Indie Pop Band Plays First-Ever Chat Roulette Concert

An Audience of 15 Sees Live Music on Webcam Site

Chat Roulette can let you talk to random strangers and often see way more of them than you ever wanted, but one band gave the webcam craze a new role: music venue.

Indie pop band Nurses played the first-ever live concert on the site when they performed a 45-minute show in front of 15 computers set up in frontman Aaron Chapman's Portland living room last week. Chapman told Spinner that playing a set to a tiny group of anonymous users was a surreal experience.

"If a stranger just stumbled into one of our live shows, they'd probably just sit patiently and watch, even if they weren't into it," Chapman said. "With a Chat Roulette performance, the people watching are in their own homes and it's completely anonymous, so they can - and will - tell you if they don't like your music."

The completely random nature of Chat Roulette is what interested the band. Celebrities like the Jonas Brothers have been spotted chatting, as well as plenty of friendly anonymous faces. But it also has more than its share of exhibitionists who ignore the site's terms discouraging obscene material, and one click of the 'next' button can take you from regular conversation to full-on nudity, which Chapman said is the weirdest part of the site.

"I don't really see how the site is relevant as porn, so it's shocking to me," he said. "We did this performance on Chat Roulette, but I didn't tell my mom to tune in. I didn't want her to see that!"

Nurses are about to go on tour with the Tallest Man on Earth, where they hope to be playing to slightly larger crowds.

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