Lacuna Coil Stood in Silence During Livestream Instead of Performing a Concert
Lacuna Coil were one of 130 Italian artists who stood in silence during livestreams last night (Saturday, February 27), instead of performing a previously announced concert.
The stunt was part of an initiative called L’Ultimo Concerto? (“The Last Concert”) aimed to raise awareness around the plight of the live music scene one year after the first closure of an Italian venue due to the coronavirus. Around 300,000 Italians (and millions worldwide) working in the performing arts have remained jobless for nearly a year now as the Covid-19 pandemic has swept the globe and made live events unsafe.
Lacuna Coil issued a statement through their Facebook page shortly after the livestream, explaining (translated from Italian):
“Hi guys, we promised we’d hit the Alcatraz-Milano stage tonight and so it was. Unfortunately, however, there was no concert, just our silence. It was not a joke. We wanted to show our support for live clubs, in silence for a year now. These are spaces that have given us so much and have allowed us to perform for you over the years and experience indescribable emotions. Spaces that, for the moment, live in total uncertainty. For this reason they must be recognized, supported, promoted and cited as places of culture. We, along with them, wanted to convey a message to you so you can understand their current situation.
“A CONCERT WITHOUT MUSIC IS NOT A CONCERT. A LIVE CLUB IN SILENCE IS NOT A LIVE CLUB.
“Thank you for your support and for joining us in the hope that all of this can truly be a breakthrough.
“Enough about the Last Concert, let’s support our live clubs and start thinking about the NEXT CONCERT. Keep following the initiative at www.ultimoconcerto.it
“For those watching from all over the world, we’re sorry you guys didn’t get to see the show you were expecting. We just stood in silence, showing our support to the live club scene. Unfortunately, live clubs in Italy and the rest of the world have been closed for a year now, and there’s no sign of re-opening anytime soon. We believe they should get the right attention and recognition, because that is what they deserve: to be considered as cultural spaces. Hopefully, this initiative will bring their uncertain situation to everybody’s attention.”
The band followed the above just moments ago with a video of frontwoman Cristina Scabbia addressing fans, in which she says she understands fans’ anger but asks them to re-focus it on the dire situation at hand. You can watch that video below.
