When will you start gigging again?

[peteb]

1 hour ago, Earbrass said:

Since the crisis began, I have seen some wonderful livestreamed gigs from several of my favourite artists. Such gigs offer advantages for both the audience and performers. As a virtual gig-goer, I did not need to travel (the gigs I watched were from Finland, but they could have been from almost anywhere in the world), I didn't have to deal with the idiocy of fellow gig-goers playing constantly with their mobile phones, I could watch them whenever and wherever I wanted, pause them for a loo-break or to put the kettle on, and the sound was excellent, and not at the mercy of room acoustics or dodgy PAs. Performers can play a gig to a virtually unlimited audience - it's just up to them how many people they can attract. No need for much of the heavy gear they usually have to lug around, or for anti-social levels of volume which have increasingly made small venues less viable in our overcrowded  cities. No having to deal with drunken punters falling into their gear, asking for requests, or to be allowed to sing or otherwise making a nuisance of themselves. The gigs I have seen were free, or in one case with optional tickets for those wishing to support the artists financially, but they could be monetised fairly simply (much as online music lessons have been). Just as watching films at home is steadily replacing trips to the cinema, perhaps this could be the future trend for many gigs, and those bands that learn to exploit the new technology fastest could be ahead of the game. Just a thought.  

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band). I want to be in the same room, to share the experience with other people in the room (atmosphere or whatever) and for the musicians to feed off the energy of the audience. 

One thing that the lockdown has confirmed to me is that livestreamed online performances will never replace live concerts... 

[ambient]

3 minutes ago, peteb said:

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band). I want to be in the same room, to share the experience with other people in the room (atmosphere or whatever) and for the musicians to feed off the energy of the audience. 

One thing that the lockdown has confirmed to me is that livestreamed online performances will never replace live concerts... 

I think it depends to a big extent on the genre. The gigs and events I tend to go to are more along the lines of sit there and enjoy the music. The streamed session I watched tonight my friend was doing a DJ set, which was quite entertaining. It would work well for someone like Steve Lawson, I watched some of a set by his wife last night. It almost certainly wouldn’t work well for a rock band I agree. It would work for jazz though, I’ve seen a couple of live streamed jazz and improvisational things recently.

[Newfoundfreedom]

10 hours ago, Earbrass said:

Since the crisis began, I have seen some wonderful livestreamed gigs from several of my favourite artists. Such gigs offer advantages for both the audience and performers. As a virtual gig-goer, I did not need to travel (the gigs I watched were from Finland, but they could have been from almost anywhere in the world), I didn't have to deal with the idiocy of fellow gig-goers playing constantly with their mobile phones, I could watch them whenever and wherever I wanted, pause them for a loo-break or to put the kettle on, and the sound was excellent, and not at the mercy of room acoustics or dodgy PAs. Performers can play a gig to a virtually unlimited audience - it's just up to them how many people they can attract. No need for much of the heavy gear they usually have to lug around, or for anti-social levels of volume which have increasingly made small venues less viable in our overcrowded  cities. No having to deal with drunken punters falling into their gear, asking for requests, or to be allowed to sing or otherwise making a nuisance of themselves. The gigs I have seen were free, or in one case with optional tickets for those wishing to support the artists financially, but they could be monetised fairly simply (much as online music lessons have been). Just as watching films at home is steadily replacing trips to the cinema, perhaps this could be the future trend for many gigs, and those bands that learn to exploit the new technology fastest could be ahead of the game. Just a thought.  

I watched a few too. Although they were entertaining, they just didn't work for me. They don't have anything like the impact of a "live" gig. Going to see a band is as much about the atmosphere as it is the music. You just don't get that through a TV screen. (Well, I don't anyway) 

[Earbrass]

9 hours ago, peteb said:

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band). I want to be in the same room, to share the experience with other people in the room (atmosphere or whatever) and for the musicians to feed off the energy of the audience. 

One thing that the lockdown has confirmed to me is that livestreamed online performances will never replace live concerts... 

 

48 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I watched a few too. Although they were entertaining, they just didn't work for me. They don't have anything like the impact of a "live" gig. Going to see a band is as much about the atmosphere as it is the music. You just don't get that through a TV screen. (Well, I don't anyway) 

I understand what you are saying, and I agree that a livestreamed gig is not a complete or perfect replacement for live gigs, and also with Ambient's point about it working better for some genres than others, but I also remember when videos first came out that people said it would never replace the experience of watching a film on a big screen amidst a large audience, and indeed it hasn't completely replaced it. However there is now a lot of money in the home cinema market, both with DVDs and streamed content, and I think that any musician wondering where their income is going to come from in a post-covid world would do well to consider whether they could use the new technology as a part of their work - not necessarily giving up live gigs altogether, but maybe using some combination of the two to enhance their profile and income.

[Woodinblack]

11 hours ago, peteb said:

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band).

I get that, but to be fair, I get that at a live gig too!

[Earbrass]

Thinking a bit more about livestreamed gigs, what about having hybrid gigs, where a small, socially-distanced live audience is augmented by selling online tickets too? This could possibly make gigs in small venues financially viable where they wouldn't otherwise be with distancing regs, and give the online experience more atmosphere at the same time. Again, it's just a thought, and hopefully others will have other, better, thoughts - what's needed now is some imagination and some new approaches, rather than just waiting for things to return to "normal".

[louisthebass]

4 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

They don't have anything like the impact of a "live" gig. Going to see a band is as much about the atmosphere as it is the music. You just don't get that through a TV screen. (Well, I don't anyway) 

This....

[odysseus]

13 hours ago, peteb said:

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band).

Same in pubs to a degree. People go off to the bar, outside for a fag, or a chat with their mates....

[FinnDave]

To be honest, I don't have the slightest interest in watching videos of bands or anything else. I was invited to join a Facebook 'watch party' last night, which seems to mean people sitting in front of their computers all watching the same thing and possibly commenting on it. The video last night was a gig we (Grateful Dudes) played in Camden last October. If there's one thing I like less than watching videos of bands, it's watching videos of bands I am playing in!

[Lozz196]

I’m not very good with technology but given how I think it’s going to factor big time in live music going forward, if my fave bands are doing a live streamed gig I’ll be watching.

[MacDaddy]

I love doing gigs, being a punter not so much.

[ambient]

19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’m not very good with technology but given how I think it’s going to factor big time in live music going forward, if my fave bands are doing a live streamed gig I’ll be watching.

That’s it, I do wonder how long this is going to go on for. Even if pubs and bars do open in July; something I’m actually rather sceptical about anyway tbh, but with social distancing still going to be in force, then I think the only live music will be outside. Are we not being a little Luddite in our attitude, maybe we should be using the technology available, and improving it to improve the experience?

[MacDaddy]

4 minutes ago, ambient said:

That’s it, I do wonder how long this is going to go on for. Even if pubs and bars do open in July; something I’m actually rather sceptical about anyway tbh, but with social distancing still going to be in force, then I think the only live music will be outside. Are we not being a little Luddite in our attitude, maybe we should be using the technology available, and improving it to improve the experience?

If there is more that can go wrong, there is more that will go wrong.

[ambient]

7 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

If there is more that can go wrong, there is more that will go wrong.

There’s not really that much more though. Again, it comes down to using the available technology, tweaking it and getting used to using it. I’m part of a laptop thing with my uni, we have a virtual get-together on a Thursday afternoon, playing stuff using Supercollider. The first couple of sessions we had the odd technical problem, since then though it’s been working really well. 
 

It’s probably not going to replace a group of guys in the corner of a bar, but if you’re not able to play in the corner of a bar, then?

[louisthebass]

29 minutes ago, ambient said:

I do wonder how long this is going to go on for. Even if pubs and bars do open in July; something I’m actually rather sceptical about anyway tbh, but with social distancing still going to be in force, then I think the only live music will be outside.

That's the $64,000 question... I don't think any band is going to be back playing inside or outside a pub before the early part of next year (if we're lucky). We're 3 months into this still at level 4, and unfortunately level 3 seems a long way off, especially with the infamous 'R' rate just under 1 and daily mortality rates are still in (low) three figure numbers.

Not a good move if the authorities lift the closures on pubs and restaurants just yet (imo).

[Heathy]

1 hour ago, ambient said:

That’s it, I do wonder how long this is going to go on for. Even if pubs and bars do open in July; something I’m actually rather sceptical about anyway tbh, but with social distancing still going to be in force, then I think the only live music will be outside. Are we not being a little Luddite in our attitude, maybe we should be using the technology available, and improving it to improve the experience?

I hate to sound negative, but part of me feels that, in terms of going back to how things were before, the game's up.

Much as I miss going to gigs, it's going to be a long time before I am confident enough to stand in a crowd, be it large or small, indoors or outdoors.

[peteb]

2 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

If there is more that can go wrong, there is more that will go wrong.

If I'm not gigging and I'm going out for a beer with mates, we will generally look to see if there is a band playing and meet up there. I'm certainly a punter as well as a player... 

3 hours ago, FinnDave said:

To be honest, I don't have the slightest interest in watching videos of bands or anything else. I was invited to join a Facebook 'watch party' last night, which seems to mean people sitting in front of their computers all watching the same thing and possibly commenting on it. The video last night was a gig we (Grateful Dudes) played in Camden last October. If there's one thing I like less than watching videos of bands, it's watching videos of bands I am playing in!

Don't get me wrong - I love watching videos of bands and spend quite a lot of time doing so. But a video of about ten minutes or so is the most I will do, even if I like the band. 

[Happy Jack]

On 02/06/2020 at 20:43, Happy Jack said:

Update - a pub where we were booked to play on 4th July believe that they will be allowed to open (with social distancing, natch) that weekend. They want to do an early-evening outdoor event in their large garden with a BBQ, and with us performing unplugged outside. As a band, we'd never actually need to enter the pub if we didn't want to.

Two of us have said we're up for that, the third wants 48 hours to think it through. I'll keep you posted.

 

Sad to relate, the third band member (who is vulnerable and has been Shielding) felt the risk was too great ... no gig. 

[julietgreen]

I'm happy with the proliferation of online bands and some great communities have sprung up. I've enjoyed using jamming software to play with people I haven't met. As a bassist, that works fairly well and, yeah, we can do some jazz that way quite effectively. But as a horn player in a soul band the gigs are the thing more than the music (it's not my first choice of music but the band are great people) and so playing live is essential. It's one of those bands - pubs, parties, weddings etc. I do wonder if we'll ever be back to playing. How can those events be safe?

[julietgreen]

Just now, Happy Jack said:

Sad to relate, the third band member (who is vulnerable and has been Shielding) felt the risk was too great ... no gig.

He's probably wise.

[Happy Jack]

11 minutes ago, peteb said:

If I'm not gigging and I'm going out for a beer with mates, we will generally look to see if there is a band playing and meet up there. I'm certainly a punter as well as a player... 

 

Until Lockdown hit, any Fri or Sat night that we weren't gigging ourselves, @Silvia Bluejay and I would routinely go and check out the competition, or at least the venue.

 

[Happy Jack]

Just now, julietgreen said:

He's probably wise.

It's his decision to make, not mine, and I can't criticise him for it.

On t'other hand, I'm not enough of a hypocrite to pretend that I'm not disappointed.

He's well aware that this situation can't last and that sooner or later he will have to come off Shielding; he just didn't feel 4th July was the right date.

Fair play.

 

[PaulWarning]

live streaming doesn't really work for me either, I'd rather just watch a video of an actual gig, we did a video for an online festival yesterday, me and the singer did 3 acoustic songs each, but by far the best bit was the whole band playing  from a gig that had been filmed

Edited June 7, 2020 by PaulWarning

[casapete]

I’ve just taken a gig in July with my acoustic duo. Will be outside, weather permitting. Obviously will observe social distancing, both with the audience and each other - we’ll need to travel separately etc, but think it’s still possible. If the weather means we have to cancel then so be it, but at the moment with the situation as it is now it’s probably the only gig I have for the rest of the year. Just hope it’s a good one!

[FinnDave]

I love playing gigs because of the synergy between band and audience - and I just can't see how that can be achieved through video link, as the audience are going to be a group of individuals all around the country, or further afield. No audience feedback means it's just a rehearsal to me. If that's the best we look forward to in the next few years (and hopefully it isn't), then I'll be selling up.