Smart Box: Best seats in the house

Being a concertgoer is difficult and expensive work.

You have to put on clothes that make you look passably cool, buy tickets that cost as much as a full tank of petrol and then stew in a cloud of cigarette smoke as hordes of sweaty drunks jostle you. By the end of the evening you smell like the peanut bowl in a dingy pub and have consigned yourself to a diet of two-minute noodles for the rest of the month.

Now, thanks to the worldwide web, this is changing.

Love him or hate him, Jack Parow is looking out for South Africans who still want to party but wish they could do it with him from the comfort of their own bedrooms. So on Thursday he will stage a digital concert.

The only entrance criterion is the R80 access fee. What you do after that is your own business. If you want to party with your friends wearing only slippers and a brandy-and-Coke, so be it.

The concert is part of Skyroomlive, an online platform that specialises in bringing concerts to anyone with a decent internet connection. Other local artists the site will feature include Reason, Brenda Fassie, the Parlotones and the Boxer Rebellion.

The Boiler Room is another online music platform that specialises in unearthing underground music and streaming it live. Its people touched down in South Africa for the first time earlier this month to stream Black Coffee, Okmalumkoolkat, Black Motion and Culoe de Song.

"Part of the reason we came to South Africa was to say 'thank you'. We have built up quite a big following here," said Blaise Bellville, one of the founders of Boiler Room.

Those who could not attend the concert in person could log onto the website, turn up the volume on their computer/tablet/smartphone and enjoy the party.

"The whole idea behind Boiler Room was to spread good, unique music to anyone who wanted to hear it," said Bellville.

The result is that Boiler Room has visited more than 50 cities across the globe, bringing a diverse range of music to couch revellers everywhere.

The days of leaving your house terrified about ruining your new white sneakers are over.

Long live the couch-party revolution!

• For bookings and more information on the Jack Parow performance, visit www.skyroomlive.com. Visit The Boiler Room on www.boilerroom.tv