How Facebook Live is a different beast to a regular gig

Turns out a Facebook Live is a different beast to a regular gig. 

The worst turnout we ever got to a regular gig, in a band a lifetime ago, was zero. 

It was one of those dodgy promotion gigs where you only get paid a percentage of the tickets you personally sell and you can be the one who ends up paying for the “privilege” of performing. Late capitalism is eating its young. 

I took the gig because it was at the Workers Club and I had this mission to play every venue in Melbourne, so it was crossing off a square on my Melbourne venue mental bingo card. And look, we had about three enthusiastic people cheering in the corner but this turned out to just be the band who was playing after us. 

But then I got the idea to stream it on Facebook Live. And this salvaged the whole afternoon because, even though we couldn’t see them, there was a whole heap of people getting their life from the comfort of their own homes. I think we got about 120 views on that video - which was about the capacity of that room!

Lo and behold the pandemic has emptied out the gig rooms again. And once again Facebook Live has come to the rescue. 

Lach and I wanted the chance to show our people the tracks we’ve been crafting away during isolation and thought Facebook Live would be the perfect virtual venue. Live from our lounge room with our dog trotting back and forth in the background, mic positions tested to get the most gorgeous acoustic sound (trust me, even a Stradivarius can sound terrible with the wrong mic) and friends and family filling the comments with love. 

It felt amazing to be sharing music and telling stories about songs again. 

The good news is that you can watch it now! The magic of this kind of gig is that it is captured as it unfurled live so if you didn’t get a chance to catch it at the time, you can click this link and check it out. 

Something fun in the meantime while we wait for venues to open up again!