Man, I miss concerts. Not the accidental beer-spilt-by-a-very-drunk-indie-dude moments or smelling like a locker room and not being able to hear out of your ears when it’s done, but ya know- the moments where the musician comes out and for a moment your third eye opens and you’re like “Oh god, this person is real- like a tangible and talented human being. WHAT?” and your voice grows hoarse from scream singing all the lyrics. Yeah. I miss those moments. But with us being in month eight of a pandemic that has no end in sight, these moments are ones we can no longer wholly create in original form. With this in mind, many performers have turned to live streamed concerts or remote performances from their own houses or on stage for an awards show with no audiences. 

This past week, I was able to attend one of these live streamed style concerts. One of my favorite bands, Motionless in White, celebrated the tenth anniversary of their first studio album “Creatures,” and commemorated the day with a concert where they performed the album in its entirety. This was my first time doing something like this, and I was certainly unsure. But they only charged $10 for the access code, which would be cheaper than any other concert I would have attended, so why not? Treat yourself in these trying times. And even with my hesitancy, I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. 

Everything went smoothly which was so nice. Easily accessible for someone like me who is convinced technology hates her; I just received a code and clicked a link. Beautiful. And the rest was like just a YouTube stream! Easy peasy! The entire performance was professionally recorded which was really impressive, as I expected just a single solitary camera shooting them. They were decked out for Halloween, and the videographers were generous enough to give us recordings from all angles so that we could see all the band members. You then also had access to the show for three days after the live stream, which was nice. 

The entire show was simply a delight to watch. Sure, it was a little odd having strobe neon lights flash rapidly in this small screen of my laptop, but I was still bopping my head to the beat. The lead singer, Chris Motionless, still stuck his microphone out for the audience to sing, and you better bet I gave the best one-woman performance of my life. Not that I can hit those notes, but it’s fine because no one could hear me! The experience was very different than what you’re used to as far as concerts go, but by the end I’m sure you too would agree with me in saying that this virtual stuff isn’t the absolute worst, and this concert was a well done example of how virtual concerts should be handled. It made for a respectable substitute until I can get back into a mosh pit. 

Is this what concerts will be for the foreseeable future? Probably. The thought of being in close proximity to strangers right now makes me anxious, so it will be a while until we are able to go see Billie Eilish or Meg thee Stallion or Harry Styles or whoever you fellas wanted to go see. But if you have the opportunity to see one of your artists in a virtual concert, I highly suggest you take it! They’re a good time, and perfect to hold you over until you’re back there in person. Plus, maybe you’ll save some money! And if you’re on the fence now, just get the ticket: it’s officially crunch time in the semester and you deserve a fun reprieve!