The second digital gig to hit my computer screen during the strange year that is 2020 was Yungblud’s ‘The Weird Time of Life’ virtual tour. The tour was created to almost simulate an in-person tour as much as possible. Sixteen tour dates are schedule for the upcoming weeks in which Yungblud will be (digitally) touring the world including locations such as the UK, USA, Europe and Australia with supporting artists including Baby Queen, Wargasm and Royal & The Serpent.
To open the hour long gig my screen greeted me with opening act Baby Queen. I was completely unfamiliar with their work but was rather impressed by her aesthetics both visually and musically. Sparkly pink streamers shrouded Baby Queen whilst their dreamy indie pop sound brought indie rock undertones, impactful lyrics and a splash of 80s fun. The gig then took a grungy rock ‘n’ roll twist as the stream plunged itself into a dark, grainy, room with old TVs stacked across the floor alongside the next artist, Royal & The Serpent. Because this was a livestream, cameras gave the band chance to use effects to make the cameras feel vintage like you’re watching a video tape from the 90s. Royal & The Serpent’s sound felt like a mixture of indie rock and pop sprinkled in with some classic rock ‘n’ roll vibes and even a hint of country at times. It made for a beautifully dark performance and I was overjoyed when their last song Overwhelmed kicked in and I actually recognised it and could vibe to it.
Whilst this was my first ever Yungblud gig, his set started exactly how I pictured it would. Running onto the stage with a huge smile on his face Dominic Harrison was bursting with energy screaming “Manchester” to add to the feeling that he was in the city with everyone watching. Dressed in a punk get up that would even make Sid Vicious himself jealous, Yungblud performed every song within the set with the exact vibes and energy it needed. The set began with a couple of tracks from his upcoming album ‘Weird’ including the single Weird as well as a brand new not yet released track called Ice Cream Man alongside the banger of a tune that is Strawberry Lipstick. Alongside playing a hefty amount of new material, Yungblud also pulled out some classic tracks from his discography including Parents and Loner. Towards the end of the set, Dom took a step back from his energetic punk persona and sat down with acoustic guitar to announce that the next song would be a sad one. Before proceeding to start strumming and then burst out laughing before composing himself to start again and discuss how has struggled to find somewhere to belong but his fans have allowed him a space to belong and be himself. Unintentional laughter or not, this felt like a wonderful representation of what Yungblud is and what he represents as it showed his fun and cheeky personality alongside the serious and important messages within his music.
Nothing will ever beat the experience of a live concert, and Yungblud himself even said that it was incredibly strange to have silence between songs and how he missed seeing his fans. I think even though these times aren’t the most ideal circumstances for musicians, this virtual tour provided some positives including the fact that each artist had more freedom to play around with their own set designs and portray their style without being restricted to a single stage. Yungblud, Royal & The Serpent and Baby Queen all put on a truly excellent show for the Manchester crowd and their showmanship cannot be stopped even in a pandemic!
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A Nerdy Perspective 
I understand the in NFL games they pump recordings of cheering crowds onto the field to get the players in tune with a game. Without the noise it just feels like a practice and it is difficult to get pumped up. The roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd is the real reward for the players – they are all exhibitionists to some degree – and the money is just the icing on the cake.
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