Time to ban smartphones in concerts?
 

I can understand wanting people to quit taking unlistenable videos and shitty photos but wanting people to stop texting is about as bananas as his hatred of ICE CREAM EATING MOTHERFUCKERS

[QUOTE]WASHINGTON - Ian MacKaye saw the telltale tiny blue dot.

The D.C. hardcore punk pioneer was speaking to an auditorium full of college students in New England. In one of the last rows, one audience member appeared to be either sleeping or listening reverently.

But that blue dot in his glasses gave him away.

"I said to him, 'You in the back, you're texting,'" MacKaye says.

In a good-natured tone of voice, MacKaye explained to the surprised young man how his texting had been discovered.

"'Just so you know, that blue dot in your glasses, I can see it,'" recalls MacKaye.

MacKaye is not the first or only musician to notice audience members focused on their phones.

Last month, in the middle of a song at the historic Newport Folk Festival, the singer for The Lumineers addressed the crowd:

"What do you say we put away those cellphones and cameras and just be here, right now?"

The audience cheered the suggestion.

Also in July, Beyonce encouraged a distracted fan during a singalong, "You've got to seize this moment, put that damn camera down."

When the now-focused fan sang along, Beyonce rewarded him with, "Yes, that's much better."

In the 1980s, as the frontman of Minor Threat and guitarist in Fugazi, MacKaye often had rambunctious fans leaping on stage to sing along and mosh, before diving back into the crowd.

Today, as singer-guitarist in The Evens, MacKaye sees preoccupation with smartphones as a distraction.

"Our society at the moment is stoned on technology," says MacKaye, sitting at the dining room table in a North Arlington, Va., house known as "Dischord House" - where members of Minor Threat practiced and the Dischord label was launched.
Citing psychological research that texting and tweeting prompts a pleasing jolt of dopamine, MacKaye likens consistent smartphone use to marijuana use in the 1970s.

"Quite literally, people are a little high on technology," MacKaye says.

While not suggesting mandatory compliance, MacKaye believes smartphone-wielding fans are cheating themselves because the energy at shows comes from the audience, rather than the band.

"I want the audience to have a sense of their responsibility in terms of making a show," he says. "Not the responsibility to us, but their responsibility to themselves."

Seth Hurwitz, co-owner of the 9:30 Club and I.M.P. Productions -- which produces major concerts at venues that include Merriweather Post Pavilion -- says customers constantly fidgeting with smartphones isn't limited to music.

"This is happening everywhere, isn't it? It's happening at the movies. It's happening in restaurants. It's the same problem with yet another setting," Hurwitz says.
Making people aware their smartphone use can be distracting to others is a first step, says Hurwitz.

In general, Hurwitz believes enforcing smartphone rules would "probably make more of a commotion than the activity itself, so I think the best you can do is put up some notices reminding people, sort of like those things that run before movies now."

"There have been bands that have actually requested us to put up signs. We'll put up signs, but I don't think we want to be sending (9:30 Club security guy) Big Josh into the audience, bothering people that are texting," says Hurwitz.

At Wolf Trap, audience members during last week's concert featuring Cheap Trick and Pat Benatar were reminded by ushers to avoid photography, including with smartphones.

"Our photo policy is based on artist discretion, and we honor the artist and their management's approach to photography and the use of smartphones during performances," says Camille Cintron, manager of public relations for Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Hurwitz's entertainment entities embrace social media and are fully engaged on Facebook and Twitter.

While excited fans often share photos, Vines and Instagrams during shows at the 9:30 Club, Hurwitz hopes they'll use common sense and courtesy.

"Word of mouth is great for anything, whether it's a restaurant, a movie or a concert, but you don't want people standing up in the middle of the restaurant yelling, 'Hey, this is a great restaurant!' to their friends," Hurwitz says.

"You can tell your friends about a great show or a great artist, without bothering other people."

Article lifted from here.

I can imagine this is a huge problem. I watch a lot of Youtube during the day while working because I have a zillion monitors, and I see lots of illegal concert footage taken with cell phones. It's crappy footage, but it's out there.

I wonder how strip clubs deal with this too. No fucking way I'm going into a club, bar, or strip club without my fucking smart phone.

Can't be stopped,people just wouldn't go to the venues

I saw Bjork in Buenos Aires a couple of years ago and she stopped the concert and requested that people turn off the phones and stop recording. She told them to be in the moment and enjoy the event.

It is really stupid to view the entire concert through a tiny screen when you are right there.

Sure - but if musicians speak out about it maybe it can get stigmatized enough so that people think twice about it. I was at a show last week and it seemed like every other fucking person had their phone held aloft, filming their own little shitty video. I think MacKaye's right on (as usual) about the crowd creating the energy as much as the band. When you've got half the audience on Facebook and thinking about how their friends perceive them or whatever, they're not truly present.

The last 3 concerts I've been to there has been an ocean of smartphone screens in front of me, it's fucking annoying and I would pay MORE to go to a venue where smartphones were banned. I know must of my friends feel the same way.

It's fucking stupid to record an entire concert on a smartphone, the audio and picture quality sucks and you look like a douche bag standing there watching through you fucking phone.

I guess letting each person enjoy it how they so choose is out of the question? Way better to tell them to enjoy it how you want them to enjoy it :upsidedow

:thumbsup :thumbsup

Can't believe the percentage of people who are content to stand there recording entire songs that are barely watchable afterwards rather than enjoy the show. No singing, no dancing, just standing there holding their phone above their head. Disgusting.

I do not record concerts when I go to them. I personally like to be in the moment and enjoy the show. But in all honesty I do like the fact that many other people are recording it for immediate viewing at home later on and for posterity.

Oftentimes, the video and sound quality of these amateur recordings are pretty decent, especially if they have one of those miniature cameras with HD video and stereo audio. It's great to be able to log onto Youtube and see shows from all around the world as my favorite bands go on tour and see all the alternate set lists and see whatever spontaneous happenings occur like rare songs, special guest musicians and other unique events.

It's mostly people under 30, they wanna record it so they can post it on Lamebook to their friends, and "look" cool.

It wasn't that long ago that any kind of recording devices were banned at most concerts. This was before smartphones, but if you showed up with a camera or a tape recorder they either took it or didn't let you in.

I guess times have changed. If you go to any concert not it seems like a good percentage of the crowd is recording it with their phone.

I agree, fucking people recording concerts are nuts!

Time had changed, in the 90's keep their heads banging all the way!

Real simple. Slightly raise the price of a ticket to a concert and allow a free download of the entire concert at the end.

Michael Hutchence would just punch em out.

I think one day we will reach a point to where you leave your cellphone outside the strip club or bar because you then can't be accused!

I think it will go down like this :

1. A case will be made that bars/clubs did in fact provide some privacy.

2. Recording what's inside and the distributing it somewhere without consent will violate the privacy usually had inside a club.

3. Someone will win a civil suit based on this argument because they lost their job.

4. The loser(cellphone recorder) of the civil suit will sue the club for not posting a warning about recording. They will lose the suit because the law didn't require a posted warning.

5. The loser(cellphone recorder) will then push a bill into law requiring a posted warning.

6. The bill will be amended to make recording in the club an arrestable offense.

:1orglaugh

I suggest people go back to showing some class/civility with their cameras and stop believing that everything within camera view is "free game" to exploit.

This example is what I predict for the future : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_v._Dharun_Ravi

:2 cents:

If they see you point it at the girls in anyway up here you will get your ass thrown out at the very least .

I recorded little parts of a Flaming Lips concert from last summer. I watched some of that crappy video/audio recently when I stumbled upon it in my phone, and thought "why the fuck did I record this?"

I agree with that.... My kid did that at a concert once.... Instead of enjoying the moment, she watched it through a little screen on her iPhone.

A punk rocker calling out a kid for doing what they should not be doing.

I love the irony.

I always take 1 or 2 short videos at concerts, but that's it.

Nothing annoys me more than some idiot standing infront of me recording the whole damn thing...

https://sphotos-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/h..._2863971_n.jpg

Spot the Deadhead porn guy in the first "legit" taping section authorized by the Band... as much a way to stuff all the annoying tapers in one area so they weren't "shhhhing" everyone that wanted to scream "Play Dark Star" every two minutes, especially on the East coast.

I used to be heavily into taping shows... until I came to my senses and realized how much more fun it was to "be here now" in the moment, not the recording of the moment.

Of course now, all the smart bands make and sell their own live recordings of shows these days so the impetus to sneak in mics and decks etc is a lot less.

I shot a concert about two weeks ago, and was appalled at the number of fools recording it on their phones.

As for the quallity, maybe it's just me, but back in the day the quality of a recording really mattered. I've had to ask models to not play music on their iPhones--not because I don't like the music but because the quality is so bad when played on the phone's speaker. Don't teens and 20-somethings care about the quality?

good idea , but ...

:thumbsup

Hard to tell in that pic but there was easily 6 figures in mics, neumanns, sennheisers, rodes, etc. The guy on the far right front with his hand in the air is Dan Healy, well known engineer and "king of the tapers" in a sense. That particular show we were running an extension cord to the back for power at the Berkeley Community... amazing quality.

KISS actually embraces this...their FB & Twitter accounts post &tweet out links to fan uploaded videos on YouTube. I am sure other bands that are smart with their fans, do too!
Having worked in that industry back in the early 80's, when bootleg albums were frowned upon by the industry, but adored by fans...I can see both sides of it...but, it is very interesting to see how the progression of technology has "forced" it, in a way, to be acceptable.

Some of the recordings made by fans are pretty damn good with HD 720p or better video and stereo quality audio. Depends on what they are recording it with of course. Smartphones usually are pretty mediocre, but some of the micro HD consumer cams that are about the size of phones do a damn good job depending on where the person is in the crowd, the lighting and where the speakers are.

I often follow my favorite bands on tour via Youtube which I check every couple of days to watch the new videos get posted from different cities and I have been blown away a few times by the quality of the recordings.

Here's a good example of a great video and audio quality recording that someone else in the crowd made of a show I actually attended in person in Boca Raton in 2011: Bad Religion "Los Angeles is Burning":

This x100. :thumbsup

It's be great if the ppl organizing the concert give out a free recording of the concert available to download from some webpage. I don't like ppl with smartphones recording the whole thing. I don't record anymore because there's another person recording it and posting it in youtube for everyone. But I have to admit that in the end those crappy clips are probably the only memory you get from the concert, so you really can't blame ppl for wanting to store the moment. :2 cents:

I'm sure that if given the download option, way more people would stop using their phones for recording and the audience would be much more into it.

Love looking at this :winkwink:

http://cdn.modernthrill.com/wp-conte...1358196043.jpg

I love going to concerts and one way I like to remember the event is with a couple of photos or a video clip.

I never record for more than a few seconds and never take more than a few shots. I hate the idea of missing anything just because I'm fumbling with my phone. Like Rob Zombie and other artists have said, people should put down the phones. At shows, you should be "Right Here, Right Now".

If they banned phones or cameras and threatened to kick anyone out who used them, I would have no problem with that whatsoever. My phone would never leave my pocket.

http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/03/18/prince-sxsw/

http://petapixel.com/2013/08/24/prin...heir-concerts/

http://www.spin.com/articles/prince-...cked-out-show/

:thumbsup:thumbsup:1orglaugh