Last October, YouTube decided to venture into the concert broadcasting business when they showed a U2 concert in Pasadena, CA all around the world. And they did it live. The result? 10 million streams on a Sunday night. Now they’re expanding on that idea with their “Unstaged” concert series. And the first of those takes place tonight with the band Arcade Fire.
Tonight at 10 PM ET/7PM PT if you visit this YouTube page, you’ll be able to see an entire Arcade Fire show streamed live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is excellent both because Arcade Fire just released their first new album in three years this week — and also because Terry Gilliam is directing the broadcast for YouTube.
You may know Gilliam as the director of Hollywood films such as Brazil, The Fischer King, 12 Monkeys, or Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas. Or maybe you know him better as a member of Monty Python, and as the director of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Yes, this should be interesting.
And this aims to be more than just a concert. The idea behind the “unconcert” is to allow viewers to interact with the show from their computers. For example, you can choose your own camera angle. And since Arcade Fire’s new album is called The Suburbs, they’re asking fans to participate by submitting pictures of their own suburbs which will be shown during the show.
You can find all the details here. If you miss the show, the page will also host highlight clips of the concert after it’s over.
YouTube says other upcoming Unstaged concerts will include John Legend and The Roots. This is part of their effort with Vevo (the joint music video venture between Google, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group) and American Express.
The whole YouTube/Vevo live music thing is still a bit confusing — which service is in charge here? — but whatever, free live Arcade Fire concent!