Jack White Banning Cellphones From Tour • Page 6

i think it's fine if people take a snapchat video once in a while or a few pictures without being super intrusive. it's about how often you do it and the positioning and the situation. and as i said, it's like that with literally every single aspect of a concert as well.

 

I agree, but shouldn't the artist/venue be able to enforce whatever rules they want?

I know some people are adamantly against the idea of not being able to use their phone for a few hours, but personally I'd go out of my way to go to a venue with a no phone policy over one that allowed phones. Just like I prefer to go to movies at non-peak times or to go to Alamo Drafthouse.

 

It was obviously hyperbolic, but let's be real. Millions of people go to shows every year and only a handful will ever experience a safety threat that will require they have access to their cellphone immediately.

You're WAY more likely to be killed in a car accident on the way to venue, but people keep playing with their phones while driving.

 

I've been going to shows for 20 years and I honestly avoid certain shows now just because I know the crowd will ruin the experience. It just sucks. I dunno....

Like I mentioned before, I think the real solution is to offer incentives.

Cinemark has a thing on their app where if you use your phone during the movie, you get reward points towards future tickets/concessions. If there's an emergency or you just can't stand it and have to use your phone, you still can, you just have to turn off the app/lose the reward.

 

crowds suck but phones are really the least of the worries, when men are touching women they shouldn't, people are far too aggressive in crowds, people yell unnecessary things at bands, etc.

 

Again: I'm not debating this. I'm just saying people have every right to feel that way statistics or likelihood notwithstanding, especially in the current political climate. It's valid for it to freak people out and I don't think it's particularly helpful to shut that down or pretend otherwise, especially since none of us can control what Jack White does or doesn't do in the first place. Let folks feel how they feel.

 

Also this.

 

The movie theater thing is an interesting comparison. Last Friday I watched a 2 hour and 20 minute movie, with the requisite 30 minutes of trailers. That's almost three straight hours without access to a phone unless you step out (I've seen management stop people from texting, even if it's on silent in this theater, and most everyone just respects the rule now).

I totally understand the sentiment of 'I want to have access in an emergency.' But for movies, no one blinks at turning the phone off for three hours at a time; why not a three hour concert?

 

This is 100% true, but doesn't mean that other issues shouldn't be addressed too. These other things are harder to police, but things should definitely be done to try to stop as much of that shit as possible.

 

That's fine. I'm not trying to negate anyone's feelings. Just sharing my opinion and hope that people might recognize their unnatural attachment to their phone.

At the end of the day, as long as it's known up front when buying tickets that phones aren't allowed, that's all that really matters.

 

I keep my phone by my side on vibrate during the movie because if something comes up I need to know, I don't mind stepping out for 1-2 minutes to check it.

I'm also an on-call worker so I need to know whether or not I need to drop everything and work.

 

It's not really a smooth comparison - if security at concerts asked people to put phones away or asked them to leave when they saw a phone out (like they do at the movies) then who knows? Maybe it'd seem like the same thing. But the movies don't put your phone in a pouch where you can't access it (not saying whether they should or shouldn't, just that they don't so it's a different scenario) - and lord knows, some folks DO still use their phones in the movies. They're the worst, but they do it.

 

This is the correct answer.

 

Exactly, but if I understood correctly, the pouch prevents being able to feel/hear any notification

If this isn't the case and I'm wrong about it, then fuck it I don't mind having the pouch at all

 

what about GA shows? you can't step out without losing your spot. it's not like people are making phone calls, they're just texting

 

I really don’t think we need to ban cellphones, we just need people to treat concerts the way they would treat a movie

I typically take a 10 second video of a show and other than that my phone is out away

 

Were you the one who said something about parents? If not, someone did. That feels like a different issue too. As an adult, I feel a bit safer in general than like a 14 year old. And if I was a parent I wouldn't want anything (movie, concert, etc) stopping me from getting ahold of my kid if need be.

I don't know the answer other than 'everyone agrees what's acceptable behavior, and then doesn't act like an asshole.' And if we could do that, we'd need to use our powers for better things than cell phones at concerts.

 

Agreed 100%. That's the crux of the issue.

 

No not really, I remember getting texts at comedy shows with my phone in the pouch and on the table, it would make that little vibrate sound. But I imagine at a loud concert it would be more easily missed.

 

I don't even really care if people text or make calls. It's more about holding their phones up and blocking the view for other people.

I don't necessarily think that the pouch solution is perfect. It's just something.

And maybe if you're concerned about losing your spot then whatever you were doing on your phone wasn't that important and could have just waited.

 

Yeah I'm a parent. My kids are very young so it's moreso having the ability to receive contact from my kids' mom if there is an emergency, but the point of young kids that do go to shows certainly is an interesting one as well.

 

I support the don't record every moment of the show part but he's been weird for years. This doesn't surprise me coming from him. I always get annoyed when people around me snapchat an entire set.

 

Yeah in that case I think I'd be okay with it

I mean regardless though I wouldn't be going to see Jack White hahaha but in general the concept doesn't piss me off. It could be better but hey we have time to make it better

 

I think, too, that it's different even in the midst of different parts or types of shows.

When I've seen Taking Back Sunday or Anberlin or JEW or Manchester Orchestra or someone else loud and energetic, I don't notice this type of stuff as much. Because it's loud already. When I've noticed it is when I've seen singer songwriters like Joshua Radin or whoever. And it even depends on parts of the show - some bands are super raucous, and then get real quiet at parts; I might be bothered during different times and not others.

All I know is this: if someone next to me makes a phone call during Julien Baker's show here in a couple months, I might lose my religion and get in a literal fistfight over it.

So... yeah, I get the sentiment lol. But I still don't know what the best way to do anything about it is.

 

There were so many people having LOUD conversations during the acoustic Dustin Kensrue/Andy Hull show I went to. It was the worst.

Obviously I'm all for finding ways to keep people off their phones during shows but I guess it all really just boils down to people being considerate of others, which is a much larger issue.