Log on and Freak Out: Twitter and online fan engagement with the live music experience

The arrival and expansion of the Internet has changed music fandom quite significantly, with an interesting alteration occurring surrounding the engagement of fans with the live music experience. In recent years, the use of mobile Internet and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook has not only allowed fans to find and connect with each other at shows, but also tweet concert set-lists and other information as they happen, thereby allowing non-attendees around the world to feel part of the event. In this article, I will examine the engagement of fans in this process, demonstrating how these online tools are involving fans that are not physically present at the show, seemingly incorporating them into the real-time “live” experience. Seeking to understand and unravel this practice, I shall explore how fans of prolific touring artists U2 and Tori Amos undertake this, with assigned concert attendees tweeting the set-list to fans in their online communities in “freak out” and party threads, where they gather to enjoy the show together, from the comfort of their computers. I will examine the responses of fans engaged in this activity, arguing that fans are using social and mobile media in an attempt to contest and reshape the boundaries of live music concerts