I am not at Coachella
Apr. 15th, 2023 07:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauradi7dwOne of my UMass Lowell classmates mentioned attending Coachella as a bucket list thing. I looked it up - even a decade before I shunned crowds, it seemed to me that it would be extremely unpleasant. I didn't give it much thought. Last week I got a Youtube ad that the festival stages would be free to watch online (on Youtube). I watch a lot of events online (see below) and often find the business models mysterious. In this case, it's the free part. In-person weekend passes cost hundreds of dollars. But, um, there I am (not) at Becky G's set:
Last weekend I virtually attended Eastercon in Birmingham UK (discord + youtube). I remember Elizabeth Wein posting years ago about being there, so I tried it out. Later in the week there were posts about Covid spread in the in-person version. Someone on dreamwidth (didn't note the name) pointed out that the hybrid nature of the con had been well-publicized, so the people who worry about getting con crud (in the old generic term) would have felt good about staying away, leaving the people who prioritize physical contact concentrated together. Hmm. I only saw a few panels.
In both of those cases the fact that I am busy on weekends and in a different time zone worked against me, being either asleep or not near a device when things were in full swing. Also other aspects of lifestyle? Some of the biggest billed acts at Coachella start after 11 PM California time. Even if I were there, camping, I would be too exhausted by that time to attend.
But I think it's a good thing that they are shown when happening - some of the other concerts for which I buy tickets online are delayed anywhere from days to weeks after the live event. The most extreme case of this will be June's Boston Early Music Festival. https://bemf.org/2023-festival/virtual-festival/
There will be a package for a curated selection of concerts, talks, and so forth available in *September*! Rather the opposite of the feeling of listening/watching at the same time as other people, in person or online. Musica Sacra streams theirs as they are happening, just as an example.
Edited to add:
Teen Vogue article about oingto Coachella and other festivals as a disabled person
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/coachella-accessibility-disabled
I'm usually ringing at noon Eastern time. That was true today, as well, but I wanted to be virtually in Burkina Faso watching the Yennega circus, so I logged in very briefly on my phone during a break
https://yennega-circus.ticketleap.com/wcd/
Last weekend I virtually attended Eastercon in Birmingham UK (discord + youtube). I remember Elizabeth Wein posting years ago about being there, so I tried it out. Later in the week there were posts about Covid spread in the in-person version. Someone on dreamwidth (didn't note the name) pointed out that the hybrid nature of the con had been well-publicized, so the people who worry about getting con crud (in the old generic term) would have felt good about staying away, leaving the people who prioritize physical contact concentrated together. Hmm. I only saw a few panels.
In both of those cases the fact that I am busy on weekends and in a different time zone worked against me, being either asleep or not near a device when things were in full swing. Also other aspects of lifestyle? Some of the biggest billed acts at Coachella start after 11 PM California time. Even if I were there, camping, I would be too exhausted by that time to attend.
But I think it's a good thing that they are shown when happening - some of the other concerts for which I buy tickets online are delayed anywhere from days to weeks after the live event. The most extreme case of this will be June's Boston Early Music Festival. https://bemf.org/2023-festival/virtual-festival/
There will be a package for a curated selection of concerts, talks, and so forth available in *September*! Rather the opposite of the feeling of listening/watching at the same time as other people, in person or online. Musica Sacra streams theirs as they are happening, just as an example.
Edited to add:
Teen Vogue article about oingto Coachella and other festivals as a disabled person
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/coachella-accessibility-disabled
I'm usually ringing at noon Eastern time. That was true today, as well, but I wanted to be virtually in Burkina Faso watching the Yennega circus, so I logged in very briefly on my phone during a break
https://yennega-circus.ticketleap.com/wcd/
