We're crawling into the idea of more live concerts on the damned ünterweb. Pro: You have a good seat and good sound. Con: The performer gets no audience feedback. Pro: It costs less. Con: The performer gets even less money than usual. Pro: It's convenient. Con: The format can limit band interaction. Pro: Nobody will yap over the music or spill a drink on you. Con: If you spill a drink, you have to clean it up yourself.
Yeah, I've dipped into a few live streams.
Superbassist Mark Dresser's March 27 solo performance from his San Diego studio, sponsored by New Orleans' SideBar (where he had been scheduled to play), was intense. He seemed to feel our pent-up frustration, and attacked the strings of his upright bass with a ferocity that amplified his mastery of special techniques: chordal slides, harmonic pings, weird bowings. Involving and satisfying. Looks like the show is not available for re-viewing, though.
A whole different thing was last Friday's live concert by psychedelic metalmen Oranssi Pazuzu, plowing through their entire new "Mestarin Kynsi." These Finns set floaty moods, then shattered them over and over with noisy climaxes, meanwhile grooving your trip with hypnotic riffs. The sound and visuals, sans audience, were topnotch. You can still watch the whole show here, for the moment anyway; slide up to the 7-minute mark, when the music actually begins.
Willie Nelson's 4/20 "Come and Toke It" fest looked and sounded as if it were made by people who were high. It had moments, though, like the ultrarelaxed guitar chord wizard from Blackberry Smoke.
Coming up:
On Sat. May 23 at 2pm PST, check out Just Jazz Online Music Festival. Don't know who'll be jamming, but LeRoy Downs' Just Jazz concert series, presented at Mr. Music Head Gallery, has been excellent, so it's worth a squint.
On Sat. & Sun. May 23 & 24, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science offer a concert, panel discussion and master classes. Watch here.
On Sat. June 6 at 2pm PST, the stunt-oriented Norwegian band Shining (album: "Blackjazz") executes its high-energy brand of abstraction-laced metal in a live online concert. Tickets need to be purchased no later than June 1 here. Above photo by Frode Roe.
The LAX-area bar Sam First has been presenting Solo Sessions by the likes of guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Josh Nelson. Look here for upcoming shows, which seem to be shifting to Saturdays.
May 29 & 30 marks Slay at Home Metal and Arts Festival, details here.
For the past couple of years, bassist Dave Ross has been a pioneer of streaming live L.A. concerts at The Jazz Salon, presenting blues/jazz singers such as the great Barbara Morrison, and bop-schooled stars such as trumpeter Nolan Shaheed. Look in for future options, and for replays of past shows.
No doubt there will be more. And more, and more. It could become a way of life.