Before, I used to think that not having a cell phone was holding me back in my social life; things like not being able to have constant contact with my friends, or feel as though I would be missing out on what a ‘real life’ would be due to my lacking stance in connectivity. But now, if anything, I am going to thank my parents very graciously for insisting that I wait until I was 18 years old until I decide for myself if I want to jump into this world. Thinking back on that, I might as well have been two different people; one, who laughed at the rest of my friends misfortune when it came to being glued to the screens of cell phones and two; the me now, who has no idea what I would do during the day in order to stay up to date without my phone. But one thing that has definitely remained the same through the technological changes in my life, and that is my participation at concerts. If I were to put a number on it, I’ve probably attended at least 100 shows in the past few years, and the one noticeable difference (other than the changing fashion styles, obviously) is that there are less and less lighters being lifted up at shows and with the retreat of this we see the emergence of cell phones being the new thing. But cell phones obviously have a few more features than lighters, and as a culture we are now suffering due to the fact that cell phones are ruining our live music experience.
The Take Over:
source: Brandon Remler : http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/entertainment/celebrity-news/does-video-kill-the-concert-vibe/nQzfp/
Initially, it was one of those things that slowly crept into the concert world that I was familiar with, seeing a few dozen phones coming out quickly to snap a few pictures or a video. But over the past few years this has increased drastically, almost to a point that going to shows becomes pointless as if you haven’t been gifted with the trait of being over 6 feet tall you can bet for sure that you will be watching on the back of someone’s phone. I can guarantee that paying the ridiculous price to see concerts today is not going to leave people satisfied, especially when they have to watch the whole thing through someone else’s view. Just as you wouldn’t want to go to a hockey game and have to watch the entire thing off of the jumbo-tron, it just defeats the purpose of going at all. It almost runs as a lose-lose situation, as you yourself are spending more time worrying about if your favourite song sounds good on your camera and if you’re video is worthy enough to portray how amazing the was at the time. But there’s something funny about that, you’ve missed the show the first time by not even paying attention to the experience happening right in front of you. And I as I was saying before, you have just ruined it for anyone standing behind you, who is going to have their attention shifted from what is on stage to the bright lights coming off of the mass of the phones in front. But these concerts are definitely not free, far from it to be honest, even just thinking back to the past two years I saw Foo Fighters for $120.00 and Coldplay for $100.00 and that wasn’t even for amazing seats. So why, why bother dishing out that much cash if you can just sit at home and watch literally the same thing on Youtube for free?
Maura Johnston had a great observation that helps to understand why this cell phone phase is such a mass phenomenon at concerts in her blog: Six Reasons Why Your Phone Is Probably Ruining Your Concert Experience (And Everyone Else’s). Where she states that one of the biggest causes for this problem is the term she has coined called, FOMO, which is the Fear Of Missing Out. Which basically just entails the idea of seeing all these video’s and pictures that maybe it won’t live up to the hype and that concert you’re going to actually be able to experience isn’t going to be the same kind of experience, because it wasn’t as good as that video sent to you by your friend last week. Or even, being able to receive or send text’s and phone calls at the show you are constantly invaded with the feeling that you are missing out on something important with your friends, but at least you are able to stay completely connected while at the show so you can’t miss that moment with your friends…
Are Cell Phones the New Cigarettes?
But it isn’t just big rowdy concerts that are being interrupted (where at least the noise from your phone can be drowned out by the sounds of the show), it is also the large orchestral performances that are being negatively effected.
The New York Times actually ran an article last year to address this problem with its very own example to back it up. The incident occurred at the New York Philharmonic where a man who had ‘recently just switched phones’ made the mistake of not turning his new iPhone’s alarm off because he, ” didn’t even know phones came with alarms”. Really..? If I’m correct, there is already a rule in place that is strictly prohibiting cell phones from entering the building during a performance, but this occasion was different. Not only was the man a regular attendee of the Philharmonic, he was sitting right front row and when it went off he could not even figure out how to get it stopped, prompting conductor Alan Gilbert to stop the performance so that the interruption could come to an end. Makes you wonder if it would just be beneficial to have a phone check right beside coat check. It seems to me that this is almost the same kind of change in the world that was seen when cigarettes started to become the brunt of social problems, although that could just be me. Either way, it is kind of difficult to not pick up on some of the similarities between the two; both being told they cause cancer, both interrupt others in public, both are seen as being made more widespread and getting a positive rep in situations like movies where a role model can be found.
It’s funny to be able to witness something so innovative and so technologically advanced that was once sought after, be completely rejected by those who once embraced it. It has come down to people being even removed from concerts and other performance’s for even having their mobile device. Just look at the popular pop band Foster the People’s lead singer, Mark Foster, who was kicked out of a private Prince concert earlier in the Fall last year when he pulled out his phone mid-concert. Showing that even if you are known world wide, there should still be no exceptions when it comes down to common courtesy. You can see the video below from TMZ that catches Foster being kicked out.
Changes:
But there are changes that are starting to become more relevant as more and more people are becoming fed up with having to deal with thousands of screens at a show when realistically, they should only be on the stage. Sarah Shoucri, who is an avid concert go’er, publicist and Media Relations Manager at POP Montreal feels as though while cell phones may help the distribution and promotion of their band. But she also adds that people may not realized how their cell phone use is not only distracting the audience behind them, but also the performer on stage. She also talks about how we could possibly change this trend without having to completely remove cell phones from building all together, and this idea is called ‘tweet seats’. This has become a thing at the Cincinnati Orchestra, where music lovers who just can’t seem to disconnect themselves from the pull of social media will still be able to come to the show and not having to worry about interrupting people (sounds a little like a smoking/non-smoking section, doesn’t it?). The full interview with Sarah can be seen right after the break and is very interesting for those wondering about the effects cell phones have on musical performances.
Do we need code of conduct for cell phones at concerts? (Sarah Shoucri)
Another subtle change that is being made can be seen by the band Coldplay, who during their last summer tour gave out wrist bands that would light up together during certain points of the song. As being one of the people who attended this tour I really think this is a step in the right direction because it stops people from holding their phone out all night to try and interact with the stage. It may not be the biggest step, but definitely one in the right direction. You can see exactly how it looks with one of the pictures I took while at the concert.
The use of self-lighting wrist bands helps to eliminate the need for the lighting from a cell phone.
Either way, we have started to be able to recognize there is a problem and now the only thing to do is wait and see what kind of permanent solutions we will see; banned cell phones at concerts, cell phone only seating, or maybe even nothing. Just the fact that we have started giving those who do not use their cell phones in that situation the respect they deserve is enough to make worry a little less that cell phones may still have the chance to coexist in a concert environment without disturbing everyone.
G-Ecclestone 