Thanks, Youtube

Over the weekend I was able to go to Coachella. Okay, I wasn't there in person, unfortunately, but thanks to the advent of the Internet I was able to experience it live from the comfort of my own home.

Youtube was streaming concerts live all weekend long, and I was able to catch two great ones - Best Coast and, at 2AM Saturday, Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire also streamed one of their shows at Madison Square Garden live last year and I watched that one, too. They are truly an amazing band live and oh, how I wish I was there in person to experience that! They really put on quite a show. I watched them until 3:30, I didn't want to stop, it was just beautiful.

Best Coast was great, too, although their set was much shorter. Just like Arcade Fire, though, they're really good live; I think I'd say that they are even better live than on recording, even! Bethany's banter was awesome and she just had a ton of personality and energy, even more than she does on the album. Also, the band played a new song I'd never heard before and a cover, and both of those were worth the watch!

I don't know to feel about these streams, despite my enjoyable experiences with them. On the one hand, I got to watch Arcade Fire in concert for free! Twice! A lot of people got to see how great these bands were for the first time and are now going to check them out. And I am a thousand times more likely to try to go to an Arcade Fire/Best Coast/etc. concert in the future. On the other hand, as an artist, wouldn't you rather people pay money to see you live? Obviously watching at home isn't quite the same but it was still pretty darn good. I actually got to see them up close; at a concert there'd be a ton of other people around and I might be stuck in the back.

I don't know that people would ever stop wanting to go to concerts but streaming them is definitely making people like me less likely to try to attend something like Coachella because I know I can just watch it at home.

We'll see what happens.