We’re a few months into not really having much of a social life anymore, and in that time we’ve seen live music and entertainment pivot harder that Ross Geller on a staircase with a couch. Going from performing in front of live, sweaty crowds, to streaming performances from their loungerooms to ours, Aussie musicians and comedians are about to go to the next level of socially-distanced shows with something called Inside Sets: two-way virtual concerts where they can see us.
Kicking off on August 15 and running until the end of the month for now, Inside Sets will bring live performances from some of Australia’s creme de la creme of music and comedy right into your home, and you into theirs.
Hosted by Hau Latukefu (who you might know as the host of The Hip Hop Show on Triple J), Inside Sets is gonna kick things off with a big performance from Ngaiire and a special lil’ feature from Milan Ring.
Backing it up after that, Briggs will perform with his band for the first time since all of this [gestures vaguely] happened and will be hitting screens on Thursday, August 20.
And following up from that huge show, Nooky and Kobie Dee will bring a very special set on August 22, rounding out the month of live music in your lounge room (or bedroom, or beside the bath, I dunno it’s your choice, pal.)
Weaved in through all the big gigs are three mini comedy galas, primed to bring a bit of a gut-busting back into our locked-down lives – God knows we could use a bit of a comedic therapy right now.
August 15 sees Bec Charlwood attempting to wrangle Rove McManus (I know, what the….?) and Lizzy Hoo, Triple J’s David Woodhead and beloved clown Tom Walker for the first night of hearty chortles.
On August 20, Daniel Townes will play host to a smorgasbord of funny people including Tahir, Lauren Bonner, Alex Jae, Rose Callaghan, and something called The Stevenson Experience.
And rounding out the belly laughs on August 22, Matt Okine has roped in very funny man Luke Heggie, the wonderful and hilarious Gen Fricker, and comedy’s utterly bewildering stepchild Demi Lardner for a night of giggles, hosted by Anthony Salame.
There are a few different kinds of tickets for the shows depending on the kind of gig you wanna have. ‘INSIDE VIP’ tix will get you front row (so to speak) and you might wind up having a meet and greet with the artists.
‘INSIDE’ tickets will land you as part of the virtual crowd either on the ~dancefloor~ or in the ~reserved seating~ and you’ll be seen by the artists while they’re performing.
Finally, ‘INCOGNITO’ tickets get you access to a live stream of the show, but your face isn’t beamed into the crowd. (That’s a good one if you wanna tune in from the bath or if you’re in bed and simply can’t get a good angle of your face.)
Tickets are on sale now from the Inside Sets website and a chunk of the profits are donated to Support Act and Musicians Making A Difference (MMAD).
So go sort yourself out for a little live sesh in your lounge room. Especially you, Melbourne, you deserve a wee brain break.
