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Uh Oh - Maybe This Stupid Coronavirus is Having an Effect on Audience Numbers

CaseyVancouver

CaseyVancouver

Nov 4, 2012
2,475
5,995
#1
50% percent of the usual audience numbers we get at a regular gig yesterday. The band who played the week before said their numbers were half as usual too. The audience is an older crowd. This gig has been on for many years, with good crowds.

The only thing any of us can blame this on is all the recent bad news about the Coronavirus.
Also, can you imagine anybody booking a cruise these days?

Damn.
 
#4
Michedelic said:
If they’re older, they’re going to worry more. It will probably build back up, but slowly, depending on the news cycle. Anybody remember SARS?
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A good friend of mine got SARS, he was on a flight to Toronto from Asia and ended up quarantined on arrival. He was young and healthy. He was really really sick with flu symptoms for two weeks. Then he was fine.... Just like most people who caught it. :smug:
 
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#6
I was wondering about this. We have our first show in 2 weeks and it's in Seattle. Though the first US death was in Wa State, it wasn't exactly Seattle. That said, people out here are overindexing a little, but I feel it's justified.

So far, I haven't seen any show cancellations, but work has canceled a few summits and meets. Our shows are usually pretty well attended and since the last time we gigged was early Nov, I'd expect a great turnout. However, with this CV thing, who knows.

I read that singing can transmit the virus; you are propelling your voice, which also propels the particulate in your mouth/throat/etc. I wonder how bad a mic must look even when there isn't a viral outbreak. Perhaps I'll just sing to myself that night.

Everyone be safe!
 
#7
Been wondering about this too. We went out to an event at my favorite venue over the weekend; it was pretty packed. So I don't know. I don't have any shows coming up in the near future that I'd expect to draw big crowds, not until next month. So we'll see what things look like by then.
 
#8
CaseyVancouver said:
50% percent of the usual audience numbers we get at a regular gig yesterday. The band who played the week before said their numbers were half as usual too. The audience is an older crowd. This gig has been on for many years, with good crowds.

The only thing any of us can blame this on is all the recent bad news about the Coronavirus.
Also, can you imagine anybody booking a cruise these days?

Damn.
Click to expand...

Older crowd ... could be they lost a good chunk of their net worth last week in the stock markets and aren't feeling spendy?
 
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#10
lildrgn said:
I was wondering about this. We have our first show in 2 weeks and it's in Seattle. Though the first US death was in Wa State, it wasn't exactly Seattle. That said, people out here are overindexing a little, but I feel it's justified.

So far, I haven't seen any show cancellations, but work has canceled a few summits and meets. Our shows are usually pretty well attended and since the last time we gigged was early Nov, I'd expect a great turnout. However, with this CV thing, who knows.

I read that singing can transmit the virus; you are propelling your voice, which also propels the particulate in your mouth/throat/etc. I wonder how bad a mic must look even when there isn't a viral outbreak. Perhaps I'll just sing to myself that night.

Everyone be safe!
Click to expand...
A good friend works at the Gates Foundation and she told me that they found the kid who had COVID in their flu study because they added COVID to the testing panel a few weeks ago. Kid was completely unrelated to the older gent who died from it, no travel or other cross-border interactions with affected areas, yet his viral match was effectively 100%, which is to say, it is here and it is very real. Kid was at school, around the community, so expect the WA infection numbers to go up to 500-1000 cases given the incubation period being ~2weeks. I don't think we have a handle on the time window when the virus is contagious yet, hence the range.

General belief is that transmission is respiratory within ~6ft/2m, so not the mic per se, unless it is moist. Vocal mics probably have as high a risk level for COVID as they do seasonal flu, which is to say de minimis.

CDC report on transmission: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Gates blog: Invalid Link Removed
 
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#16
This time of year, tale a few precautions anyway.

I'm around healthcare constantly. I'm wearing procedure gloves whenever I'm in an area where patients are being treated. And I'm constantly sanitizing them. If I did that to my hands all day they would crack, making is easier for me to become infected.

There's a case of COVID-19 near Raleigh (about 70 miles from me). If it gets any closer I'll likely avoid crowds for a while and wear my procedure gloves when pumping gas and similar activities. They're disposable so I'll go through quite a few pairs per day.

The big issue is the elderly. Most of the deaths here in the states are elderly people with other underlying health issues. If it gets near my dad's town, I'll go up there and chain him to a chair and feed him myself. Because he won't take any precautions. I love that stubborn old bastard. :D
 
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#17
keyboardguy said:
According to CDC estimates, about 160 people die of the Flu EVERY DAY in the USA.....

Corona is just something for the drive-by media to overreact and waste our time..

I bought Chinese takeout yesterday and the owner said his business has fallen because patrons think his workers have the virus.
He said, "I don't even speak Chinese" :smug:
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The rate of death is the difference. COVID19 is on par with the Spanish flu in 1918 @1-2%. Seasonal influenza rate is <0.5%. Big delta.
 
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#20
Hot Rats said:
...and ignorance. Ignorant people do scary things.
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The blame game has already started; I wouldn’t be surprised, considering the absurd
state of ‘reality’/game shows we’ve arrived at, that this situation eventually gets turned into something along those lines...oh, wait, somebody thought of that 50 years ago...
 
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