August 4, 2004
Punk at a Moment's Notice
A new breed of alternative British rocker is once again giving the finger to the corporate music machine, thanks to an arsenal of do-it-yourself new media, reports Wired.
"Organizing using the Web, cell phones and instant messaging, upstart guitar bands are staging secret, spontaneous concerts at unconventional venues in the latest online music craze, dubbed "guerrilla gigging."
While better-established bands might have needed several months and a costly marketing campaign to pull it off, The Others summoned the crowd in just a few hours, with a cryptic message to the band's Web forum members to meet at a local pub.
Once assembled, fans used SMS messages to tip off friends across town before moving to a nearby tube station to pack an eastbound train for a furious 30-minute set -- belted out using a megaphone while onlookers crowd-surfed in transit.
Building on the spontaneous public gatherings that are flash mobs, guerrilla gigs took off in November, when Jane's Addiction flashed notices of London performances to fans using SMS cell-phone messages. This year, celebrated English rockers The Libertines joined in when they started using a fans' forum to announce concerts for their most loyal followers at the last minute. "
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