When my 2020 5 Seconds of Summer concert was cancelled, I tried to jump out of a window. I’m not exaggerating: two of my best friends (that were also supposed to see 5SOS with me) and I were innocently driving to Chick-Fil-A, celebrating our reunion after a long quarantine when the Twitter announcement came through. So, like any sane person, I proceeded to roll down the window and climb out (sorry to Lexie, the poor driver who had the scare of her life). I only made it halfway before I came to my senses, and for legal reasons, I just want to clarify that in no way do I encourage this behavior (although I’ll understand if the cancellation of your concerts made you do the same).
Obviously, my dramatic response wasn’t the solution to curing what I like to call “cancelled-concert depression”. Even drowning ourselves in Chick-Fil-A sauce while blasting 5SOS’ music didn’t seem to help. What did make us feel better though was buying tickets for the newly announced Spring 2021 date the very next day. But, we were still hopeful in June, positive that there was simply no way Corona could carry over into 2021 and cancel even more of our concerts. While none of my rescheduled concerts have been cancelled yet (fingers crossed, although I’m not too hopeful), my friends and I have been mourning them for months. So, if you still haven’t figured out how to cope with the death of your concert, I’d like to give you some tips that helped with our “cancelled-concert depression”.
First, run to the liquor store. Then, proceed to throw yourselves a (covid-safe) party to commemorate your loss. Get drunk, blast the cancelled artist’s music until 3 a.m. and help each other through the five stages of grief. Trust me, it helps.
Now that the “unhealthy” coping mechanism is out of the way, we can focus on some other options. If drunk screaming Harry Styles lyrics in your basement until your throat is raw isn’t your speed, try rewatching old concert videos. Just make sure you imitate the concert atmosphere: having the lights off while you and your friends sway your phone lights back and forth is a lot more therapeutic than being curled under the covers while watching your personalized concert.
What we truly found to be our favorite method of mourning though was attending concerts. Sounds contradictory, right? I don’t mean attending in-person concerts.
What I’m talking about is the up and coming virtual concerts. It doesn’t sound much different than putting on a Youtube playlist, but trust me, the two are completely different experiences.
While some are free to stream on platforms like Twitch, odds are, most will cost money. But have no fear - you can split the ticket price with friends! Niall Horan charged $25 per screen and we split it between the four of us. Besides, most artists have been donating funds to causes including supporting roadies that lost their jobs, so it’s really a win-win situation.
Odds are, the virtual concert you attend won’t be available after the livestream ends (we found this out the hard way). If you’re a concert fanatic like I am that lives off rewatching old concert videos, then go ahead and screen record the show. Whether you record it or not, I highly recommend taking the chance to soak up a chill concert experience. Have a drink, order a pizza and put on that cute concert outfit you had planned months ago; afterall, there’s no worries about rushing to the merch stand or post-concert traffic. Remember, in a world with so much uncertainty, it’s all about living in the moment. And what better way to do so than through the universal comfort of concerts?