LAFAYETTE, La. — Local sludge band Acid Jacuzzi embraced recent technological advances at their show this weekend by wearing Apple Vision Pro to experience what it would be like to look out into the audience and actually see people, sources close to the band confirmed.
“That show was literally the most wild experience I’ve ever had,” expressed Acid Jacuzzi vocalist/merch guy Billy Fontenot. “By the time we had to play our set, everybody was gone, the place was a ghost town. So we all strapped on the Apple Visions Pros I bought with my girlfriend’s credit card, and then suddenly we were about to rock out to a packed audience, sort of. Honestly, the AI-generated audience was truly amazing! One lady kept on glitching by bashing her head into the monitor. Fucking brutal. We can’t wait to play for them again.”
According to staff who were working during the band’s set, it wasn’t quite as magical as members of the band seemed to remember.
“It was super slow for a weekend,” noted venue bartender Crystal Melancon. “We typically get a decent crowd for live bands, but these guys couldn’t even get friends or family to show up. I was a little confused when they started playing their set they were acting like they were playing at the Superdome to a sold-out crowd, but the only person there was me, and half the time I was yelling for them to wrap it up early so I could send the staff home. At one point, the drummer threw his sticks out to where the audience normally is, but they just hit the ground. It’s like they thought actual people were cheering for them.”
Noted local music scene historian and tech enthusiast, Cornelius Vandersmoot, weighed in on how the use of technology may affect local music scenes in the near future.
“This is new territory for bands, audiences, and live music in general,” remarked Vandersmoot. “The tech itself is fun, but what are the long-term consequences for shows in general moving forward? Today you have a band thinking they’re playing for an audience. In the weeks to come, we could have musicians jumping from the stage thinking they’re going to be caught by an adoring crowd or start high-fiving invisible avatars after a set. One cringes at the very mention of it.”
At press time, Acid Jacuzzi ultimately decided to play future shows without Apple Vision Pro due to the drummer’s mom butt-dialing him repeatedly during the set, causing him to drop beats while trying to swipe away her calls.