Mobile F*****g Phones at gigs

[ModernMan]

Been at a gig tonight, a tame singer songwriter affair. Someone in front filming taking pictures every two mins, the person next to her on Reddit checking the setlist from a previous gig. A group of girls down the row all together and filming non stop. Another woman with her partner, filmed every single song. 
 

I’m not a Luddite, I understand people have a powerful camera in their pocket and may want a memento, but the frequency is baffling. Not only that, but it completely ruins the experience for me. The distraction of the light really takes you out of the zone, leaves me personally filling up with annoyance and rage - effectively ruining the show. For me, you should honour and respect the artist you’re seeing with your full attention, I see no reason for the shocking frequency at which people hold up phones. 
 

How can we return to a time where people have more respect and prefer to enjoy the moment than capture it? I’ve been to several gigs where your phones are confiscated and it’s wonderful. Similarly when the artist calls it out and requests people not to, or directs them to one song only. It fills me with total despair to come away from a gig feeling that I couldn’t concentrate or enjoy because of all the distractions. 

[Trunks1993]

yep, completely agree that phones should be banned at gigs. the debate is that social media is the cheapest and most effective way of marketing themselves/agents/venues thus increasing further revenue. tough one, ideally there would be the tech that limits each phone to one song or a max of 30 seconds videoing 

[Ayrshire Chris]

Totally agree. I’ve never understood when a band that you’ve paid a fortune to see plays the first few bars of one of their best tunes only for loads of people to miss most of the performance because they are desperate to film it.  It’s a live performance, just enjoy that moment, absorb the sound and spectacle. Don’t waste the experience by fumbling about making an extremely poor quality recording. And worst of all block the view of others by holding up the phone.

[mario man]

54 minutes ago, ModernMan said:

Been at a gig tonight, a tame singer songwriter affair. Someone in front filming taking pictures every two mins, the person next to her on Reddit checking the setlist from a previous gig. A group of girls down the row all together and filming non stop. Another woman with her partner, filmed every single song. 
 

I’m not a Luddite, I understand people have a powerful camera in their pocket and may want a memento, but the frequency is baffling. Not only that, but it completely ruins the experience for me. The distraction of the light really takes you out of the zone, leaves me personally filling up with annoyance and rage - effectively ruining the show. For me, you should honour and respect the artist you’re seeing with your full attention, I see no reason for the shocking frequency at which people hold up phones. 
 

How can we return to a time where people have more respect and prefer to enjoy the moment than capture it? I’ve been to several gigs where your phones are confiscated and it’s wonderful. Similarly when the artist calls it out and requests people not to, or directs them to one song only. It fills me with total despair to come away from a gig feeling that I couldn’t concentrate or enjoy because of all the distractions. 

Were you at BC Camplight tonight?! Brian was just starting a solo piano piece & someone shouted out to put the f*ckin’ phones down and after that it was bliss! 

[Spindles]

The best gigs for me are always the ones where the crowd around me kind of melts away from my attention and I'm just totally engaged with what's going on on stage. There's something about how I feel at the end of a gig like that which reminds me of being a kid leaving the cinema after a matinee and emerging into the bright world like it's a strange place.

I can absolutely understand how phones around you might be a distraction and clearly, if you are aware not only that they were browsing reddit but the content they were browsing you must have been really distracted by it.  I'd like it if it became good gig etiquette to keep your phone in your pocket.

 

[fred quimby]

1 hour ago, ModernMan said:

Been at a gig tonight, a tame singer songwriter affair. Someone in front filming taking pictures every two mins, the person next to her on Reddit checking the setlist from a previous gig. A group of girls down the row all together and filming non stop. Another woman with her partner, filmed every single song. 
 

I’m not a Luddite, I understand people have a powerful camera in their pocket and may want a memento, but the frequency is baffling. Not only that, but it completely ruins the experience for me. The distraction of the light really takes you out of the zone, leaves me personally filling up with annoyance and rage - effectively ruining the show. For me, you should honour and respect the artist you’re seeing with your full attention, I see no reason for the shocking frequency at which people hold up phones. 
 

How can we return to a time where people have more respect and prefer to enjoy the moment than capture it? I’ve been to several gigs where your phones are confiscated and it’s wonderful. Similarly when the artist calls it out and requests people not to, or directs them to one song only. It fills me with total despair to come away from a gig feeling that I couldn’t concentrate or enjoy because of all the distractions. 

I so totally disagree.  I want to turn up to a gig and watch most of it on a tiny screen. I also want to stand still, at least my arm, and not get into the vibe of the gig at all. I can then post about what an amazing time I had. I also like to talk loudly to the person next to me about my day or some other sh*t. 

😁

I do like to have a photo of every gig, but actually feel slightly embarrassed doing it. What I do need to learn is to ignore the f**kers that do film everything,  as you say it ends up being a distraction. No idea how I stop that annoyance.  

I do like losing myself in the music and looking around and everyone was too. At a gig not so long back where I looked around and the majority were filming , something is lost. No community to it. 

I am old enough to have gone to gigs before mobile phones. I still remember them and the memory is strong about the good time I had. Would it be better if I had a clip of it, no idea. Come back when dementia sets in.

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by fred quimby

[gblock]

41 minutes ago, fred quimby said:

I do like to have a photo of every gig, but actually feel slightly embarrassed doing it. What I do need to learn is to ignore the f**kers that do film everything,  as you say it ends up being a distraction. No idea how I stop that annoyance. 

Like to get a quick snap at an appropriate time, but likewise always feel a bit embarrassed (guilty?) for doing so.

Tend to avoid any gigs I anticipate will be dominated by phone screens and screaming (still have no clue why anyone would scream whilst watching an artist perform). These things totally ruin the experience for me.
 

I don’t think you can just ignore it either, much like you can’t ignore people talking at the cinema. Sometimes others can just genuinely ruin your experience and that’s okay. It’s kinda annoying, but if they’re not breaking the law, not much you can really do about it, other than avoid certain gigs that you know will attract those types of people.

[K2SO]

Phones should abolutely not be banned at gigs, but I do think there needs to be more of a standard etiquette around it.

For example, don't lift it in the air and block people's view for extended amounts of time - A second here or there is fine, in my opinion. You should also keep your brightness down, to avoid blinking other people around you.

[Avalon_Fields]

I limit myself to 3-4 photos at a gig. I’ve seen people film an entire gig non stop. 
 

At a recent gig, we were told beforehand the act would walk off stage if there was any filming, and she explained later she feels it ruins the atmosphere. Everyone complied. Magic performance including moving through the audience ensued. 

[amfy]

I definitely like filming little clips, but I keep the phone close to my face so it’s not in everyone else’s way. I am 5’10” - which is tall, but not exceptional.
 

I think most people who hold their phones high are maybe trying to get film of an unobstructed view of the band (although I understand for smaller people that’s not the case - but those aren’t the ones in everyone’s eyeline).

When I get a little clip of a gig, I prefer to get the view I’ve got - the crowd moving in front of me and the band - even the bloke in the bucket hat that keeps drifting across my view - that’s the memory I want to capture - where I actually was. Especially at Glastonbury - film of the actual band will be available in much better quality elsewhere.

I do like looking back at them, and now facebook do their ‘memories’ thing every day, it is actually nice when they pop up in years to come to look at them and remember.

However, I am very much aware that everyone doing a ‘short clip’ here and there can add up to a lot of phones over the course of a gig.

[gingerevans84]

At a gig recently and a girl next to me recorded clips of every song to send on Insta, Snapchat, Tiktok and something else seperately. Drove me nuts.

[gooner1990]

Drives me up the f**king wall and its just getting worse. 😖

Could think of plenty of examples but one of the more recent ones was when a friend of mine had two spare tickets for the Saturday at Reading last year when Arctic Monkeys played who my partner had never seen live, so we took them and went.

Got a decent ish spot for us just in front of the disabled platform and just before they come on a lot of people came in at the last minute including a group of young guys and girls.....one guy then gets one of the girls up onto his shoulders right in front of us and she then proceeds to start filming the gig as AM come on.....irritating, but what can you do... then the same girl gets passed various phones of each of her friends to either livestream on TikTok/Snapchat/whatever for a few mins each.......was totally ruining the gig so we made the decision to move, which as everyone was packed in wasn't easy!

I don't film at gigs, but plenty of my friends do and I think at best one of them uploads clips to Instagram but I'm not sure what the others do with their footage, but that said its no worse than people who film football matches constantly (luckily that seems to be a bit in decline) or the other week when I went to a fireworks display I had to move because the people in front of us decided to stand on a picnic bench and then film the fireworks!

[danbailey80]

I don't see it changing unless it's called out. Either by fellow audience members or by the artists. I just don't think they realise it's not welcome. So do call it out. Politely at first of course. 

Perhaps everyone gets it's over with in the first song. This tends to be a rule for official press I believe (or used to be). 

[stuie]

It’s the same as other gig/fest etiquette and generally not being a dick. Most people will snap a couple of pics and maybe a 20 second vid of their fave song but brightness down and try not to get in the way.

It’s a weird one because when there’s a gig I wanted to go to but couldn’t make it, I’ll be looking on the socials for content from it!

But people who literally film the whole thing without actually engaging in it just make me scratch my head.

[Leyrulion]

I think I sort of disagree. Let people do their own thing and enjoy the gig how they want, you focus on your own enjoyment. 

Most of the time it's not really interfering with you that much. The only really bad experience I can recall is people who put the flash on for a video, but that's mostly stopped now cameras are getting better.

[gooner1990]

14 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

I think I sort of disagree. Let people do their own thing and enjoy the gig how they want, you focus on your own enjoyment. 

Most of the time it's not really interfering with you that much. The only really bad experience I can recall is people who put the flash on for a video, but that's mostly stopped now cameras are getting better.

When its interfering with me even being able to see the stage or the screen then its not on IMO.

[henry bear]

1 hour ago, stuie said:

It’s the same as other gig/fest etiquette and generally not being a dick. Most people will snap a couple of pics and maybe a 20 second vid of their fave song but brightness down and try not to get in the way.

It’s a weird one because when there’s a gig I wanted to go to but couldn’t make it, I’ll be looking on the socials for content from it!

But people who literally film the whole thing without actually engaging in it just make me scratch my head.

Agreed. My position is this; in general I feel that people should be able to enjoy a gig how they see fit, without too much interference. That said, I do wish people would have more consideration for others behind them. I do take the odd photo, but rarely hold the phone/camera above head height. I've now got an extensive library of concert photos. I'm not a fan of artists imposing a no-photography policy, and wouldn't go to one where you're expected to hand in your phone before you enter the music hall (quite rare admittedly, but it does happen). In short, don't be a dick. 

[emmanuel]

I don't take any videos or photos myself, my phone is crap and I have no use of them. I can actually understand filming a whole show from 1st row of balcony or something, and used to seek those tapes at Camden market! I can't really understand why 1000 people would film 15 sec of a song, however. That seems useless documentation and I never watch those silly short videos when people post them. Why people need their own incomplete crappy video when there are 100s of them online? I don't understand.

I certainly wouldn't ban phones; I also hate this kind of thinking to tell people what to do. I wouldn't go to a show to prevents me from reading text between bands, etc. I'm not truly annoyed by people taking videos (apart thinking it is non sense) unless it is very excessive compared to the average. Unfortunately that happen quite a bit, I've had someone in front of me raising hands every 5 sec last week for photos, and had to tell them that maybe 1000 photos is enough.

[Yokel Again]

8 hours ago, gblock said:

Like to get a quick snap at an appropriate time, but likewise always feel a bit embarrassed (guilty?) for doing so.

 

Yep this, nice to remember we went and the production, venue etc, but try to do it as quick as possible.

There's nothing worse than a band getting to their hits and all the feckin phones coming out in front of you blocking your view! 

[faymondo]

PSB played this before their gigs

 

 

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

As much as it puzzles me why someone would want to video the entire show on a shaky device with poor resolution and terrible sound capture (that they're never likely to watch again), I'm pretty much in the "live and let live" camp. I'll take a few snaps now and again, discretely. Phones do have a place at gigs, and apart from the odd show here and there (usually the more intimate, manageable ones), I can't see a blanket ban coming into force any time soon, for numerous reasons.

I do understand people's frustration with them, particularly those who've been going to gigs before the advent of a video camera on the device, I feel like there are more annoying unwritten etiquette rules broken.

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

 I feel like there are more annoying unwritten etiquette rules broken.

The phone thing annoys me at times, but it's less of a "you're getting in my way, blocking my view, etc" thing, more of a "just live in the moment and get absorbed in the atmosphere" thing. By staring at a screen you effectively remove yourself from the gig for a while.

However, there are plenty of examples of far more annoying behavior.

[gooner1990]

18 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

The phone thing annoys me at times, but it's less of a "you're getting in my way, blocking my view, etc" thing, more of a "just live in the moment and get absorbed in the atmosphere" thing. By staring at a screen you effectively remove yourself from the gig for a while.

However, there are plenty of examples of far more annoying behavior.

Chains of people barging through crowds

People with blankets and chairs refusing to put them away when its busy

People with rucksacks dancing and hitting the people behind them with them instead of putting them on the ground

People chatting loudly through gigs

[Sitruc97]

If people enjoy recording entire sets and watching it through their phones then that's absolutely fine, but personally couldn't think of much worse. A couple photos and the odd video is usually as far as i'll stretch. 

[emmanuel]

With Today's phone and storage space, anyone could easily record the full set in good audio quality (no video). It doesn't distract anyone and at least would have some legacy value. I'm not sure why people bother with s**t 15 sec videos.

Edited November 24, 2023 by emmanuel