Destruction Will Perform a Real-Life Concert on July 4

And the first metal band of note to perform a real-life concert for a real-life paying audience after the coronavirus lockdown is… Destruction.

The German metallers will perform at the Z7 club in Pratteln, Switzerland on July 4 as part of the venue’s summer concert series, which will feature one show per week. The venue will be enforcing social distancing and sanitary measures, and all attendees are being asked to sign (and bring) a form indicating their understanding of certain criteria.

The form, which can be downloaded here, says [translated from German]:

• The venue must collect every attendee’s contact details to be used for contact tracing in case someone at the show eventually gets sick.
• Attendees will be asked to stay two meters apart (6 feet) but that the distance is “not guaranteed” due to the nature of live events.
• Every attendee must certify they have not been in contact with anyone who had Covid-19 for at least 14 days.
• The venue has a “protection concept worked out [that] offer the best possible protection,” although the details of that concept are not provided.
• Hygiene instructions will be handed out at the venue’s entrance and restrooms.
• Facemasks will not be required, but they are recommended and are “particularly important for people belonging to the risk group.”
• Attendees will be asked to “keep a distance from other people and our staff outside of your group.”

Needless to say, the Z7 is really playing with fire here. If just one person gets sick after attending the show, they’re going to have a PR disaster on their hands. Even if moshing and crowd-surfing aren’t allowed, asymptomatic transmission is very much still possible.

Destruction vocalist/bassist Schmier commented on playing the show:

“We did not expect this to happen so soon, but, of course, it is really amazing for us to play again; we all had some tough months! We are truly honored to be invited by one of the best live venues in Europe — the Z7 is simply legendary! Great to have our brothers from Poltergeist on board. This will be a night to remember, that is for sure! We hope the fans are as excited as we are about this, Let’s make history together!”

The venue had the following to offer about their summer concert series:

“Few summers have made music history. The Summer of Love in 1967 was unforgettable, when 100,000 hippies gathered in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, took to the streets to fight the war and stood up for free love. Our current summer will also go down in music history as the one that was canceled without further ado. Have a global pandemic and social unrest actually triumphed over good? 
About the wonderful time with friends or the peaceful get-together at a great concert? Is 2020 really canceled? Not in the Z7!

“Right now, despite and with social distancing, we have to get closer again and treat each other with care. For the love of music and for the love of you fans, we warmly welcome you to SUMMER OF 2020 in Z7, where we make sure that there is a concert every weekend, where we celebrate the music and the respectful cooperation.

“This summer concert series will be a very special one: there will be a concert every weekend. At each of these concerts we only book the main acts and you can apply to the support slot with your band via [email protected]. Tickets for these concerts are available exclusively on our website (www.z-7.ch). Of course, we have also developed a suitable protection concept for our security. We therefore ask every visitor to print out the “Contact Form” document at www.z-7.ch/downloads.php, read it through and fill it in and bring it to the concert. As a small compensation for this effort, we offer you a small treat, because we are expanding our food offer for the SUMMER OF 2020 concerts.”

We aren’t sure how many tickets in the 1,600 capacity club will be sold for this show, but we ask anyone with knowledge of the situation to please get in touch at [email protected].

Tickets are available here.