Going Back to (Virtual) Concerts
The last concert I went to before the pandemic hit was Neon Indian back in November of 2019. It was a great night, the show was great, Neon Indian preformed an extended version of Slumlord and played some music that was to be on his new album (which is still not out yet...). I had multiple other shows lined up (Roger Waters, Sloan, D.O.A., and a local experimental music festival back home) and then of course the pandemic hit. It was experiencing this loss for the first time that I realized the importance of the physicality of sound. This was not just in terms of the concerts, but in terms of the experiencing the world. The first bit of COVID-19 was extremely secluded, the rare time I remember going out for groceries there was no one around, less new sounds were being created. Sterne argues in Sonic Imaginations that more new sounds are being created then ever before, but at the beginning of the pandemic it slowed down to an incredible degree, or at least the publicity of sound disappeared. So what are some of the implications of this?
I think the major element missing is the sociocultural impact of sound itself. Henriques argues that in making dancehall music, part of the corporal instrument itself is social place. His implications are for what this means for dancehall, but I think applying the idea the setting itself has an effect on the sound is really important. To explain this, I want to compare two concerts I had the pleasure of experiencing. The first one was Nether Meant which was a virtual music festival that took place within Minecraft. The other was a concert I experienced last weekend at the Jazz Room here in Waterloo by Elena Kapeleris' Quartet.
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| What a good lineup, wish I saw it live... |
Nether Meant (A link to get a visual and audio understanding of the experience) was an eye opening experience because it showed how the digital fails to replicate the many sociocultural elements of sound. Sure the event had 'merch tables' and a stage, virtual avatars appeared on said stage and jumped around as sets were performed, but you miss out on the sounds of the crowd. You miss out on how sounds moves from where it is being created whether that means it is bouncing around the room, or until it eventually disappears across a field. Meanwhile at the Jazz Room, sound reverberated off the walls, notes lasted longer as they stayed with us a second more. Anytime there was silence, subtle sounds could still be heard throughout the room. Other sociocultural cues appeared too. People clapped after every solo, the band members gestured to each other and made signals throughout the tunes, the physicality of the moment changed how it sounded. On the contrary, the lack of physicality changed how Nether Meant sounded too. The audio stream was just the musicians. There was a chat to see what others were saying, but no whispers/yelling among the crowd. I can sing along to Never Meant, I had a gut feeling other people did too, but without hearing anyone it took away from the experience. Just like Henriques argues, the crowd changes how the music itself sounds.
Questions:
1. How else do Covid change how we perceive sound?
2. Have you had any similar experiences with virtual concerts? Any takeaways I missed?
-Lucas
This was such a good blog post Lucas! I love how you contrast the physiological, emotional, and environmental differences of a virtual versus in-person concert. One of the only virtual concerts I had ever attended was near the beginning of Covid when a variety of artists hosted a Covid relief concert through YouTube. Artists like Lady Gaga would sing from their homes and ask their fans to donate money to groups like the World Health Organization and other relief funds. Although in some way, seeing artists perform at the pianos in their living rooms did provide some sense of intimacy, it all felt very dystopian to me because it lacked the normal concert environment that you describe in your post. Not to mention, the running live commentary in the chat box simply didn't suffice as a collective concert audience experience.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question at the end of your first paragraph, the implications of the lack of 'new sounds' during Covid is an overwhelming sense of being under-stimulated. Everything in our physical environment became so predictable and controlled. Spending days straight in my apartment made me feel like I was going insane; I never thought that I'd consider a trip to the grocery store to be the highlight of my day. Unpredictability both with our sonic and environmental experiences is what makes life so exciting. New people, new interactions, new music, new energy; all of that was taken away from us (and quite abruptly as well).
Another way that I think Covid has changed how we perceive sound is through everyday bodily occurrences like coughing and sneezing (specifically in public). I will preface this by saying that these are never pleasurable noises to hear from a stranger, but the fear around the spread of Covid caused people to react in such hostile ways to anyone that made the slightest sniffling noise. I remember I would be insanely self-conscious while I was shopping or at the gym because I get bad seasonal allergies and I was terrified that someone would yell at me for sneezing (even after covering my mouth and wearing a mask). My point being, pre-Covid, many people would think nothing of a stranger sneezing on the bus or coughing in a store aisle, but now making the slightest noise might as well be a crime. As a whole, we began to associate those sounds with danger and fear and therefore changed our perceptions and reactions to them.
Very interesting points Alanna. It's interesting to see how sneezing has switched from a noise to a signal. Our perception of it has switched from background noise to us creating a connection about it with COVID itself. It's interesting to see how fast our perception of a sound could change based on social circumstances. I wonder if this has any sort of connection with the multiple music movements in which parents deemed it the 'devils music'?
DeleteAs for spending all day in the apartment, I think you raise a good point of the lack of new sounds being heard. The amount of audio simulation was lowered dramatically and the many sounds heard from my bedroom throughout the day became tedious. I think the entertainment value of sound (not just music) is drastically understated.
Hi Lucas,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. To be honest with you I've never attended a virtual concert before but I can relate to your experience through athletic events. I really liked how you tied in Henriques and how he notions that the crowd changes how music itself sounds. In my experience the crowd does indeed do just that, the atmosphere given off from the crowd can enhance a performance. As we all crowd eliminated crowds from all events such as sports, music and conferences turning everything virtual.
Before as a spectator of sporting events both live, televised and streamed it was extremely odd to not see a crowd, not react to a crowd interactions with the game itself and most importantly see how the players reacted to not having fans in the arena. It turned a cultural event into just an event. I believe that a sporting event is enhanced by the crowd and simply not the same when there are no fans present. It was interesting to hear fan crowd noises inserted into broadcasting at various points of the game. But as we all know there is a big difference between forced sound and the naturalness of spectator reactions.
I also really like Alanna's point that about the phenomena around hearing people sneeze in public and the social reactions which occur because of COVID. Individuals in proximity of those who do sneeze automatically tense up and are afraid. This social exchange is most definitely a sound which has been emphasized because of the pandemic. Another observation I have had is the shift in energy/anticipation when individuals don't wear a mask when they should. It creates a sense of silence within the proximity of that individual. As we have learned in class, silence is a form of sound and one that shouldn't be over looked. As a whole COVID has changed our surroundings and has added alterations of sounds to the world which are new to society.
Hi Lukas,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your take on COVID-19 and concerts. I think the virtual concert is a very interesting concept that I have kind of gone back and forth with. For some reason, to me, virtual concerts seem almost like a zoom call or youtube video. I completely agree with you that there are serval missing elements from virtual concerts that take away from the sonic experience. Personally, I see concerts as a very special event where there the shared sonic experience is one of the most important factors. As Henriques discusses, the various elements, such as the MC, the crowd, the selector, and so on, are the exact elements that make the session successful. It is the working together of these various aspects that allows for the success of the dancehall session. If one of these elements is missing, the vibes will not be the same. I think the same can be considered for concerts. When you're missing certain elements such as the crowd, in the case of virtual concerts, or the vibrations that run through ground, bounce off the walls, and enter your body, you cannot feel the same vibes as you would typically feel during a concert. As you mentioned, it does not feel the same as some of those key aspects of the event are missing. It is especially interesting to think about this under the fact that we have experienced life both before and after the pandemic. I think this will be a whole different experience for teens and kids that are growing up in this current climate, having never previously been to a concert and experiencing one under covid restrictions or even virtually. I think this could partly answer your first question in terms of how coivd can change the way we perceive sound. For those of us who have experienced sound before the pandemic, say in the form of an in-person concert, will understand sound after the pandemic in a very different way than those who have never experienced it. There will always be a comparison in the back of our minds because we have had the experiences of live sound that fills out bodies and overcomes us to create affective reactions. We will always be comparing sound in terms of the best bodily experience we have has whereas people who have not experienced it will have nothing to compare it to and therefore may enjoy sound after the pandemic.