The Washington Post - 27.03.2020

5

EZ

THE WASHINGTON POST

.

FRIDAy, MARCH 27, 2020

nect people in a moment w here we

really need it, because everything

is so fragmented.”

Virginia-based rock band Plea-

sure Train, which had a gig at the

Pie Shop in Northeast postponed

last weekend, streamed a show

from their usual rehearsal space,

Crescendo Studios in falls

Church, on march 1 8 with D C mu-

sic review’s h elp.

“It’s cool to see people getting

creative about ways to connect

with their audience,” says bassist

Will Berger. “Especially in this

weird time where so many people

have had gigs canceled, or they’re

dealing with financial instability

or just uncertainty about the fu-

ture.”

New Zealand native Emma G,

who recently released the pop-

rock single “Chasing Love Songs,”

is staging regular shows and talks

nearly every day on facebook

from her oglethorpe Street NW

living room that she sees as a

much needed salve for a trying

time.

“music keeps us sane,” she says.

“It keeps our spirits high and tries

to bridge that connection g ap that

we’re getting from social distanc-

ing. I want to do whatever I can to

help people feel like, as much as

the world’s on fire, it’s going to be

okay.”

[email protected]

cert friday at 8 p.m. from his

basement on YouTube and Insta-

gram.

“It’s an escape from [what’s]

going on now,” Cavanagh says.

“I’m hoping it’s a nice way to con-

Alexandria-based singer-song-

writer Casey Cavanagh had

planned to celebrate the release o f

his new Americana single “fa-

ther’s Arms” at Hill Country Live

friday. Instead, h e’ll stream a con-

for a band that’s versed in live

improvisation and is used tailor-

ing shows to audience reactions,

playing to an empty room left a

noticeable void.

“The live stream was definitely

bizarre, because there was no

crowd there to feed off of,” singer-

guitarist Greg ormont says. “The

strangest part of the experience

was finishing each s ong. And then

it’s j ust eerily quiet.”

Some acts are using this situa-

tion to break from c oncert conven-

tions. Stephane Detchou, the sing-

er-guitarist o f D.C.-based f unk and

soul band Aztec Sun, performed a

solo set Sunday for a DC music

review stream at a n unusual time:

9 a.m.

“I’m a morning person, and

there is just something about the

first hour of the day that just kind

of makes you feel like you’re steal-

ing a bit of time,” says Detchou,

who performed from a backyard

that l ooks onto rock C reek Park.

posed to play last weekend. In
keeping with t he CDC’s g uidelines
for social distancing and large
gatherings, the band members
were stationed as far apart as pos-
sible, extra sanitation measures
were taken, there was no micro-
phone s haring and the o nly people
in the venue were the ones who
needed t o be t here.
DC music review’s webcasts
are free (through facebook, You-
Tube and Periscope) and the site is
encouraging bands to choose a
local charity for viewers to direct
their support toward. The acts c an
also solicit virtual tips or send
people to their Bandcamp, mer-
chandise or social media pages.
ménage À Garage bassist Jenny
Thomas, who is also the director of
marketing and communications
at the Association of Performing
Arts Professionals, s ees this uncer-
tain time as a challenge for bands,
as well as other performing arts
institutions that rely on live audi-
ences, t o think outside the box.
“Longer term, I think we’re all
going to be looking at being more
inventive, because that’s what art-
ists do,” Thomas says. “This is go-
ing to force the question of the
online aspect of the performing
arts because p eople are going to be
immediately having to fast track
figuring o ut how to present things
online.”
Live-streaming concerts isn’t a
new phenomenon. But for now, it
may be a new normal. In the jam
band community, fans regularly
stream shows (affectionately call-
ing it couch t our) t hrough s ervices
like N ugs.tv, which regularly offers
pay-per-view concerts from Phish
and the John mayer-led Grateful
Dead offshoot Dead & Company.
Baltimore-based funk band Pi-
geons Playing Ping Pong had been
webcasting shows of late, so when
the group’s t our behind n ew a lbum
“Presto” was cut short two weeks
ago, the quartet quickly made
plans to stream an a udience-less
performance from a Charm City
warehouse. The march 14 $ 10
stream was part of a newly created
Live from out There series of web-
casts, spearheaded by the band’s
management company 11 E1even
Group, which aims to raise money
for bands; their crews, who often
get paid on a per-show basis; and
the Sweet relief musicians fund.
(The band plans to continue doing
live streams throughout the out-
break.)
“I think the community ele-
ment o f this is t he most promising
thing,” says the band’s manager,
Dave DiCianni, who adds that
nearly 1,600 people paid for the
stream. “People are coming to-
gether and supporting artists. If
we don’t find a way to support
these artists, they’re not going to
be able to keep doing it beyond
this outbreak. It’s going to be a
tough time for e verybody.”

VIrtuAl concerts from 4

Music

COURTESY OF PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG

Baltimore-based funk band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong streamed an audience-less show from a

warehouse on March 14. the band’s manager, Dave Dicianni, who adds that nearly 1,600 people paid

for the stream, which cost $10.

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