Jack White Bans Cellphones At Concerts For '100% Human Experience' (nme.com)

Singer and guitarist Jack White has banned the use of mobile phones at upcoming live shows. NME reports that the policy will be strictly enforced, requiring concert-goers to lock up their smartphones in pouches." From the report: White embarks on a tour of the U.S. from April, with a statement announcing that shows would be "phone-free," confirming: "No photos, video or audio recording devices allowed." "We think you'll enjoy looking up from your gadgets for a little while and experience music and our shared love of it IN PERSON," the statement adds. "Upon arrival at the venue, all phones and other photo or video-capturing gizmos will be secured in a Yondr pouch that will be unlocked at the end of the show. You keep your pouch-secured phone on you during the show and, if needed, can unlock your phone at any time in a designated Yondr Phone Zone located in the lobby or concourse." "For those looking to do some social media postings, let us help you with that. Our official tour photographer will be posting photos and videos after the show... Repost our photos & videos as much as you want and enjoy a phone-free, 100% human experience."

Comments

is this from the artist himself

[desdinova 216]

or is this from some record label person?

Re:is this from the artist himself

[thegarbz]

or is this from some record label person?

The record labels are only interested in making sure you don't bring an SLR with a nice lens into concerts. Apparently my $5000 Leica was allowed because it wasn't a good camera :-)

There's actually a few artists speaking out against the absurd fuckery that is people recording poorly lit unwatchable content with sound that ultimately is little more than a monotonous -0dB level with the occasional distorted blip into something that sounds like actual music. Here's Roger Water's (That's Pink Floyd for the millennials) take on the issue:

“For my part I would never turn on a cell phone at any musical event,” he wrote, “whether it’s at The Met, The Garden or anywhere else. It would seem to me to show a lack of respect to and care for fellow concert goers or for that matter for the artist. Apart from anything else, how could I possibly truly experience the thing I’d paid to see and hear, if I was fiddling with an iPhone, filming or twittering or chatting or whatever?”

Seriously I've never seen anyone look at one of these recordings. If they did their eyes and ears would bleed. Why do people make them?

Re:is this from the artist himself

[Anonymous Coward]

No. People go to shows to be entertained. Fucking stupid millenials and younger do the retarded shit you mentioned, once again ruining it for the majority of us, once again proving we can't have nice things because of that behaviour.

bye!

[markdavis]

>"Singer and guitarist Jack White has banned the use of mobile phones at upcoming live shows. NME reports that the policy will be strictly enforced, requiring concert-goers to lock up their smartphones in pouches." "

I have no interest in interacting with my cell phone during a concert (or movie or any other type of paid entertainment). But tell me I have to lock up my phone in a "pouch" and you can shove your concert where the sun doesn't shine. I am so tired of the lowest-common-denominator ruining everything for everyone. Either they ruin it directly by being rude, annoying, and/or irresponsible, or ruin it indirectly due to places creating draconian rules/procedures to try and combat it.

Yondr? What's that?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm:

"Yondr uses a patented system to create phone-free spaces for artists, educators, organizations and individuals."

THEY GOT A PATENT? FOR PUTTING PHONES IN A BAG SEALED WITH CLOTHING SECURITY TAGS?

Re:And shit like this

[uvajed_ekil]

Is why I don't bother with live venues anymore.

Between the assholes in the audience and the assholes on stage...

Not sure what happened to "just come in, be a decent person and enjoy the scene".

THANK YOU!!! If that's how you feel about live music in 2018, you're either going to the wrong shows or YOU'RE the one we don't want there. Most of the festival and one-off shows I see are a good time with no crowd problems. I generally avoid stadiums and large arenas because you are too far away to see anything and the prices are too high, but smaller theaters and clubs provide the same great experience the always have.

Humanity's biggest problem is not that it suddenly changed, it's people writing off the next generation or the current times as past prime and heading downhill. The same phenomenon can be seen in some of the oldest historical accounts and literature we know. It just means you're crotchety. Most people are still good, decent people.

Re:And shit like this

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

I have no problem not holding up my phone. I dont' use it. I have a problem having to go through a process to lock it in a bag and unlock it because of some primadonna fuckwad. As for Siouxe Sioux, I could give a fuck if it's her livelihood. If I'm attending the show I'm PAYING her fucking livlihood. THOUSANDS of singers can sing without exact requirements to temperature, myself included. If I'm paying the increasingly rediculous sums for a show and it's uncomfortable? I'm getting a fucking refund.