In a new interview with Kerrang!, MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was asked if he’d be up for playing some socially-distanced or drive-in gigs in the future.
“I just watched some stupid drive-in show the other day where people sat in their cars and honked when they liked what the band was playing, and it was the stupidest f*cking sh*t I’ve ever seen,” Robb responded. “If cover bands want to do that sh*t, it’s cool. They should have fun. But the whole point of a MACHINE HEAD show is having those 5,000 people screaming every word, pressed against the barrier, getting sweaty and piling into giant circle pits — just that cathartic release of energy. If the only option is drive-ins for a while, I can wait.”
When asked what shows will look like after pandemic, he replied: “I don’t know if things will ever go back to ‘normal’ again. But I think it could be four years before things get close. I think this pandemic could go on for at least two years — coming in waves, getting better in summer and worse as we go back into flu season — then it could take another two years for people to get over that shell-shock of having been locked down for so long. Like the Spanish Flu in 1918, it’ll take time for the economy to recover, and for people to have the confidence to go back out there.
“40 million people have lost their jobs in the U.S., 25 million people have lost their health insurance,” Robb added. “The U.K. has the NHS, but we’re just a bunch of f*cking dummies who don’t, because we need our ‘freedom.’ I would love to be wrong, but from everything I’ve heard and read, that’s how long I think it’s gonna’ be.”
