accompanied with a main stage, the show was projected on massive movie screens throughout the space, with drones circling above the cars to capture every angle. Some patrons expressed their distaste for being forced to look at a screen based on how the car parking was laid out, especially those in the VIP section. But staff were quick to remind fans that this is meant to be treated as a drive-in experience. And in some aspects, it was. Along with the show playing on the movie screens, the audio was received only through your car radio, so for those who wanted to stand outside to listen, the audio wasn’t nearly as clear as it would be if you were in your car. That, however, didn’t stop fans from stepping outside of their vehicles, or sitting in their trunks to try to get a look at the stage.
Leading up to the performance, the band provided a pre-show set with video footage of music videos, behind the scenes content, vintage drive-in ads and even videos of puppies and kittens.
Before the band started the show, one of the band’s two lead singers, Leah Fay, delivered an Indigenous land acknowledgement, as well as addressed the ongoing process of learning and unlearning the ways in which settler-colonial violence continues to do harm in both visible and invisible ways. Followed then by a beautiful message of hoping that we can be vulnerable and be kind to each other during unprecedented times.
The band tore through a near two hour set with music from their latest album Pray For It, while of course, sprinkling in popular tracks from their previous releases. The band was full of energy in their performance and soaked in the love from their fans, even if it was translated by horn honking. Despite a different concert layout, some traditional July Talk show moments remained the same, like during the song ‘I’ve Rationed Well,’ when Fay, who normally walks through the audience, replaced this by mingling through the cars and sat on top of one to finish out the song.
During ‘Champagne’ and ‘Touch’ the band brought out musicians Kyla Charter and James Baley, who provide guest vocals on the songs. The band closed their set with two covers, ‘I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire’ by the Ink Spots, and ‘To Hell With Good Intentions’ by Mclusky, then ending with ‘Picturing Love’ where they were joined again by Charter and Baley.
There were a few touching moments during the show when both lead singers, Peter Dreimanis and Fay expressed their gratitude for those who were in attendance and the crew that helped to build the show. Ahead of ‘The Garden,’ Dreimanis encourage anyone who was going through a hard time during the pandemic to reach out to friends, and that now is the time to lean on your community.
Towards the end of the show, Fay said one way to control the anxiety of not knowing the future of an unknown future is to be kind to others, and that doing something kind for someone else is a small act that can make the world better. She also encouraged getting mad when anger is needed, and to unlearn what we’ve learned is untrue.
Drive-in shows during the coronavirus pandemic still have a ways to go before they’re truly safe. There’s the concerns of making sure venue staff, crew and security, who interact regularly can safely do their jobs. There’s the issue that fans may not want to stay inside their cars and could congregate with others. Ensuring the messages of social distancing and wearing masks need to be amplified. But for now, this strange twist on an old pastime is a bit of joy that we can hang on to.
