Camera Phones at gigs. RANT.

PolarityMan

I violently don't care either way about this particular issue.

EricTheWeary

It's a thing I've mentioned before and it pisses me off no end, I haven't paid £50 a ticket to watch the show via the phone of the person in front of me. I think the worst one for it was Black Sabbath, lots of ooh look at me I'm doing a selfie with Ozzy in the background and I'm sending it to my bezzy mates to make them jealous. Fuckwits.

lloyd

I get that it's annoying but I don't think the "you're not in the moment" thing is a good argument, you can be in the moment and enjoying it while videoing something or taking pictures. 

To me it doesn't distract from whatever you're doing.

EricTheWeary

I don't care really if someone else is in the moment or not, what I care more about is that it interferes with my enjoyment of the event. If I've paid money to see a band I expect to see the band and not someone else's camera for the evening as they hold it above their heads with the light from the screen in my eyes. It's bloody rude and it's bloody annoying.

lloyd said:

I get that it's annoying but I don't think the "you're not in the moment" thing is a good argument, you can be in the moment and enjoying it while videoing something or taking pictures. 

To me it doesn't distract from whatever you're doing.

guitarfishbay

lloyd said:

I get that it's annoying but I don't think the "you're not in the moment" thing is a good argument, you can be in the moment and enjoying it while videoing something or taking pictures. 

To me it doesn't distract from whatever you're doing.

Honestly I think people have forgotten what crowds felt like at gigs 10+ years ago.

When the singer announced a big track and a packed out gig it picked up loads of energy in the crowd and everyone moved.

I've seen it multiple times now where the response is everyone in the first few rows pulls out their phones and (IMO) wrecks the view.  Yeah they're enjoying it, why else would they be filming it, but I came to watch the band, not to try to look through gaps in between iPhone screens glaring at me.  I also honestly feel like it undermines the light show.  People who want to film should have an area at the back, where they're out of the way.

PolarityMan

what about lighters?

Dopesick

Thankfully this shit hardly occurs at smaller, cosier gigs.

Nikko

Annoys me when I get stuck behind these arseholes ruining the light show...

PolarityMan

Yeah Steve Vai is such a dick.

Nikko

...and the worst ones are the gits that hold their children above their heads.

guitarfishbay

I've literally never been to a gig where anyone has done that - does it even happen anymore?  I don't tend to watch acts that play ballads, plus I'm still under 30 so maybe I missed that era anyway.  I'd honestly find it less annoying, because it isn't reflecting a smaller version of what I'm watching on stage - a fair point about lighting but I wouldn't expect a big lighting rig to be going off if people are holding lighters in the air for a ballad.

ToneControl

http://overyondr.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3575988/California-school-testing-phone-pouches-block-cellphone-signals-lessons.html

lloyd

EricTheWeary said:

I don't care really if someone else is in the moment or not, what I care more about is that it interferes with my enjoyment of the event. If I've paid money to see a band I expect to see the band and not someone else's camera for the evening as they hold it above their heads with the light from the screen in my eyes. It's bloody rude and it's bloody annoying.

lloyd said:

I get that it's annoying but I don't think the "you're not in the moment" thing is a good argument, you can be in the moment and enjoying it while videoing something or taking pictures. 

To me it doesn't distract from whatever you're doing.

I agree.

lloyd

Dopesick said:

Thankfully this shit hardly occurs at smaller, cosier gigs.

Aye, this might be why I'm more chilled about it, I haven't been to a "big show" in years, went to RHCP at the MEN 5(?) years back, they were good, but fuck me, what a shitty experience (not many phones/cameras) I've not been back, I'd much prefer to go to see a small time band in a 200 cap venue-which in fairness is all I do these days, most of the big bands I like are either dead or split up.

5redlights

Life is increasingly watched through a screen. Slightly different situation, but wife and I were in Iceland watching the Geysirs a while back, which 'goes off' every 10 minutes. These Americans came up, stood in front of the Geysir, facing away from it, and their friend took a photo on an ipad when the geysir erupted. They all then walked off. Most of the group never saw it with their own eyes, and didn't want to wait 10 minutes, but they had the photo so seemed happy with that! 

Dopesick

Yeah, big gigs/concerts are a no-no for me. Too expensive and the aforementioned phone camera shit is another reason.  I'll never go and see bands like ACDC/Maiden/Sabbath/Metallica etc whatever, I'd just go and see them at festivals instead.

Some of the best gigs I've ever been to have been at venues where there's been no more than 200 people.

lloyd

5redlights said:

Life is increasingly watched through a screen. Slightly different situation, but wife and I were in Iceland watching the Geysirs a while back, which 'goes off' every 10 minutes. These Americans came up, stood in front of the Geysir, facing away from it, and their friend took a photo on an ipad when the geysir erupted. They all then walked off. Most of the group never saw it with their own eyes, and didn't want to wait 10 minutes, but they had the photo so seemed happy with that! 

Posh homosexuals

guitarfishbay

For the people who think it hasn't made a difference to gigs -

Enter Sandman 1991, check out the crowd, song starts about 50 seconds.  Yes this is clearly an edited video but just look at the crowd in general



Enter Sandman 2016 - skip to 30 seconds, huge number of the crowd are stood still filming, again at 40 seconds etc - 



Yeah there are still people moving about, and yeah Metallica are getting on a bit now (though have plenty of young fans), but this was the first band that popped in to my head where I could think of a big enough track (that is still big).  There's no way I will agree with anyone who thinks phones are enhancing the atmosphere of the crowd, I don't even agree it is a neutral effect.  I think it makes gigs worse.

I'm not talking about snapping the odd photo, I'm talking about mass filming.

lloyd

guitarfishbay said:

For the people who think it hasn't made a difference to gigs -

Enter Sandman 1991, check out the crowd, song starts about 50 seconds.  Yes this is clearly an edited video but just look at the crowd in general



Enter Sandman 2016 - skip to 30 seconds, huge number of the crowd are stood still filming, again at 40 seconds etc - 



Yeah there are still people moving about, and yeah Metallica are getting on a bit now (though have plenty of young fans), but this was the first band that popped in to my head where I could think of a big enough track (that is still big).  There's no way I will agree with anyone who thinks phones are enhancing the atmosphere of the crowd, I don't even agree it is a neutral effect.  I think it makes gigs worse.

I'm not talking about snapping the odd photo, I'm talking about mass filming.

I'm not sure anyone's said it hasn't made a difference have they?

Good points/videos though.

guitarfishbay

Nikko said:

Annoys me when I get stuck behind these arseholes ruining the light show...

Pretty different culture in electronic music though.

Actually out of interest I checked out some live EDM videos on YouTube and there were way less phones than I expected.