Camera Phones at gigs. RANT.

guitarfishbay

Alnico said:

Water pistols on stage.

(and maybe a Telecaster for that gig !)

I don't think this is cool but Corey Taylor from Slipknot has been known to empty his water bottle on people using their phones at gigs.

He also recently knocked a phone out if someone's hands on the front row 

http://www.nme.com/news/slipknot/94929

Emp_Fab

Oh leave them be.  It's just the younger generation doing what they want.  Just because you can't understand their reasons for wanting to do it doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

UnclePsychosis

Emp_Fab said:

Oh leave them be.  It's just the younger generation doing what they want.  Just because you can't understand their reasons for wanting to do it doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

--

Its not "the younger generation" blowing £100+ to see Dave Gilmour.

guitarfishbay

Emp_Fab said:

Oh leave them be.  It's just the younger generation doing what they want.  Just because you can't understand their reasons for wanting to do it doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

#bantz

EricTheWeary

It was a non issue sat with all the pensioners watching Robert Cray and a non issue with all the teenagers watching Slipknot. So, my generalisation here is it's people old enough to afford an iPhone ( other brands are available) but not old enough to to show some manners.And, assuming Emp wasn't just joking, it is a bad thing because it has a direct negative impact on your own ability to enjoy a gig, their reasons for wanting to are neither here nor there.

menamestom

I think a good solution would be to state no photography except for the first 2 songs so everybody who wants to gets a pic without the whole show being taken over.

impmann

RandallFlagg said:

impmann said:

Kate Bush banned phones from her shows - and people took that to heart.

I'd like to see that upheld by more people, tbh. I don't take pictures at gigs because 1) the pics are usually shit, 2) they don't help "remember" the night and 3) I don't want to be *that arsehole* that spoils someone else's moment because my camera gets in their way.

TBH, I think Guy Pratt hit the nail on the head in @Gassage story above - it just ruins other people's moment, including the band.

Yeah but that's because she looks like your fat aunty now rather than the lithe vixen she was

I still would, though...

RobDavies

Dopesick said:

@RobDavies Wait so was that guy actually right in the pit with his camcorder before this? Or at least just outside of it?

I was gonna say at The Underworld they have another little section right next to the stage where people with their cameras can film away. What a prune.

Yep - that's exactly where he was....

A bit of detective work reveals that the gentleman has some fairly extreme right wing tendancies....  double charming.

DefaultM

People who take phone photos with flash sat at the back of an arena.

snakemanStoo

DefaultM said:

People who take phone photos with flash sat at the back of an arena.

Yup.  Idiots.

historyisjunk

I think the phones thing is just a symptom of a changed attitude to gig going & possibly lots of other entertainment.
For a lot of people it now seems to be just another social occasion & not something unique to be enjoyed for itself.
So they go along with several others, some of whom I'm guessing might not even care about what they've gone to see, but it's something for the album, Facebook etc; or as someone astutely mentioned to talk or boast about in the pub.
You shouldn't have to pass some kind of fandom or motivation test to get into a gig, but I think the above is why you get people pissing about with phones & for me, even worse, standing around having shouted conversations throughout the whole night & making multiple trips to the bar, so the gig is just background music for a night out. All astonishing considering how much tickets cost.
I genuinely don't remember this back in the late 70's or probably into the 80's & yes obviously I'm getting old & boring & the stairs up to the venue are getting steeper & the wind outside is getting stronger... No it's not life wrecking, but it is a sadness.

not_the_dj

There were people filming part of our gig last night on their phones. I can understand someone wanting to capture the memory of seeing Gilmour at the Albert hall, but a dodgy covers band at a pub in Leamington?

holnrew

DefaultM said:

People who take phone photos with flash sat at the back of an arena.

Worse than that was when people were using flashes on the northern lights trip I took. Loads of people using long exposures, getting ruined by a few numpties.

StageStruck

I've seen it at gigs that have been filmed professionally for a DVD release. Kind of a pointless exercise when 10 feet away from your shoogly iPhone-recorded video there's a guy holding several thousands of pounds worth of video gear!
It's probably the case that many pro-level bands that are playing arenas and larger venues tend to put out some official video footage somewhere along the lines anyway.

RobDavies

Saturday night at The Talking Heads in Southampton.... Nobheads.

DLM

FelineGuitars said:
Oh and people who open a phone case that hangs down and takes up twice the space  so no way can you see.

There was quite a lot of this at the Steel Panther show the other night, and your comment was foremost in my mind.  

olafgarten

Graham Nash made a comment about it when I saw CSN in Florida,  he said some stuff about how you need to see the whole world, not just what the phone screen shows you. 

chrispy108

Emp_Fab said:

Oh leave them be.  It's just the younger generation doing what they want.  Just because you can't understand their reasons for wanting to do it doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

People holding a glowing screen in my face spoils my enjoyment of a thing others have paid to see (as shown by photos in this thread).

People taking selfies doesn't really affect anyone else. Bore off.

PolarityMan

RobDavies said:

Saturday night at The Talking Heads in Southampton.... Nobheads.

I thought it was closing.

RobDavies

PolarityMan said:

RobDavies said:

Saturday night at The Talking Heads in Southampton.... Nobheads.

I thought it was closing.

The original venue in Portswood has closed, but they've moved it to a shiny, new, air-conned place nearer the centre of the city. 
Cracking little venue, it has to be said.