Rock band to beat virus restrictions by playing show twice

PARIS: US rock band Nada Surf decided the show must go on when France, in the grip of the coronavirus epidemic, banned crowds of more than 1,000 people in indoor venues. To get around the ban, they will play the same Paris concert twice in one evening.

Paris concert hall La Cigale said in a statement on its website that because of the government ban, the band had decided to play one set starting at 1900 on Wednesday evening, and the second at 2115 the same day.

Nada Surf manager Ben Weber said each of the sets will differ little from their normal shows, except that there will be no opening act.

“We feel fortunate that we did not have to cancel any shows on this tour and the band is very appreciative that fans still want to attend the concert,” Weber told Reuters.

On Tuesday, rock singer Van Morrison also played two shows in Paris’ Olympia concert hall to get around crowd limits.

Nada Surf’s Weber said he expects concerts in London, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow in the next four days will also go ahead as planned, but added that he feared that the next leg of the band’s European tour may be impacted.

In April, the band has scheduled performances in several European countries, including Italy, which has been under lockdown since Monday.

For the Paris concert – which is sold out – the 1,500-seat capacity La Cigale called on people who are able to come early to do so, so that all ticketholders can see the show.

France has more than 1,600 confirmed coronavirus infections and a death toll of 30, but has no limits on travel.