‘There is nothing that can replace a live concert:’ W3APONS, Capitol on return of live music

It’s welcome news for many in the music industry.

After nearly four months of live shows being put on pause, you can listen to live music at some of your favourite venues again.

Provincial restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted on Thursday, meaning live music can return- but some challenges do remain.

“We have to have triple the amount of staff to regulate things and keep things clean. It’s a headache for sure,” said Mitchell Lupichuk, owner of the Capitol Music Club in Saskatoon.

“If you’re planning on going to a show, you need to be prepared for some changes. No dance floor, no visiting with other tables, and more people on security despite fewer people being inside the venue… People want to dance, they want to socialize, we understand it. It’s just nearly impossible.”

The lack of live shows has had an impact on similar venues that focus on providing live music and other entertainment for guests.

“Obviously financially, we are significantly down. We had to take on major (debt) to stay open,” Lupichuk added. “We had to lay off 30 people and we were only able to bring back seven.”

The Capitol set up a GoFundMe campaign at the beginning of the lockdown. After getting help from the government, they are now returning the favour by paying donators back with gift cards.

It’s planning on having a greater focus on shows that will allow people to be fully engaged while sitting down.

“We are going to have a greater focus on comedy, trivia and bingo nights because (event-goers) are already seated. It’s hard to get people to listen when there is lots of liquor involved,” Lupichuk claimed.

It’s not just venues that will be dealing with changes, but also those creating the music.

Saskatoon’s rock trio, W3APONS, has had extra time to focus on songwriting and preparing for the day they return to the stage.

“We were very fortunate, we were able to do a tour across Canada right before the lockdown was implemented,” said band member Jordan Welbourne. “It’s going to be a very interesting environment. There is nothing that can replace a live concert.”

Artists will be asked to physically distance on stage, which is possible for the trio of W3APONS. Welbourne did express caution for others in the industry.

“For bands with more than three people, it can be nearly impossible to physically distance from each other on smaller stages,” he said.

“We still want it to feel like a rock show, we just need to adapt and make the best of it.”