[Sequestered Streaming] Some Ongoing and Upcoming At-Home Musical Performances

Posted on March 21, 2020 at 4:59 pm | 1 Comment

Well, this is all pretty damn surreal, innit? Here in Massachusetts, we’re hunkered down somewhere between Florida-style carefree roaming and full-on California shelter-in-place. Far more CA than FL, of course, and I’m playing it safe by staying at home and keeping away from friends and strangers alike. We’re roughly a week in and nerves are fraying. Hell, they were pretty frayed before any of this began.

Keeping me from unraveling entirely has been the wealth of livestreams that have sprung up since last weekend. Some faves have taken quickly to the internet, tweaking their at-home setups and experimenting with platforms to play from their couches, practice spaces, and patios. Many are doing it to stay connected, to keep themselves and their fans sane, some are helping to raise funds for worthy causes or for themselves in the painful absence of touring and merch-table income. I can say that I wish it wasn’t necessary, but I can’t say it isn’t absolutely wonderful. A soul-feeding silver lining on a the COVID-19 cloud.

These things are popping up so fast and frequently that I’m having a tough time keeping track (and missed some great ones), so I’ve pulled together a little list of what I’ve been digging and looking forward to, including a handful of Boston-based musicians. Know of a good one I’m missing that I might be into? Leave a comment on Farcebook (y’know, since no one comments on websites anymore). See you on the streams…

• Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom is streaming the first of his own “virtual happy hours” today, Saturday, March 21st, at 4pm EST. Proceeds will go to “local independent music venues and promoters who are losing their shirts during this virus shut down.” Hopefully I’ll finish this post by the time he goes live… but I’m starting to have my doubts. Here’s the YouTube link, here’s the FB link. (update: It’s on now! Get over there. He’s doing “Treehouse” and it rules.)

• Metric’s Emily Haines and her guitar will also check in from home today at 5pm EST live on Instagram.

• Chris Brokaw (Come/Codeine/The New Year) goes live tonight at 8pm EST on YouTube live, and again tomorrow (Sunday, March 22nd) at 2pm EST at this YouTube link. Chris was about to embark on a long-planned tour of Italy just as things got nuts over there, so hit up those streams and tip well, and/or grab the just-released live LP he shared on Bandcamp yesterday.

• Also at 8pm EST this evening (my first virtual show conflict!), Mr. Matt Pond will be playing live from his living room with bandmates Chris Hansen and Anya Marina. To watch, you’ll need a ticket, after which you’ll be sent a link to stream on YouTube.

• Mike Gent of the Figgs was one of the first shut-in-specific streams I caught when he went live last Sunday, and he’ll be doing it again tomorrow at 5pm EST. He’s taking requests at that link, from Figgs songs to his solo stuff to a deep well of covers he can draw from, and he was kind enough to honor my call for the Broken West’s “Down In The Valley” last time, a total highlight. Psyched to see what he pulls out tomorrow.

• Ben Gibbard has been playing solo from his place in Seattle on the Death Cab For Cutie Instagram page every single day at 7pm EST since Tuesday, and he’s been pulling out some top notch covers (and t-shirts) alongside DCFC songs and Postal Service cuts, while collecting donations for a different charitable cause each day. A total champ.

• Rick from Pile was supposed to play a show at the Church of the Covenant here in Boston on April 3rd, and virus be damned, he’s gonna play it anyway. Safely, though, without a crowd and streamed live on both Instagram and Facebook. Tithes gratefully accepted.

• I wasn’t able to catch Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift’s online fundraiser from (and for) Nashville via StageIt a few days back, so I’m glad they’ll be doing it again this coming Wednesday, March 25th at 6pm EST. Get yourself signed up over there before then.

• I also totally missed out on the Kevin Morby/Allison Crutchfield livestream a couple days ago, and it sounded like a great one, so I’m bummed they haven’t archived it anywhere (the curse of Insta-stories – did anyone capture it?). The good news is they’ll be doing it again this coming Thursday, March 26th at the same time – 9pm EST. In the meantime, Kevin will also be streaming from the Blogotheque Instagram as part of their new “Stay Away Shows” series, on Monday at 2pm EST.

• I’ve been on a massive Porridge Radio kick since their new record arrived last week, so I was psyched to see Dana Margolin start streaming on Instagram last Tuesday (another non-archived insta-story). She’s popped up a few other places since, including an archived Quarantunes YouTube stream as well as a MQA/BME stream (as a duo) which will be shared later here. Hopeful we’ll get many more.

• I was nearly caught off guard when nicest-man-in-rock John Vanderslice gave us a 5 minute warning that he’d be going live on Instagram last night. He performed and chatted for 90 minutes or so, and it was f’in magic. He’ll be doing it again every Friday at 9pm EST from his southern California confines, and if my wishes are granted, even more often than that. His latest album, “Dollar Hits”, arrived on Bandcamp yesterday, and during last night’s stream JV revealed that he’ll be releasing a collection of rarities & demos in the Fall (which will include his excellent cover of Songs: Ohia’s “Farewell Transmission“).

• Speaking of that JV stream, it was nice to see Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws show up in the feed last night and chat alongside us. They had to cut short a European tour together due to the virus, and from what John had to say, they were having a pretty spectacular time before they had to pack it in. While it wasn’t streamed live, Matthew shared his own solo clip of Nada Surf’s “Mathilda” yesterday, which is hopefully a dry run for future streaming sets. In fact, below that clip he says “will do some streaming in a few days”. Aces.

• David Bazan (Pedro the Lion/Headphones) was the first of my faves to try streaming on Twitch this week when he went live on Thursday, and he said “we’re making plans for more live streams. news soon.“, so keep an eye on the PtL FB page.

• On the subject of sudden surprises, live from their practice space, it was… Grifters! What a total treat. Is it gonna happen again? I dunno, but I’m gonna keep tabs on Scott Taylor’s FB page and the band’s page just in case.

• As a slight consolation for the postponement of their planned North American tour, the House of Love‘s Guy Chadwick shared a short clip of him playing “Hope”. It’s a word. That you say. Fingers crossed that he’ll say and share more than that in the days to come, and it looks like that’s the plan.

• Boston’s Will Dailey has been hosting his own “virtual bar tour” for the past few days, raising funds for the out-of-work staff of a different local bar during each performance. So far, he and his fans have ponied up respectable sums for places I adore, including Great Scott and Toad, and tomorrow (Sunday) at 6:30pm EST he’ll playing for the staff of the Burren in Somerville. Tune in, pitch in, and read more about it over at Vanyaland.

• Fellow Bostonian Ryan Lee Crosby has been sharing songs and wishes of wellness when the mood strikes him over on his Facebook page this week as well, so keep an eye out over there.

Whew. How’s that for filling up some of yer newly-forced free time? And the list is only gonna get longer. Again, if you know of something special I’m missing, head here and lemme know. Goes without saying at this point, but be well, everyone. Take care of yourselves, mentally and physically. Easier said than done, I know. Things are gonna get better. Just wait.

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