I haven’t been to a gig in years – I guess with Covid I’m not alone there, but even before that it was getting on a bit. I remember though. One of the magical things about live music, when you’re seeing a band you really love, is that this private relationship – headphones, personal playlists – is suddenly very public. It’s a room and then you and hundreds of other people who all feel the same way about Moloko or whatever. (I am old.)
So no, I haven’t been to a gig in years, and yet I saw Ariana Grande live in Fortnite with my daughter, which was incredible. The staircase! The hammer! And then this weekend I’m ashamed to say I saw Tones and I in Fortnite too. Three times.
I’m ashamed for complicated reasons. Ariana Grande was a properly stunning event, a live confection that absolutely dazzled. My daughter’s a fan, which helped, but even without that the staging was so monumental that it was all strangely emotional. We were overwhelmed. Moving on, I should start by saying that, alas, nobody in our house is a fan of Tones and I, which is probably our fault and not Tones’ (and I’s). But the event was very different anyway. Lower budget. As part of Fortnite’s Soundwave series, there was none of that same sense of being at a live gig. You could also replay it and (as I discovered) replay it. And crucially, this: you got stuff for doing so.
All of which is building up to this confession: I spent part of this weekend cheesing Tones and I in Fortnite for XP. And an emote, which I am pretty sure I will never use. And it’s made me think – it’s made me think about the Metaverse, that place where we’re all meant to spend our lives a few magical years down the road. And it’s made me realise I’m not interested in the Metaverse if it’s going to be like this. And that’s not a cheap dig at Tones and I.