Come to My Window
8 must-see online performances from social-distancing artists.
Admit it. There are things that suck at concerts:
Waiting to get in and the endless trod through metal detectors
The guy who bought up all the limited-numbered prints (c’mon, 1 per person, merchandisers!)
Your next-seat neighbor making you suck in every 10 minutes for pee breaks
Kicking around empties in general admission
Bathroom conditions, enough said.
And we miss them all.
Give us a Chicago rock club with peeling paint and an open sewer pipe next to the toilet. Force me to hop to see over tall heads near the stage. Most of all, let me be among a sea of sweaty, bumping, screaming fellow fans who are instantly connected over the love of the music.
Concerts don’t suck. Pandemics do. COVID-19 moved Summerfest to fall and upright cancelled local shows. We get it. Social distancing is critical. It doesn’t mean we can’t mourn.
As in any tragic situation, the good shows up. In this case, streaming. Artists are picking up their guitars and pianos to provide a little light in the darkness. Facebook Live-ing, Instagramming or YouTubing live shows from the comfort of their homes. It’s authentic and extremely cool.
It’s giving us live-music lovers a chance to imagine we’re there in the stadium, in the theater, in the club—with better bathroom conditions. Perhaps video chatting with other fans or virtual toasting. It’s not the same, but an incredible substitute.
Sunday, March 29, Elton John emcees a live charity show on Fox and iHeart radio with big-name artists performing from their places of isolation. Yes, it’s commercializing this “in your living room” moment, but, hey, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl just signed on. We’re going to check it out.
Let’s make live music go viral (see what we did there?). Here are our picks of upcoming or recorded live shows from bands you know and a few you don’t but should check out.
Lukas Nelson’s Quarantunes
His goosebump-inducing voice plus the intimacy of a live stream tops this list. From a cover of “The Sound of Silence” to a memorable trio with his dad Willy and brother Micah, Lukas’s Quarantune sessions are must-sees. Here’s a new song from Lukas and his band Promise of the Real that feels eerily timely.
Styx Fix
Saturday, March 28, 7 p.m. CT
Styx will raise funds for its Rock to the Rescue charity thanks to us having “too much time on [our] hands” (sorry, had to). Lead singer Tommy Shaw will introduce the live stream of the band’s 2017 Quebec concert.
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades at the #VirtualFestival
March 28, 7 p.m. CT
Favorite Wisconsin sons, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades bring their bluegrass tunes to the Virtual Festival, a Facebook Live concert series aimed at financially supporting musicians who’ve suffered financial loss from show cancelations. It’s free, but organizers hope you’ll donate your “ticket” directly to the artists via PayPal and Venmo. Here’s one of my HHG faves, “Whiskey.”
FOX Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America
Sunday, March 29, 8-9 CT
Hosted by Elton John and featuring Dave Grohl, Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw and others. It will raise money for Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation.
Melissa Etheridge #ConcertsFromHome
Every day, 5 p.m. CT
Surrounded by memorabilia and what you think is the leg lamp from The Christmas Story (it’s not), this veteran rocker brings you into her intimate space to play songs from her collection and some cool covers. And she’s doing it every day on Facebook. Here’s day 12:
Metallica Mondays
Every #MetallicaMondays, the heavy metal band will live stream one of their shows from their YouTube channel and Facebook. And if you’ve never been to one, better cast it to your big screen for the almost full effect. Here’s the first one, Live at Slane Castle, in Meath, Ireland, June 8, 2019.
Dave Matthews and the Verizon PayItForward Concert Series
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 p.m. CT
Tune into Verizon’s twitter page for a live streamed for-charity concert from yet-to-be-named artists. The first one kicked off this week with Dave Matthews, who, even if you’re not a DMB fan, is one rockin’ guitar virtuoso. It’s worth watching just for the licks.
Luke Combs Replay
Recording of March 17 live stream
Kari saw scruffy bearded Luke Combs open for Blackberry Smoke at The Rave in Milwaukee way before he exploded on the country scene. Seeing him perform live—seeing anyone perform live—puts his talent on full display. Watch his St. Patrick’s Day live stream.
