Anxiety at the concert: can we still celebrate together? – Culture

It starts with the greeting of the concert accompanist. A compulsory question cuts through social interaction: “What is your vaccination status?” Here it can be a hug, there only the elbow. Embarrassed looks. Tense smile. “Are we getting in line too much?” We ask ourselves while we are in line. Everyone here has been tested or vaccinated. But still it can’t be right, it doesn’t feel right. Still?

What were we cursing when the cultural offerings were forced to shift to the digital space in March 2020. Movies on your laptop? That doesn’t do the film justice! Operas through computer speakers? What a sacrilege! Visiting museums with the mouse? Why did the cursed website hang up again!

No, the digital offers cannot compensate for the cultural experience. The physically tangible force of an orchestra. The sweaty excess of a rock concert. The collective laughter in the auditorium. The aura of a work of art that can only be penetrated by approaching it. Irreplaceable.

And then the ceremonial of the cultural event. The beloved rituals that often begin days in advance. The anticipation when looking at the calendar, the careful choice of clothes, the little adventure of the journey. Sparkling wine and program. Beer and merchandise stand. Popcorn and nachos.

Eye contact is almost unbearable

Now all of that is suddenly back. Just because. After 16 months. Without a familiarization course. People sit close together in front of the stage at the open air. Radiant faces. Free laughter. The sweet smell of marijuana wafting overhead. Excited chatter. The air vibrates with anticipation. And yet something is wrong here. Your own gaze wanders around in panic. One winces at loud calls. Caught in awkward evasive movements. Eye contact is almost unbearable. Dazed anxiety spreads.

These days, many people say that they have developed a hypersensitized relationship with their environment – up to and including anxiety. In the English-speaking world, the catchphrase “Cave Syndrome” is circulating. It is intended to describe the paradoxical behavior that people continue to withdraw and prefer to stay at home despite relaxation and falling infection rates. A survey by the US Psychological Association found that almost half the population in the United States feels uncomfortable thinking about social contacts after the end of the pandemic.

And then there is this English fan who is the only one to jump up at every goal area scene at the public viewing and cover his fellow men with a spray of saliva and beer. Annoyed looks, requests for moderation. “Go for it!” Is his answer. He means the striker Harry Kane. But somehow all of us. That’s right, there used to be more mood when people got together. But maybe everything doesn’t have to be the same as it used to be.