Loud, distorted guitar solos cause a restless ringing in your ears, you’re being squished so close to other people you can practically taste their sweat, and you’re experiencing carefree joy as you jump up and down and sway at the mercy of a mosh pit — these house show experiences are part of what Eugene musicians and concert goers have been itching to return to this year.
In June, COVID restrictions began to lessen, and the DIY house show scene in Eugene slowly started to recover after a year of silence. But July gave rise to the Delta variant, and, instead of returning to worry-free shows without masks on, the presence of masks, vaccine cards and COVID anxiety persisted in primarily outdoor venues.
COVID is not the only concern for the local music scene this year. Reports of sexual harassment and assault at house shows this summer shook the scene to its core and spurred scene-wide discussions over safety — especially for attendees who are women — among the live music community. Taking both general safety and COVID safety in account, local bands and venues have tightened security and launched major conversations about keeping their audiences safe.
‘Be very, very aware’: general safety at house shows
Staying safe from sexual assault and harrasment at concerts is a priority for concert goers. UO student and concert goer Maddie Crea noted that while most of her house show experiences have felt safe and comfortable, she also believes “it is something that, especially as a woman, you have to be very, very aware of.”
While she wishes concert goers didn’t need to be “on the defense,” that is the current state of our world, she said.
“I wish it wasn’t that way, but that’s just our reality until things can change,” Crea said, referring to the need for policy reform and educating children about consent.
The issue does not apply strictly to DIY house shows. In September, an album release show for beloved Eugene band Laundry at The Big Dirty, a professional venue, was accompanied by allegations of sexual harassment. Fans reported to the band that there were drugged drinks, assaults and harassments during the concert, according to one of the band’s social media posts.
On Instagram, the band largely blamed the venue for negligence and said, “we want to let you all know that [the scene] is not currently a safe place.”
“We are mortified and furious that this took place at one of our shows, and we will never be playing at this venue again,” Laundry continued on its Instagram stories. “We understand that we have a responsibility to provide a safe space for all of you, and we’re sorry we failed to do so on Saturday.”
After Laundry’s post, The Big Dirty said on social media that it is committed to patron safety and takes precautions like video cameras covering all areas except for restrooms, complementary drug testing strips behind the bar and the presence of at least one woman on staff during shifts.
The Big Dirty held a meeting with community members to discuss safety concerns. Co-owner Casey Lynch said that after staff, community members and the police reviewed the footage, they determined that no drugged drinks or sexual assaults occurred on the premises that night.
“I feel like it was a culmination of people partying too hard, making assumptions about what we do and who we are based off of the rumor mill,” Lynch said about Laundry’s criticisms.
Lynch said that there are rumors of assaults at house shows as well.
“To blame the place where it happened instead of the individuals who are committing the atrocities is a little short minded to me,” Lynch said. “It seems hasty and reactionary.”
Throughout the summer local bands made Instagram posts taking a stand on safety. Many posts explicitly stated a commitment to making shows safer for everyone due to reports of sexual assaults and harassment at early summer house shows.
Some bands, including the well known band Candy Picnic, decided to take a short break from the scene until significant changes were made.
Bassist and vocalist of Candy Picnic Stella Parker “always felt” as though the house show scene needed more security, due to the relaxed admittance and supervision of shows, she said.
“This summer we decided to only play shows if we know that security is people that we trust, and that there is enough [security] to be able to watch over the entire crowd,” Parker said.
According to the members of Candy Picnic, there were several meetings among local bands to discuss safety measures for shows. Some of the ideas discussed included checking ID’s to ensure a strictly 18+ or 21+ show and vaccination cards at the door, giving security t-shirts and hats for identification, having a booth or room available to report crimes at the show and even creating a hotline to text or call if issues arise.
Some of the measures that have since been implemented are the presence of trusted security in the venue and at the door, having places and people to report issues to and having sober monitors to survey the crowd, the band said.
With these measures “put into action at shows recently, there have been little to no problems that we know of,” guitarist Chris Heer said.
The band emphasized the importance of having trusted security to ensure that ID’s and vaccine cards are checked for admittance. A common issue in the scene is that actions do not match words in terms of keeping people safe, the members said.
“We have no interest in playing at a show unless we know that it’s going to be safe,” Parker said.
One safety factor is that newer and inexperienced bands and venues may not be aware of the need for safety precautions, and this is especially true for house show venues. While a professional venue has paid, professional security monitoring the crowd and preventing attendees from bringing in personal drugs and alcohol, a house show simply consists of house owners or renters, often students, allowing a band lineup to come play in the house.
“I feel like people often don’t understand that there is a massive difference between an actual venue and a house show,” Heer said.
During the discussions of safety measures, another question arose: Do safety responsibilities fall more on the venues or the bands?
Carla Lamb, a trumpet and keys player for local band Broth, helped host a backyard show last summer and has now seen the perspective as both a venue host and a performer. While pointing out that there is “a symbiotic relationship” between bands and venues and “there should be a larger, broader conversation” between them, she also made an argument that the venue should bear more of the responsibility.
“I do think it’s the responsibility of the venue because, as a musician on stage, I am powerless to do anything at the moment,” Lamb said.
However, the members of newer band Street Sharks have a different perspective.
“We believe it’s the responsibility of the artists to choose their venues wisely and figure out which venues are already taking measures of COVID and audience/staff behavior,” band member Alex Wanaka said on behalf of the band. “Local artists should make it clear when planning with venues that we won’t play shows where the safety of everybody involved isn’t going to be a priority.”
Regardless of who individuals believe should bear the burden, nearly everyone agrees: Bands and venues need to discuss security in order to develop a safe environment for everyone.
Masked and Vaxxed: COVID-19 safety at house shows
In addition to these conversations about general safety, the COVID-19 pandemic still demands discussions for keeping the community safe from illness.
Tristan Day, drummer for Candy Picnic, said they believe that, even with the vaccine, shows will feel different than they did before COVID.
“I think they already have,” Day said. “You’re in the moment and you’re having a good time, but there’s anxiety there.”
Like most bands in the scene, Candy Picnic is planning to require guests to show vaccine cards for show entrance at both indoor and outdoor venues. As a bigger band in the scene, a bigger crowd will come for their show, which leads to more concerns for COVID safety.
Concert-attendee Crea said, in the wake of the Delta variant, she feels “more inclined to wear a mask at house shows” even if it is not required; otherwise, she has a more optimistic perspective of what shows will be like this year.
“It just might take a few months for people to get comfortable enough around other people,” Crea said. “Especially at house shows — you’re very close with other people, and you’re practically on top of each other.”
Between concerns over general safety and COVID safety, the scene has already shown signs of change since the pandemic forced everything to shut down. In a statement on behalf of Street Sharks, band member Tucker St. Claire said the changes already taking place for COVID have created the perfect opportunity to create more change for general concert safety.
“We see it as a great time to begin addressing other problems of sexual assault and safety in tandem,” Tucker said, “so that we can make the entrance back into live music safer than ever.”
