With broadband connections and digital technology making it possible to transmit high quality video and sound over the Internet, a new breed of concerts is on the horizon.
Following a trend that began late last year, a growing number of websites are now enabling people to host concerts in their own homes. And the best part is, you don’t even have to clear that old bicycle and box of family portraits out of your basement to make room for amps, speakers and a drum kit. Instead, these ad-supported ventures offer live streaming feeds (often at little or no cost) of a concert as it is occurring.
I was first introduced to the concept after watching an archived video of Max Bemis (of Say Anything fame) performing a solo acoustic show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA on NotMTV.tv. As I soon discovered, the site (whose name stands for Not Mainstream Typical Videos) broadcasts live almost every concert held at this particular venue.
Because I was impressed with the quality of the sound and video from the Bemis performance, I decided to take the plunge and watch an upcoming show in real time. As my first concert, I chose My American Heart/Daphne Loves Derby/Cinematic Sunrise (which aired this past Thursday).
Although my expectations weren’t too high as the show date approached, the weird thing was that throughout the day of the concert I actually felt that mixture of excitement and anticipation (albeit on a bit more subdued level) which I usually experience on a day I know I am going to see a show in person.
However, as it came time for the opening act to take the stage, I discovered a drawback of watching shows hosted at this venue/website. Because Chain Reaction is in California, the two-hour time zone delay means that the first band doesn’t go on until about 9:30 central time and the headliner isn’t scheduled to appear until around midnight.
A second negative that quickly became apparent was the long delay (sometimes one or two minutes) between the audio and the video. On the plus side, the sound was amazingly clear while still maintaining that raw, live feel. Even the caliber of the footage was above average and probably offered a better view than being at the club in person.
(On a side note, the site also offers a chat box that allows viewers – which averaged about 100 at a time for the show I watched – to interact with each other and “listen in” on those strange and/or pointless conversations the people standing behind you often have between sets — not necessarily a good thing.)
On the whole, though, after spending the night sitting in front of my computer and occasionally browsing some other websites/making food/watching Baseball Tonight/etc… during the concert, I’ll probably wait until the shows are archived (and the audio/video is synched up) and made available on the site, rather than wasting my time watching them live.
Ultimately, although this format offers several advantages – no more blown out eardrums, no more getting kicked in the face by crowd surfers, no more having to stand through three bands you have no interest in hearing – I think it also raises a lot of interesting questions.
With sales of recorded music already on the decline, will ticket sales (the biggest source of revenue for most musicians) now begin to suffer as well? Will bands be compensated for having their shows simulcast on the Internet?
Also, if venues in this area started offering free, live streams of concerts would you stop paying $10-$20 to go see a touring band? Five years from now, can you really claim you saw [insert band name here] before they got famous if all you did was watch from your desk chair while chatting on AIM at the same time?
While I think the idea of streaming live shows over the Web does have some merit (allowing people to watch a show that might not come to their town, for one), I think I’ll stick to attending concerts in person whenever I can.
But, since Motion City Soundtrack’s show at the Pageant in St. Louis is sold out, I guess I’ll cozy up and watch them live on DeepRockDrive (tagline: A Million Front Row Seats) on June 11th. Give me a wave if you see me there. Or hit me up on AIM.
Chris Hassen: I goes to shows.
Comments
Mark (Mark) says:
(Posted June 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 am)
I just saw this for the first time last week. This doesn’t look like an internet company trying to bash MTV. It’s looks and operates like a fan site made by a handful of musicians. Very cool. I’m in!
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Chris Hassen
I goes to shows.
steve (steve) says:
(Posted June 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 am)
I think this is great, especially for smaller bands trying to reach a larger fanbase.
I wouldn’t worry about this eating up ticket sales either, nothing compares to actually seeing a band live.