666 : Seat Dancing – The New Normal?

It’s been a long 6 months but here we are, emerging from lockdown and looking for a new normal. How can live music possibly survive under current social distancing rules? Many venues can’t, and have sadly remained closed or even folded under the financial pressure of not being able to trade.

One of my favourite venues, however, has recently reopened. Eleven (Stoke-On-Trent) is a venue run by musicians FOR musicians, and as such they have possibly been better placed than many to apply the current guidelines and return to live music action whilst keeping bands, staff and audience safe. Tonight (04/09/2020) they are featuring two fantastic tribute bands. Motley Crude and Poizon. That HAS to be fun, but how can it be if I can’t dance? Let’s see.

First things first. On entry there is a temperature check, and you are asked to use sanitiser as you approach the box office. Ticket-holders are checked off a list so no contact is required. All good so far. Into the venue and the floor has been precisely laid out with tall chairs in groups of 4 around the edges and ordinary chairs in rows of 2 in the middle. Choice of seat is a free-for-all - if you want to be at the front get in early! We lurked on a couple of tall seats at the back, which was great as I had an unimpeded view of the stage for most of the night. I checked out some of the other seats after the show and they too offered a reasonable view.

There is a one-way system marked on the floor which was a little confusing at first, but most people seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. Signage on the walls helped remind you of the guidelines, and the staff were polite but firm in helping people stick to the rules. The bar at Eleven has always been separate from the main room, which I think has made things easier for them. They now have Perspex screens, single use plastic glasses and card-only payment. There was often a short socially distanced queue and I did hear a couple of mutters about that but lets be honest it’s not really any different to standing at a busy bar and waiting for the staff to notice you so I thought it worked well. Toilets have been converted to single occupancy, with 2 ladies in the bar area and 2 gents downstairs (which meant going out, down, in and then back up again) but there was no queuing and no complaints that I noticed.

To the music then. Two tribute bands with members you may recognise from other bands playing tunes we all know and love and doing a damn good job of it. The only issue for me was the sitting. I mean I like a nice sit down, but I also like to bounce and tonight that wasn’t happening. Not the end of the world, you could still clap and sway and although singing along is discouraged at the moment it happened anyway because music is music and there is only so far you can go in appreciating it quietly! It was fun, it was lacking a little but not enough to put me off going again. Maybe it might be harder with a different genre of music, I mean you can’t really do a circle pit with chairs, but for now it worked. The atmos, if not electric, was at least there.

You can find the details of upcoming gigs on their website http://www.elevenmusicvenue.co.uk/ Be quick though, with capacity reduced from 350 to just 90 they are selling out pretty much every event. Eleven  have a reputation in the industry for integrity and fairness for both bands and fans, and in these difficult times I am delighted that they are able to continue to give us top-class entertainment whilst keeping us safe and secure. Long may they continue,