The elephant in the room....Covid and these Pearl Jam shows

Ledbetterman10

jimjam1982 said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

Well,30,000 of you folks showed up in Jersey and rocked out to Pearl Jam. Pretty sure that's the 1st time any of you have gathered in a setting like that in quite some time.

For the folks who were a the show, did you feel safe? Did you even attempt to somewhat distance? Did you say fuck it, and get as close to the stage as possible? Were the folks checking vaccine cards doing there jobs, thoroughly checking cards and matching ID'S? Or were they just glancing and letting you in? I would be willing to guess that only 1% of you folks were wearing a mask.

I realize everyone there was vaccinated, or had a negative covid test, but personally I am not quite sure I am ready to put myself in that situation.

For those who were there. Did you just say fuck the delta variant, I'm vaccinated, covid wont kill me, I am going on with my life. 4 days later are you still ok with your decision to go to the show? Did any of you wake up the next day and maybe feel a little, I don't know, maybe regret?, for putting yourself in a mass crowd of 30,000 people?

100% fuck it. Im vaxxed. No distancing, up front, no mask, dancing, talking, jamming, all of it.  Didn't think about covid for even 2 seconds.

Saw maybe 10 people out of 30k with a mask. Thus proving the pointlessness of a mask (but that's another discussion).

Everyone I know who has had a breakthrough case said its annoying and not fun (is being sick ever fun?) but it was never a serious threat to their health.  Studies on breakthrough cases show an incredibly small amount of severe illness.  

Depression, despair, anxiety, and mental struggles after a year of no social life are 100% real.  Severe covid breakthrough case?  Not so real to me. 

4 days later all I can think is that it has been 4 days since my last PJ show and it feels like too long ago.

Also, took an at home test just to be sure today that I would be safe for Ohana and it was negative so all systems are a go.

Same here. Other than showing a vaccine card upon entry, this was no different than any other concert I’ve attended. Covid never crossed my mind once. 

SVRDhand13

I was one of the few wearing a mask and I stayed very far in the back. Still didn’t feel great about it. One show was more than enough for me this time around. I’ve decided to sell my tix to an indoor show I have in November. 

vedpunk

Ledbetterman10 said:

jimjam1982 said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

Well,30,000 of you folks showed up in Jersey and rocked out to Pearl Jam. Pretty sure that's the 1st time any of you have gathered in a setting like that in quite some time.

For the folks who were a the show, did you feel safe? Did you even attempt to somewhat distance? Did you say fuck it, and get as close to the stage as possible? Were the folks checking vaccine cards doing there jobs, thoroughly checking cards and matching ID'S? Or were they just glancing and letting you in? I would be willing to guess that only 1% of you folks were wearing a mask.

I realize everyone there was vaccinated, or had a negative covid test, but personally I am not quite sure I am ready to put myself in that situation.

For those who were there. Did you just say fuck the delta variant, I'm vaccinated, covid wont kill me, I am going on with my life. 4 days later are you still ok with your decision to go to the show? Did any of you wake up the next day and maybe feel a little, I don't know, maybe regret?, for putting yourself in a mass crowd of 30,000 people?

100% fuck it. Im vaxxed. No distancing, up front, no mask, dancing, talking, jamming, all of it.  Didn't think about covid for even 2 seconds.

Saw maybe 10 people out of 30k with a mask. Thus proving the pointlessness of a mask (but that's another discussion).

Everyone I know who has had a breakthrough case said its annoying and not fun (is being sick ever fun?) but it was never a serious threat to their health.  Studies on breakthrough cases show an incredibly small amount of severe illness.  

Depression, despair, anxiety, and mental struggles after a year of no social life are 100% real.  Severe covid breakthrough case?  Not so real to me. 

4 days later all I can think is that it has been 4 days since my last PJ show and it feels like too long ago.

Also, took an at home test just to be sure today that I would be safe for Ohana and it was negative so all systems are a go.

Same here. Other than showing a vaccine card upon entry, this was no different than any other concert I’ve attended. Covid never crossed my mind once. 

^ Exactly. Vaxxed and moved forward. It's a personal choice though.

JeBurkhardt

I went to a show at a small venue this past Saturday. We wore masks and kept our distance from people. When I go to Ohana I plan on keeping as much away from people as I can and not try to get to the front. 

pjhawks

I felt safe with everyone having to be vaxxed or negative test. No reservations at all.  Went in around 3:30 and they checked vaccinated cards vs ids.  Would have had more trepidation if those requirements weren’t in place.  I 100% get if people have concerns about concerts or other large events though.  No judgment against those that do especially those with kids or people with underlying conditions. 

OceansJenny

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

For those who were there. Did you just say fuck the delta variant, I'm vaccinated, covid wont kill me, I am going on with my life. 4 days later are you still ok with your decision to go to the show? Did any of you wake up the next day and maybe feel a little, I don't know, maybe regret?, for putting yourself in a mass crowd of 30,000 people?

Yes this was my sentiment. No regrets. I need to start living. I understand that is not everyone’s sentiment.

Granted I am on the younger side and have no comorbidities or anything and do not have anyone dear me at risk. I was also perfectly fine after a known exposure during a friends weekend where the one unvaccinated person found out after they had covid. Granted that was probably lucky but also testament that vaccines work.

The person at the gate looked at my excelsior pass and let me through. No ID check.

MakeUSmile

My card was checked, cross referenced to my ID, and he checked date of my second shot.   Once I was in, I almost forgot we were in the middle of a global pandemic and it felt good.  Sanitizer stations were throughout the grounds. I used them plenty along with the Purell in my clear stadium bag.   I put my mask on in the transparent art tent and when I wound up in the medic tent checking on a friend post show who over heated/dehydration.  Otherwise it was in my bag all day.  Hung mostly outside for the stone pony after show, I did feel a little anxious the short time I was indoors there. 

I have no regrets going and had little covid anxiety, which has been hugely prevalent in my life over the last 18 months.  Felt so good to have some normalcy and enjoy my favorite band with some of my favorite people I’ve met over the last 25 years of going to shows.  God, I’m old!  

Weston1283

Quite the opposite for me.  My only regret is not getting closer to the stage and even more into the crowd.

Will be right back in the crowds next weekend at Ohana Encore without hesitation

And I also agree with the above comments.  Once I entered the festival, Covid and the pandemic didn't register even the smallest thought in my mind.

But I also don't really think much at all about the pandemic in my daily life at this point.  Even putting on the mask at work has just become habit, dont even think about why I am doing it, I'm just "supposed to."  Theres been a vaccine available for almost a year now.  The unvaccinated have chosen illness for themselves.  The rest of us can move on.

Renfield

They only checked my Excelsior Pass, did not check my photo id.  I had a mask on my ear, that’s how I do it here at home when I’m outside. I got 15 rows back, and I did not wear my mask. I had very little interaction, briefly talking to the woman behind me. I’ve had my booster shot, J&J was the only shot I received, my doctor found out and made get a Moderna booster. I still feel I can get COVID, but I just made a decision to not wear a mask at PJ. I only went to SHN to see PJ, was in the crowd from 7:30 till the end. 

I wore my mask over 50% of the time at Foo Fighters earlier last week at Coney Island.  FF at MSG, no mask, only mask wearers were the kids under 12 which was mandated. 15,000 of us at the 1st show back at The Garden and it felt good not wearing a mask. But Delta was not a big issue on June 20th. 

Leaving for Ohana tomorrow morning. I’ll have my masks with me, and see how comfortable/uncomfortable I feel at Ohana. I’ll be spending more time at the venue than SHN. 

A tad bit of covid concern crept in a couple of times since Saturday night. No regrets. 

JH6056

I took my daughter to SHN, we're both vaxxed, and they checked my i.d. against my vax card, made sure names were same, and my daughter's vax card (she's under 18 so no i.d.).

And even though we've had really good experiences being out and about (sometimes out of necessity early on in pandemic), and we were lucky and stayed healthy, I did NOT just say "f--- it", I was thinking about Covid a lot while we were at the festival.

Our practice ended up being no mask when we were walking with not that many people around us, or standing/eating with no one right next to us.  But masks when walking in busy places, which were all outdoors. Masks when standing in crowds, so for PJ we had our masks on the whole time even though we were up on the boardwalk on the rail, with that gorgeous ocean air blowing on us most of the time.

And we always wore masks in the port-o-potties.

All that said, I felt pretty good at end of weekend, felt like we'd been careful and had a great time without taking too much risk.

We also went to the Stone Pony on Fri night to see Jesse Malin, and I shouldn't have been surprised but I was: NO vax or negative test required, NO masks required, and people were packed in pretty well.  Never took our masks off there and left early because my daughter was really tired, but being in a dense crowd for a couple of hours with no vax requirement & no mask requirement would have made me nuts, even though I"m vaxxed.

MKSNYC

I was glad to watch the Tom Jones stream (thank you) but am not ready for a 30,000 strong crowd.  Still nervous in a group of 50 let alone 30k.  Hope to get more comfortable over time and if statistics continue to show high degree of safety for those vaxxed I will get more and more comfortable, but not ready yet.  Would have loved to have been there but comfortable with my personal decision.  If they do reschedule the MSG show, I will be there.

Abe Froman

I’ve been living life for quite sometime now. Went to two shows this month, foo fighters and Wilco. Going to the Stones on Sunday. Not worried one bit.  Wish I could’ve gone to SHN or Ohana just couldn’t pull it off. Respect to those that feel uncomfortable and stay at home but I’ve been done with that shit for a while. Btw, no proof of jab or negative test to enter Foo Figh here in STL and very few masks. I’ve heard nothing about it causing any kind of spread. Glad to hear about all the folks that had a good time at SHN!!

RatherStarved

I’ve been as bubble wrapped as anyone for the better part of 2020 and into 2021.  I was at SHN, 3 other concerts before it - all outdoors - and am going to both Ohanas.  I have no regrets at all, except for missing Ottawa 2016 and Rome 2018.  

This is what all the bubbling was for - stay safe until there’s a vaccine and then gradually get back to life.  I will say that within attending events I’m always selecting vantage points that sacrifice a bit of location in exchange for being in a bit less crowded parts of the audience and I have a KN95 mask for situations where that isn’t possible.  And I’m not up for indoor shows yet.  

I respect everyone’s decision not to attend if they aren’t comfortable.  Covid is here to stay and it’s all about risk management.  

bootlegger10

Vaccinated.  They checked my ID against vax card.  Saw maybe one person with a mask.  No concerns at all about Covid.  Will be dealing with variants for years.   Will be going to Ohana. 

I did start wearing N95 masks more often. 

gobr0309

jerparker20 said:

I went to Guns N Roses last night. Indoor arena. No proof of vax/negative test required. No mask requirement. The majority of the crowd did not appear to be folks that made getting a jab a priority. The only people wearing a face covering were venue staff. Got to admit it was a little strange.

I’ve had COVID and the vax, so I wasn’t very worried about getting the bug. But being in that setting with a bunch of people packed together and screaming for the first time in almost two years, I had the thought that it may not have been the wisest thing. 

Anyways, I had a good time. Will probably do an at home test in a couple of days to make sure.

I went to the GNR show in st paul too in the pit and felt pretty comfortable. Didn't see a single mask in the pit (or anywhere else) but the pit was small and not very crowded and people were generally staying like 2 feet apart from each other and nobody pushing their way up front. I got there 20 minutes late into the show and walked right up to slash's side 4 people back from the rail with space between and never got crowded. Still a little nervous but would do it again

tempo_n_groove

Not too much worrying.  Front gates did their jobs.  Saw a few shirts stating Waxed, Vaxed and ready to party.

RiotZact

tempo_n_groove said:

Saw a few shirts stating Waxed, Vaxed and ready to party.

Ah yes. The ultimate sign of safety.

tempo_n_groove

RiotZact said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Saw a few shirts stating Waxed, Vaxed and ready to party.

Ah yes. The ultimate sign of safety.

Of course.  I felt TOTALLY safe with someone wearing a shirt like that, lol!

OnWis97

I have OCD…which makes everything about Covid more difficult. My greatest fear is being a link in the chain that spreads Covid and kills people. So I have this weird bouncing between fear and the idea that this isn’t going away so I am going to have to live.  I am in Minnesota and have been to a couple of Twins games and one concert at the same ballpark. This was far more stressful because of flying, particularly the idea that I had to fly home afterwards. Probably not the best way to go to a concert. I didn’t handle very well where to stand on the first day and ended up in pretty big crowds, which was stress inducing. I actually purchased a take-home test and tested on Monday evening before flying back and if I’d been positive, I would have had a big mess on my hands but I feel that much sense of responsibility to the world, I guess. My wife thought it was crazy, but she took the test as well and it made me feel better about flying home.

I am glad to hear that a lot of you had IDs checked along with your Covid cards because we had photocopies of our cards and they didn’t check our IDs on either day. I could easily have a photocopy of one of yours and gotten through. I wore my mask part time but didn’t even have it on the entire time I was tightly packed, so it was probably cycling with my anxiety going up and down. Ultimately I enjoyed my time there and enjoyed Pearl Jam and the other people we checked out.  But I am not sure this is the best way for me to go to see concerts. At least at most venues I would not be surrounded by that many people in terms of variety. It would be the same dozen people sitting near me the entire time. It looks like I made it out OK but I still have to deal with the balance of living versus trying to be safe and trying to look out for everybody. My overall enjoyment of the concerts was impacted but not destroyed.

2-feign-reluctance

tempo_n_groove said:

Not too much worrying.  Front gates did their jobs.  Saw a few shirts stating Waxed, Vaxed and ready to party.

lastexitlondon

OnWis97 said:

I have OCD…which makes everything about Covid more difficult. My greatest fear is being a link in the chain that spreads Covid and kills people. So I have this weird bouncing between fear and the idea that this isn’t going away so I am going to have to live.  I am in Minnesota and have been to a couple of Twins games and one concert at the same ballpark. This was far more stressful because of flying, particularly the idea that I had to fly home afterwards. Probably not the best way to go to a concert. I didn’t handle very well where to stand on the first day and ended up in pretty big crowds, which was stress inducing. I actually purchased a take-home test and tested on Monday evening before flying back and if I’d been positive, I would have had a big mess on my hands but I feel that much sense of responsibility to the world, I guess. My wife thought it was crazy, but she took the test as well and it made me feel better about flying home.

I am glad to hear that a lot of you had IDs checked along with your Covid cards because we had photocopies of our cards and they didn’t check our IDs on either day. I could easily have a photocopy of one of yours and gotten through. I wore my mask part time but didn’t even have it on the entire time I was tightly packed, so it was probably cycling with my anxiety going up and down. Ultimately I enjoyed my time there and enjoyed Pearl Jam and the other people we checked out.  But I am not sure this is the best way for me to go to see concerts. At least at most venues I would not be surrounded by that many people in terms of variety. It would be the same dozen people sitting near me the entire time. It looks like I made it out OK but I still have to deal with the balance of living versus trying to be safe and trying to look out for everybody. My overall enjoyment of the concerts was impacted but not destroyed.

Hey man i have ocd . If you ever need a friend.

lexicondevil

I've been feeling pretty free and loose since I've been vaxxed. My neighbor who got J and J  found out his co-worker was positive while he was over at our house partying. We all kinda shit and still kept drinking. He later tested positive and we went through a rollercoaster week waiting to test and get results of our own. We all had the two other vaccines, so that probably was in our favor, but I literally took a sip from his shitty maple pear seltzer. I don't know how I got lucky. This has since made me be a lot more cautious. It is not the same as a little cold when you think of some of the quarantine requirements at jobs when you get Covid. That would have jacked up my sick time and being behind at work let alone my health. I will not attend any show not requiring vax cards. It's just not worth it.

wall232

I've only been doing outdoor activities so was 100% fine with this. We were right next to the back speakers, it was crowded but not shoulder to shoulder. Did see a bunch of people we haven't seen in years, and the instant reaction  is to give them a hug. Probably should've held back on those but it's hard not to. No regrets, and looking forward to Ohana Encore. The flights are another story, I'll be Clorox wiping everything down before taking a seat. Lol 

Loujoe

It's in the air. Wipes dont help that.

Horse2345

lexicondevil said:

I've been feeling pretty free and loose since I've been vaxxed. My neighbor who got J and J  found out his co-worker was positive while he was over at our house partying. We all kinda shit and still kept drinking. He later tested positive and we went through a rollercoaster week waiting to test and get results of our own. We all had the two other vaccines, so that probably was in our favor, but I literally took a sip from his shitty maple pear seltzer. I don't know how I got lucky. This has since made me be a lot more cautious. It is not the same as a little cold when you think of some of the quarantine requirements at jobs when you get Covid. That would have jacked up my sick time and being behind at work let alone my health. I will not attend any show not requiring vax cards. It's just not worth it.

It’s a respiratory virus so nearly impossible to get from shitty seltzer lol

DEGBTI

vaxed and not any more worried about covid than any other virus. That's the beautiful thing about the shot, able to go on with life!

OceansJenny

Loujoe said:

It's in the air. Wipes dont help that.

Yeah I thought we were done sanitizing everything as they determined it not very effective.

WindowPaine

everyone vaccinated/negative yet still afraid?! that seems highly irrational. 

Ledbetterman10

WindowPaine said:

everyone vaccinated/negative yet still afraid?! that seems highly irrational. 

It's sad. This virus is going to control some people's lives for years to come. 

DarthMaeglin

Thanks to everyone for sharing your perspectives, and especially to those who have mentioned doing followup tests after the event. It’s honestly something that hadn’t yet occurred to me for the (hopefully, eventual) Toronto show I still have tickets for, but it’s now something I’m going to plan for, for my peace of mind and those around me (outside of the show). Fully vaccinated (until a booster’s required), so I’m planning on being at the show and will follow all the local measures.