About six months ago I made a conscious decision to see more live music. I have seen a fair amount in my life, not loads and not enough to be impressive in any way, but there have been memorable experiences I can count on more than one hand. There have though been occasions in which I have passed up on seeing someone; leaving a show early fifteen years ago because of girlfriend issues and not staying to see The Prodigy still rankles as a major moment of regret. This spring and coming summer then I was hoping to see some music but this has clearly all changed. While some summer festivals have been postponed until the autumn it is pretty clear I’m not going to get this music fix in the short term.
This pandemic has forced people into embracing new approaches to getting their message, music, produce and so on out into the world. The internet is yet again showing itself to be a most incredible tool and social media may have plenty of downside but it is proving to be an brilliant source for sharing when people need it the most. There is one phenomena which I have been enjoying and that is the live music. From what I can see this began with people not necessarily famous but who were used to performing regularly be it bars to small venue. I have a few friends on Facebook who have put on some shows and while I haven’t watched them all, I have enjoyed them, not announcing my presence just watching as if I was sitting silently at the back of the gig and leaving just as they ended.
A few of the more famous musicians have been getting in on this too, for various reasons, some charitable and some personal. I watched Post Malone do a really good show of Nirvana covers to raise money for the World Health Organisation. I then listened to a few of his actual song and realised he wasn’t for me, but his take on Nirvana, with the help of Blink 182’s drummer Travis Barker, was really impressive.
I discovered yesterday that a favourite dub artist of mine Panda Dub took part in something called the Aftrwrk Online Festival.
While these are ultimately the type of videos you’ve been able to watch on YouTube for a longtime there is something different about watching them live. We are leading such disconnected lives in quarantine that even the slightest connection to something happening in the moment that others are also partaking in can not be overlooked. I don’t think for a second that this form of music will overtake actual live music in person but it will certainly have forced people to view and approach other medians of live music in a new way.
Tonight then there is one by a group called Whitehorse who I came across about a month ago. Tonight they are doing a live show at about 22.00 British time. This is a link to their facebook page from which I think it will be shown.
Maybe I’ll see you there.
Observations and Misunderstandings 