“What’s Your Number?” is a dreadful 2011 romantic comedy starring Anna Faris that centers around a thirty-something woman being inspired to re-evaluate her sex life after reading a magazine article about how women who have had 20 or more partners are less likely to be marriage material. In the film, the number in question has to do with sexual partners, but, in the case of myself and everyone else for whom live music is a way of life, our number has to do with how many concerts we’ve been fortunate enough to experience in our lifetime. We wear it like a badge and wait with bated breath for the next year’s crop of performances to be announced so that we can add to the total.
That number appears to be in jeopardy, however, as concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 have threatened to dismantle an entire industry built on welcoming people of all ages, races, nationalities, sexual orientations etc. together in a public space. Social distancing is becoming the new normal and, while I can’t fault anyone for taking precautions, only time will tell if the hysteria is justified.
Personally, I’ve never been one to panic and engage in the mass consumption of select consumer goods at the behest of the media, but washing your hands and using common sense when traveling are things that anyone can get behind.
Is it a hoax? No, but the danger of politicizing everything in 2020 isn’t a hoax either.
People on all sides of the political spectrum will claim to know how the pandemic should be handled and social media will continue to feed into the negativity. Liberals will believe that everything Trump says on the issue is bullshit while conservatives will try to convince themselves that he has everyone’s best interests at heart despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
If the last four years have proven anything, it’s that those on the Left can be just as mean-spirited and intolerant of alternative viewpoints as anyone, so expecting a sensible scientific solution to emerge from either side when they’re blinded by hatred doesn’t sound promising.
The reality is that people shouldn’t rely on the government to decide what’s best for them and their family. They should take it one day at a time and avoid making decisions in a heightened emotional state.
As of this writing, there are yet to be any documented cases in Erie or Niagara County, so, if John Waite takes the stage as planned at The Riviera Theatre next Saturday night, I’ll be there.
If you won’t, no one should hold it against you for doing what you feel is best.
Music N' Other Drugs 