Quarantine Online Sets: Version 32

Sometimes technology results in strange situations when it come to live stream music. Honestly, I think it provides moments of levity in this COVID-19 world. This was the case with WFNM this past Wednesday night.

It all started out perfectly fine when Marieme opened up the night at 6 p.m. The first couple things I noticed? You got to notice her blue hair as well as the various paintings that decorated the wall behind her. I sometimes wish I took more effort in putting up paintings and posters in my home. Of course, I'm so lazy that they'd probably quickly become coated in dust. Of course, what really stuck with me were her vocals that one could imagine would soar in a venue. She sang her set to recorded music. When she finished her set and wasn't able to connect with Grant, she did an encore A capella song. Just wonderful.

Marieme

Then technology popped up. X.ARI came up. The set was being played inside what looked like an actual studio. There were acoustic panels on the walls. There were floor lights that caused giant shadows to pop up against the wall, making X.ARI look like she was being haunted by an apparition. She was backed by a guitarist (keeping social distance) and a phone-camera operator to capture it live. There was a lot of effort put into her set.

But then sound issues popped up. We could all hear her vocals, but we couldn't hear her synths or the guitarist. When a new song would start with a guitar intro, she'd start things off by dancing to the music, but it looked like she was just miming. She did keep coming to her phone to see what people were saying on Instagram, but this was likely her first livestream and so she keep scrolling to the first comments and so was getting frustrated that she wasn't seeing any comments from people regarding how well they could hear the sound. Eventually, she realized that only the vocals were being heard, "Oh, my God!" With that, they sang their last song with the acoustic guitar.

X.ARI

Calvin II came on next with his blues music. His set was inside what looked to be a home music studio. Off behind him was a huge computer monitor and on a shelf was a Canon camera with a zoom lens that was lens down on the shelf. As a photographer, that freaked me out. All you need is a decent enough earthquake and that lens goes flying and one can say goodbye to your money.

As blessed as his vocals were, it didn't prevent a technical glitch. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but he was talking with a friend off video. Suddenly, the streaming ended. I'm not sure how that happened. Maybe she accidentally touched something on the phone that turned it off. Anyways, a minute later he got back on and ended a brilliant set.

Calvin II

Okay, one would think two technical glitches would be enough for the night. Yes, that was it, but something just as amusing occurred with Little Dume. The band was playing in what looked like a mountain cabin. They were playing in a large living room with a fire going on in the fireplace and the members of the band were spread out. A friend doing the live stream would focus in on the various members of the band. At times, the brightness of the video would dim and then brighten back up. I'm assuming the phone's flashlight was turning on and off. The band gave some great Americana tunes. And the band provides some great vocal trios. Awesome. And then during their last song, the fire alarm started to go off. The band stopped playing and a couple of the band members attempted the usual antics that we all go through to stop a fire alarm from beeping. Those watching online couldn't help but ask if this was a first for WFNM.

Little Dume

The line-up of bands and artists ended with Almost Monday. Just like with Marieme, the set went off without any glitches. So it started and ended without problems. Their music was guitar pop played with the visuals of cartoon characters that decorated the wall behind the band. One could tell they were having fun as the lead singer often laughed during the music. Their final song was played on the floor with all 3 members of the band squeezed together in an attempt to get them all on camera.

Almost Monday