Presented with ever-higher ticket prices, fans have become more demanding, hence a rise in Secret Cinema-style gigsModern Toss on multisensory
music experiences Live shows, we are often told, are where like-minded people join together in a shared euphoria. In reality, however, you are either pressed up against a metal barrier as beer (you hope it’s beer) rains down on your head, or stuck at the back, desperately trying to make out the tiny figures on stage. But, presented with ever-higher ticket prices, music fans have become more demanding; hence a rise in immersive, Secret Cinema-style gigs.
Last year, Skepta’s Dystopia987 in Manchester was billed as “a waking dream that presents Skepta’s singular vision of the future”. Part gig, part theatre, the location was revealed via SMS on the day (phones were then banned during the show), with the audience escorted by masked actors to an industrial warehouse. Tokens could be exchanged for flashing LED strips to glue to your face, because why not?