MACHINE HEAD’s Robb Flynn “If the only option is drive-in (concerts) for a while, I can wait.” If cover bands want to do that shit, it’s cool, it’s the stupidest fucking shit I’ve ever seen,”
In a new interview with Kerrang!, Robb Flynn has ruled out the potential of MACHINE HEAD playing drive-in concerts in the future.
“I just watched some stupid drive-in show the other day where people sat in their cars and honked when they liked what the band was playing, and it was the stupidest fucking shit I’ve ever seen,” he said. “If cover bands want to do that shit, it’s cool. They should have fun. But the whole point of a MACHINE HEAD show is having those 5,000 people screaming every word, pressed against the barrier, getting sweaty and piling into giant circle pits — just that cathartic release of energy. If the only option is drive-ins for a while, I can wait.”
As for what live concerts may look like post-pandemic, Flynn said: “I don’t know if things will ever go back to ‘normal’ again. But I think it could be four years before things get close. I think this pandemic could go on for at least two years — coming in waves, getting better in summer and worse as we go back into flu season — then it could take another two years for people to get over that shell-shock of having been locked down for so long. Like the Spanish Flu in 1918, it’ll take time for the economy to recover, and for people to have the confidence to go back out there.
“40 million people have lost their jobs in the U.S., 25 million people have lost their health insurance. The U.K. has the NHS, but we’re just a bunch of fucking dummies who don’t, because we need our ‘freedom.’ I would love to be wrong, but from everything I’ve heard and read, that’s how long I think it’s gonna’ be.”
Doro Pesch played her first drive-in concert in Germany on June 13 while complying with the country’s social distancing regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic. The show took place at the CARantena-Arena in Worms.
Doro‘s next drive-in show will take place on June 28 at Bottrop’s Autokino am Moviepark.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino recently told investors on a quarterly earnings call that the company would experiment with drive-in shows this summer.
The first Live Nation show was held last month in Denmark, with 600 cars in attendance.
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten said the crowds were respectful of distancing regulations and there were no notable incidents at the event, according to the Los Angeles Times.
