Hold Steady: The strangely sweet community of a virtual rock show

There's this global instinct during the pandemic to dig for silver linings. Amid the muck and drudgery and tragedy and the unending boredom — there's an overabundance of hokey stronger together bullshit. Frankly, the pandemic fucking sucks and any so-called strength gained is a symptom, not a gift.  There are no silver linings to the pandemic — everything would be better without it — there are only ways to cope and the occasional joyous respite. Learning how to make sourdough doesn't make the pandemic useful, it just killed time.  I guess what I'm saying is good moments, finding fun, it doesn't erase this year. It doesn't even chip away at it. That's not how this thing works — the best we can hope for is to find something wholly its own, a moment of joy in and of itself, disconnected from the slow-moving horror of COVID. The trick is to feel gratitude in that moment, divorced from reality's context. I think that's why time has moved so strangely since March. Days have been slogs but you distract your way through enough of them and the months move in great big chunks.  Read more...More about Live Music, Culture, and Music