Welcome to the future: we still have gigs here and we still listen to music. Except, while your favourite artists sweat and sing, you comment by way of heart emojis on a virtual stream instead of screaming in a crowd.
Dominic Richard Harrison, the 22-year-old Doncaster eccentric known to the world as Yungblud, says good morning from behind a desk at 7am West Coast time to roughly 40,000 fans watching from across the world. This is The Yungblud Show, a live-streamed concert following the cancellation of a run of his shows due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Heās not the only one. Gigs are being cancelled or postponed globally, and with no official advice on what to do about concerts here in the UK ā even though several countries have banned large gatherings ā it can seem like a confusing time. But this new format feels like a fascinating initiative.
The Yungblud Show runs for an hour, interspersing a handful of songs performed live with comical interludes from various guests. Thereās human meme and songwriter Oliver Tree with a cooking segment; actor Bella Thorne and Machine Gun Kelly for a drinking game (with Corona beer, of course) and a Q&A with questions from fans. Itās a sharp, well-run production, clearly the product of astonishingly fast lateral thinking.
On every song, Yungbludās energy remains astronomically high. He sings with so much force, jumps with colossal bounce, that it makes you acutely aware of how infectious optimism can be.
There are clever nods to the unusual circumstances, too. On āoriginal meā, the line āIām so paranoid/Most people I avoidā feels specifically written for those in self-isolation. On āparentsā, Yungblud sings āItās alright/Weāll surviveā ā but instead of continuing with the next line (āBecause parents arenāt always rightā) he leaves a silence, making it all feel so much heavier.
Making continued eye contact with the camera to stubbornly entertain every individual staring back, Yungblud urges fans to participate, to mosh at home ā while always telling them to āsplit out, split out, split fucking out.ā The words āsocial distancingā are never mentioned, but they never need to be.
The music is the best part of the show ā a blistering display of talent and good intentions with sturdy cinematic value. The camerawork and editing give the show the same experience as live-streamed theatre; not necessarily a reproduction of in-person attendance, but a carefully designed, independent project with every individualās best interests in mind.
āThe world is very, very, very weird right now,ā Yungblud concedes. āSo make sure you tell everyone you love that you love them.ā Itās a sentiment that courses throughout ā a gift from an entertainer who couldnāt bear to be in his bedroom on his own, so brought himself to everyone elseās bedrooms instead. For a brief hour of musical fireworks, it feels like a vital, generous display of kindness and hope, something thatās essential right now.
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