A partial transcript of Episode 16 of THE ART MOVEMENT. To listen to the full radio show, CLICK HERE.
Speaking of music, earlier I talked about responsibility in terms of social distancing and I understand how difficult it is for some people. And I respect that. I really do. So, by all that, I don’t mean that people should stop hanging out but I think that if they do, they should be cautious.
For example, this past week, I went to my first live gig since the pandemic. A friend of mine, Lukos Hey, who is a painter and who I interviewed for my podcast and also documented in his studio for my Matt’s Long Take series on my YouTube channel, also plays the drums and he was playing a gig with this Brazilian singer/songwriter named AnniMa Moods.
Together, they played a light jazz slash Brazilian music tradition type of duo gig. And quite honestly, there would have been nothing particularly exciting about it had it not been for the fact that my ears needed it. My ears really craved to hear live instrumentation after so long, so much so that, as I was listening to the twang of the strings and the sound of each component of Lukos’ drum kit, my ears were going like “thank you! Thank you so much!”
They were thanking me for hauling ass. And here is what the scene looked like. The gig took place in this very upper middle class, histerish place called La Champagneria. I showed up a little late — which rarely happens because I’m the guy who put the punk in punctual! In any case, by the time they got there, the gig had moved from inside to outside because it was a lovely day but also because there were too many people inside.
And so, just outside of this Champagne joint, we all sat at tables, fairly spread out and there wasn’t too much mingling going on but we were all somehow aware of each other’s presence and we appreciated being strangers in relation to each other but united in just listening to the music and enjoying the generally good vibes.
We didn’t wear a mask and we were talking with each other but we were still careful, respectful and each individual group was never too large. It’s a little hard to explain but essentially, you feel that people are being mindful and that you and everybody else is pretty safe.
I should say that Prague was not as hard hit by the coronavirus as many other cities in Europe and around the world; strict measures taken early on prevented the outbreak from being very serious.
But also, I really felt that people were respectful of each other, like I said, enjoying the vibes, respecting the boundaries, drinking some cheap champagne in their nice clothes — except for me, I drank a coffee and a lemonade because my mind of alcohol right now is someone else’s nightmare. So, it is possible to hang out, have a good time and be responsible.
In Arte Matt 