Tonight, one of the finest and most consistent bands in the game, Rise Against, make their long awaited return to the UK, playing the Camden Electric Ballroom, in what is somewhat an intimate gig by their usual standards. It sold out pretty quickly.
The great news, however, is that they are streaming it live on the internet, for the world to witness. That means that pretty much anyone (with a half decent internet connection) can enjoy the sights and sounds of the gig from their own home. It isn’t a first, but it sure could be yet another reminder of the future of concert viewing.
Way back in 2009, I watched some of the Cardiff show on The Blackout and Silverstein tour, whilst living in halls of residence at Nottingham. It was by no stretch of the imagination a replacement for being at the show, but for someone who was a fair few miles from the venue, and who could not make it to any of the other, more local shows on the tour, I enjoyed being able to watch the show from my room.
Even then, I knew that this could be something pretty special.
Sure, it wasn’t the best quality, and you couldn’t quite feel the sweat from the pit, but it was a pretty brilliant idea. Live concerts for DVD’s are shot in such high quality, that it was only ever going to be a matter of time before someone could shoot the show in the live arena, and then broadcast it around the world via the power of the internet.
That day seems to be nearing ever closer.
Tonight I watched the entire Rise Against show from the Electric Ballroom which was a great way to spend an evening. I would have loved to have seen them live yes, but this was a more than worthy alternative, knowing that a mid-week trek to LDN town, whilst living in Stoke-on-Trent is just not an option, with having to work and all. I don’t live in an area with particularly great internet, and so the connection was a little patchy at times. It started off quite ropey, and certainly got better as it went on.
At times, the quality was excellent, and it was genuinely as if I was standing in the photographers pit for a lot of the show. Sure I had some connection difficulties, and the occasional bit of drop out in sound and picture quality, but that can only be expected. This is still something very new to the scene, and the technology most definitely has not been perfected. Yet. One day, I expect that streaming a live concert will be a pretty simple exercise, and that opens up a whole new window of concert viewing opportunites to the fans. And that is really what matters here. To say I am pretty excited about the possibilities would be an understatement. I spend a lot of money going to shows, so much that, there are always shows that I miss out on, due to clashes, shortage of money, etc. This in many ways, if embraced by the music industry (which I highly doubt it will be) would be an easy solution to me and all the fans out there. Sold out gigs no longer become impossible goals, and you don’t need to scour the black market for tickets – you could just watch it at home with a cup of tea. Or, you could get a group of mates round, and start your own circle pit round the coffee table.
Sure I lost the connection at times, and it was definitely not the first choice way of watching a show, but I love the fact that this sort of technology exists, and one day, my concert viewing dreams may become a reality.
I can only hope that the industry embraces it, and doesn’t see it as another way of making money.
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