Smartphones at concerts/gigs

[Topsy Turvy]

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.

Lighten up, Francis.

 

[ARGuy]

Lighten up, Francis.

Nice try.

 

[Vistalite Black]

I think a lot of them are sharing live video with friends who aren’t there (and likely don’t care).

I’m much more bothered by people who talk throughout a live show — shut it or go outside Chatty Cathy!

 

[Topsy Turvy]

Nice try.

Comes around…

 

[doubleroll]

Doesn’t really bother me one bit…we have family and friends take cell phone video all the time at gigs. Who cares at the end of the day

 

[JazzAcolyte]

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 ?

I’ll take a short video when a drummer is doing something that I want to learn how to do. Or to share the event with my kids. That’s a 30-second clip, though, not the whole evening.

 

[TonyVazquez]

Pics and Vids for social media,
that's why I take my phone to concerts.

Also comes in handy in case of any
Unspeakable emergencies
(as in Dimebag Darrell's case. RIP)

I also love to record my own gigs.
Memories to look back on when
I'm chilling out on the porch at
Last Stop Nursing Home
before I blow my last fart as I
exit the closing doors of this
elevator called Earth.

 

[evolving_machine]

I hardly use my camera on my phone, and when I do it is to either remind myself later, ask a question to others, or for a documentation. But, before the digital cameras, I would just draw the item to convey it to others or to document it for myself. Using a film camera was just too inconvenient for that purpose.

Many years ago I was working as an engineer in one of the countries (US) largest candy factories. They had a strict policy of no cameras. But, they did not stop me from sketching all their equipment for my own personal records.

I sometimes see a photo where either the lighting, the perspective, or the nature of the item being photographed just makes it difficult to capture as a photo. For example, whenever I myself am photographed, the viewer would think the camera was out of focus. But, that is just what I look like naturally out of focus.

 

[ARGuy]

Comes around…

Meaning what?

 

[Topsy Turvy]

Meaning what?

Edit- I changed my mind. It means whatever you want it to mean.

 

[ARGuy]

Edit- I changed my mind. It means whatever you want it to mean.

I'm choosing it to be meaningless.

 

[yetanotherdrummer]

There was a reason people didn't record every moment of a concert in the old days.........................

 

[owr]

I just got tickets to see Bob Dylan next month, I figure with him turning 81 its now or never. The show is billed as a phone free event and the venue will be requiring the use of these:

How it Works — Yondr

Yondr uses a patented system to create phone-free spaces for artists, teachers, organizations and individuals.

www.overyondr.com

I'm curious to see how it all goes, you know all those Gen-z kids showing up to see Bob (insert sarcasm) will have a hard time restraining themselves...

 

[swarfrat]

I just got tickets to see Bob Dylan next month, I figure with him turning 81 its now or never. The show is billed as a phone free event and the venue will be requiring the use of these:

How it Works — Yondr

Yondr uses a patented system to create phone-free spaces for artists, teachers, organizations and individuals.

www.overyondr.com

I'm curious to see how it all goes, you know all those Gen-z kids showing up to see Bob (insert sarcasm) will have a hard time restraining themselves...

I hate the phones at concerts too. I took video of my kid at a concert cause he was having a blast, but not the concert itself. But that thing?? That idea is dumb bordering on criminal (like as in actual liability in event of an emergency). Just kick people out for waving phones around. Don't prevent their use of the actual device. Behaviors are what you're trying to prevent. The thing itself is not the problem.

 

[afwdrums]

curious, is the cell phone recording thing at all unique to the U.S.?

I was in Paris about 9 years ago...I went and saw a friend's band who was on tour play at a somewhat large hall...it was a very different experience there than going to see the exact same band playing a similar sized hall here in the States...in Paris, nobody was on phones, nobody was talking over the music, all eyes and all attention was on the performance, EVERYONE was very focused on experiencing the music and enjoying the moment...it was very eye-opening to me as an American who had up until that show only experienced American audiences where people seem to go to shows and spend the whole time talking to their friends instead of experiencing the music, or on their phones...I also don't know if this is even normal for Paris (and Europe in general), but it was amazing to see

is the cell phone thing any different outside the U.S.?

 

[bolweevil]

My situation is very different from the famous drummers mentioned above, but when I get home after a gig I check facebook for pics or videos from the show. I'm a little disappointed if there's nothing.