While we hate the saturation of smartphone use at gigs these days, we have to concede that if it wasn’t for some people whipping out their iPhone, we wouldn’t get to experience those special live moments whatsoever (re: secret gigs in general).
But if you’re sick of all the shaky handheld concert footage and low quality gig grabs that populate YouTube – we hear you. And so too does the generous people over at Music Vault who have taken on a herculean effort to ensure we can all catch up on the best in live music in the best quality possible.
Having spent the last two years painstakingly remastering over 13,000 concert videos – transferring, mixing, and mastering until they’re of quality better than the average YouTube bootleg – Music Vault has begun uploading that huge archive onto YouTube, spanning a huge variety of genres and eras from over a span of 50 years, as Rolling Stone reports. “Fans can expect a front-row seat to some of the greatest rock & roll performances of all time…”
The array of styles and eras available to watch, all for free, is staggering; a comprehensive collection that spans from classic music icons (Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Sex Pistols, Neil Young), through to modern masters (U2, R.E.M., Metallica, Rage Against The Machine) and the latest and greatest (Mumford & Sons, The Walkmen, Of Monsters & Men, Deer Tick), with plenty more on the way.
“Fans can expect a front-row seat to some of the greatest rock & roll performances of all time,” content editor Bill Antonucci tells Rolling Stone, “Bruce Springsteen on the Darkness Tour in 1978, the Who at Tanglewood in 1970, the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East in 1970. These are legendary musicians captured at the peak of their powers.”
In the last 24 hours alone, Music Vault’s YouTube account has uploaded over 100 new videos, including a two-hour ’86 concert from the late, great Lou Reed, The Police in their punk-reggae prime, Chili Peppers at Woodstock ’99, and uh…. KoRn.
The channel also features a series of themed playlists to help overcome the daunting range of clips, such as ‘Legendary Drummers’, ‘Leading Ladies of Rock’, and a ‘New Discovery’ section drawn from Daytrotter and Paste magazine’s tastemakers.
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The YouTube channel has already amassed over 20,000 daily views on average and a tally of 600,000 total in the last month.
Previously access to the Music Vault archives was only through monthly subscription-based services, but as Antonucci explains to Billboard, making the enormous video collection free was about bringing it to a wider audience and “because of the incredible reach that YouTube provides,” says the video editor. “We are very proud of this content, and we believe that it deserves the largest audience possible.”
One of Antonucci’s favourites? A late ’70s era Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing at the Capitol Theater in support of the Darkness on the Edge Of Town. “The show is in September [1978], and for whatever reason, he decides to open the second set with ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,'” he says. “When you’re the Boss, you can do things like that.”
Take a look at that particular performance, along with some other choice cuts below. But really, you should head over to the Music Vault channel and bookmark for when you have a few thousand hours spare.
