Smartphones at concerts/gigs

[michaelg]

I know this has been talked about before but I really don't get taking smartphone videos at concert/gigs.

For those who do this bizarre behavior why do you do it ?

 

[Squirrel Man]

I semi-agree. I don't go to shows to stand there holding a phone all night. I will though snap a couple pics and take a short vid or two and that's it.

 

[Ian S]

People are always taking out their phone and recording things going on around them, I guess to post on social media and show their friends 'look what I'm doing' or 'look what I saw'.

I really don't get it either as it's not like a year later people are going to get nostalgic and want to relive a handheld phone recording. Jarring to watch the handheld footage, and probably bad sound quality.. really seems pointless.

 

[lamartee]

Yep. I might take half a dozen pics throughout the course of the show but that's it. I am flabbergasted that people around me watch the whole show on their phone screen!

 

[WesChilton]

Its a blight and I hate it. Just watch the damn show you paid to see. Social media is irrelevant.

 

[varatrodder]

I do it all the time. I don't do it for social media and I don't just sit there and record an entire show, but there is some amazing stuff that happens and I love being able to rewatch what happened. It's the same as recording your kid's graduation, or having a video of your wedding. There are certain moments in time that you want to go back and watch again.

I have videos of Weezer, Pixies, Reverend Horton Heat, Rocket From the Crypt, Chris Isaak, Wayne Hancock, James Hunter, Jeremy Enigk, Social Distortion, Violent Femmes and many others. I love going back and reliving those moments.

We all go on Youtube and watch videos of the greats (Elvin, Tony, Philly Joe, Buddy, Gene, etc.) playing. Those moments would have been lost if no one was recording them.

 

[Houndog]

I high and drunk at a gay bar …. Just saying …just got out my phone …

My wife is in the show , this place is the best !!! It’s the best bar gig in OKC the only bar we play …

 

[Houndog]

I do it all the time. I don't do it for social media and I don't just sit there and record an entire show, but there is some amazing stuff that happens and I love being able to rewatch what happened. It's the same as recording your kid's graduation, or having a video of your wedding. There are certain moments in time that you want to go back and watch again.

I have videos of Weezer, Pixies, Reverend Horton Heat, Rocket From the Crypt, Chris Isaak, Wayne Hancock, James Hunter, Jeremy Enigk, Social Distortion, Violent Femmes and many others. I love going back and reliving those moments.

We all go on Youtube and watch videos of the greats (Elvin, Tony, Philly Joe, Buddy, Gene, etc.) playing. Those moments would have been lost if no one was recording them.

Bart Weilburg is our backup guitarist from Wayne’s band !!

 

[bassanddrum84]

Younger generation likes to show off instead of live in the moment. When I met Travis barker and mark hoppus I didn’t take any pics of the actual concert. Went backstage to there dressing rooms. Hung out got a pic with both and then just left.

 

[aparker2005]

I love watching back some of my favorite songs, especially for a band like dmb where they may do something different each time. Love capturing the live, in person sound too

 

[10thMtnDivCpl]

Vinnie looooooves people recording him while he plays. Him mocking the cameraman starts at 1:25.

 

[Ian S]

If it's a friend's band or one of your favorite artists, I can see it may be worth saving a short clip and reliving later. But to me, people at shows when they don't know the band personally, and actually to me even at big concerts of successful bands, seeing how many of the crowd stand there holding up phones.. I don't know, it just strikes me as weird.

I guess bottom line is though, if someone is recording you on their phone, although it seems a little intrusive and strange to me, I guess it should probably be considered a compliment. Fans enjoying the show well enough they want to either share it with friends or relive it later.

 

[mydadisjr]

I thought this thread was about bringing your SAXOPHONE to the concert...

(hey, what's the difference between a trampoline and a soprano sax? ....

You remove your shoes before you jump up and down on a trampoline!)

 

[MrDrums2112]

Back in the day (long before smart phones and interwebs) going to a concert was always exciting. Wondering/hoping for the song that came next was part of the thrill. Today, you know the set list immediately after the first show hits, and someone will post the whole
show on YouTube. I always tell myself I’m not going to look, I want the “olden days” concert experience, but inevitably I’ll know all the details and won’t be surprised by anything the night of the concert. Sigh…..

 

[hsosdrum]

I just saw Paul McCartney last Friday at SoFi stadium from very good seats (19th-row center on the floor, a 70th birthday gift from a dear friend). I snapped a few photos with my phone but I sure as hell didn't take any video. I wanted to experience the show first-person, and doing that is what made the whole experience so very special.

I don't understand people who watch important experiences through their phones — it's like they're living their lives second-hand.

 

[esooy]

If people want to experience life through their phone that’s up to them. Newsflash though: we might smile and say neato when you want to show us the video, but watching your blurry, shaky, and too-long video with horrible sound is torture.

What’s more disturbing to me is the willingness that people have to ruin the show for the other concertgoers and the artist. Unless they live under a rock these video shooters have heard that others don’t like it and artists don’t like it. So now we’re down to asking why it still happens all the time? Newsflash 2: some people simply don’t give a _____ about anyone else. I have other newsflashes about this that will get me censured so I’ll leave those be.

 

[ARGuy]

What the phone generation (and some of the previous generations as well) don't realize is that there is a difference between experiencing and observing. There's more to an event, be it a concert, graduation or wedding, than what is seen through a video recording. Experiencing is actually being there and is the accumulation of the sights and sounds, as well as what we take in through our other senses, and it is a superior experience to observing. I really don't know if those that are at something they can experience, and choose to observe it by staring at a screen, realize what they doing. And, what they are missing.
Sure, we have audio and video recordings of performances by musicians that are no longer with us, and those are great to have, but those were mostly recorded by those whose sole purpose was to record that event. It was their job or their choice to record the event and involved much more preparation than showing up with a phone.
Capturing a few minutes of an experience makes sense - I've certainly done it. If you can capture the video of the whole event without staring at a screen the whole time, and as long as it's legal to do so, great. I just feel sorry for those that by choice observe life through a screen.

 

[pwc1141]

The owner of one venue I play in takes vids on his phone of all the shows at his place and sometimes posts some and it's nice to see yourself from the audience's perspective and I posted some clips of us he took in a thread titled "Latest gig" .I personally would not do it at any show I was at. I'm old school and it seems rude unless asked by the band to shoot some clips for them.

 

[cornelius]

In Rick Beato's recent interview with Gregg Bissonette, Gregg recounts one of the most profound lessons he received from Tony Williams. Tony used to connect with his audience by making eye contact with someone 50 rows back, he wanted to make a direct line of communication, with that person listening. If Tony was still alive and performing today, I'd hate to be at the end of his stare if he locked on to me with my phone up in the air.

My two points here are: 1. Artists do not like being recorded. It completely changes a musician's mindset while performing - even more so, playing improvisational music. 2. Look at old concert footage when the camera cuts to the audience, even in big venues - everyone's eyes are locked onto the performers. Today, the video recording audience member isn't engaged in the moment. It is impossible to make a video recording while simultaneously taking in the performance.

I remember seeing Steve Ferrone performing in a small club, I was just a few feet away from him. I took out my phone and started grabbing some video, but after a minute I realized that I wasn't even enjoying his performance. I put my phone down, and went back to listening. Later that night I watched the clip of him - like all phone recordings - quality was lame and it didn't capture any of the energy he brought to the room that night.

 

[multijd]

I agree with others here. It’s a lame representation of what is really happening, you’re disturbing everyone around because now they have to dodge you and your phone to see, if you really want to watch phone videos of the performance just go on YouTube someone else will have recorded it.