Baybeats 2020 :: Livestreamed

It's really not the same watching gigs on livestream... versus getting to a venue in-person. But seeing the bands play and enjoying themselves is great too! Baybeats 2020 had a line-up that I'm actually familiar with. 😂 The joke is of course I'm a tad old and sometimes I'm not clued in to what's happening in the music scene anymore, since that tends to be dominated by the 20 to 30-somethings. 

At the friends’ lounge, we had two screens- one for these gigs and the other to catch up on SWF panels that happened earlier in the day which we missed. It was nice to see the bands play at Esplanade venues, albeit with masks and no live audience. It’s a semblance of normalcy. To be honest, I quite like not being squished by crowds. Festival organizers Esplanade left the videos online so that we could either replay or view it slightly after the start timings too. 

Some Day 1 and Day 2 bands.

A tad odd- because the atmosphere was just not the same viewing gigs on a screen. But hey, we’ll take it. Brought out the wines and beers and had a small party in this unusual year. We’re thankful that the bands were even allowed to gather to play and stream a gig live. Happy that the bands were enthusiastic about getting together to play! Haven't heard Day 1’s bands in a while — .gif, Hanging Up the Moon and Riot !n Magenta!

I caught a replay of Day 2’s bands since we got home only at 11pm after dinner. I was a bit stumped because I've only heard of two bands- Forests and Subsonic Eye. Unsurprising. As I said, I've been so out of it. I blinked at Approaching Aphelion, okay, math rock. Also Remnants, not quite hardcore or metal-core, but I've vaguely heard its recent EP 'Sever the Ties'.  Surprisingly, I haven't heard anything from M1LDL1FE till tonight. Its indie-pop sounds are super friendly to the ears and oh-so-cute.

Day 3’s bands were what I was looking forward to hear. I made sure to catch Cockpit, Cloakroom and Astreal at their stated timings. Cloakroom's set was pre-recorded but while on livestream, it went into a technical glitch for a bit. YAWN. I've always liked hearing Astreal play. It’s never the same catching a gig live versus hearing their vocals and guitars plus drums and effects over the soundbar at home. (Obviously we didn’t bother fixing up a 7.1 surround home theatre system.) Many layers weren't captured. Still, it was very enjoyable.