I saw Bob Dylan last night at The Royal Albert Hall - it was wonderful. They made everyone put their phones in little bags so they couldn’t be used. I was ambivalent initially but the result was wonderful. Everybody just listened and the audience was dark. I think it’s a good thing. Thoughts?
I agree! I’ve been to 3 Dylan concerts where we used the locking bags. I think everyone becomes more involved in the music without phones.
Faraday cage bags?
I saw Jelly Roll last Wednesday in Detroit. He had 20,000 people singing along with him. His band was really good.
As with cars with loud music blaring or people on speaker phone on the train or yakking loudly in nature reserves while their off-the-lead dog runs amok through the ground-nesting birds, many people are very uncivil these days. No phones forces the uncivil people to be civil in a shared setting.
Excellent. Should be standard practice everywhere. I have never understood why people who buy huge televisions find the picture quality on their phones acceptable.
Nice to be in the moment
Same experience here, I loved it!
Honestly quite a good idea, I for one have never really gotten the need to record every single moment in your life, its too distracting from the moment and pretty unnecessary in a lot of cases.
I wish more venues, restaurants and theatres would do this.
If the artist requests it then it's fair enough. But being able to share a pic or short vid you took of the gig with a friend is cool. Just be mindful of whoever is behind you.
Should become the norm. Art needs to be in the moment……and realistically do folks actually do anything with these recordings (which will usually have shit sound and dodgy camera work….) ??? I’m also old……..
Best idea, nothing worse than someone filming something that is literally right in front of them. How about being in the moment. 🤦♀️
Not quite the same thing but I spent last week in Edinburgh. One day we walked to the top of Arthur's Seat. At the top and at various points on the way up there were so many people sat with their heads buried in their phones rather than looking out at the beautiful Scottish landscape & cityscape.
I like it - theatres and cinemas next? What did you think of Dylan?
It's a great thing. Be in the moment and free from distractions.
Saw him in Wolves the night before and totally agree regarding phones, a completely different and refreshing experience. Everyone in the room was “in the room”. He was cosmic too of course 🙂
I had that experience in a theatre a few years ago. Great idea. People using phones to take pics, fiddle or even talk, spoil the experience for others.
Thoughts: The boomer catches up to all of us, maybe a bit faster to brits
I'm going to see Ghost next year and they're doing the same
Never got the recording the concert thing. You're actually there. Watch it. But I guess I'm just old 🤷
Saw David Gilmour there a few weeks ago, no bags for phones-but an impassioned plea to not use them which the majority abided by
I heard you were at The Cure’s Troxy show the other day - great shows back to back if true
Brilliant idea. Why go to see a legend then look at your phone? By the way, there's an art gallery in Cheltenham showing a set of original Bob Dylan paintings entitled 'Route 66'. Well worth a look. Talented guy.
Where is that please?
Oh, it's Cheltenham in the UK, on a street called the Promenade. The gallery is called Castle Arts. It probably has a website where you can view everything. They had a Billy Connolly artwork there too, a welded metal sculpture. Bob Dylan is a great artist, so is Johnny Depp.
I know Castle Arts.. will have a wander in 💕 thank you 🙏
My pleasure.
I do like this idea. It means the gig can actually be watched live rather than through someone else’s phone!
Been a fan of the Yondr pouches since he started using them.
Great idea, let's face it you were luckily listening to one of the greatest poets and musicians alive. Who wants to be interrupted by someone's phone going off ?
Lovely. All for it. Now do CLASSROOMS!
I saw him last March and enjoyed that we had to put our phones away. People were actually talking to each other in the beer line! It was a reminder of what it was like before we all got bodysnatched by these damn things.
I have been wanting to catch him at least one more time since his latest album came out! Any favorites from the show?
Kate Bush did the same thing for her 2014 concert series Before the Dawn, it was so good to see everyone focused on the performance and staging and artistry, rather than the content they would post on SM
Couldn’t agree more. Live in the moment !
I like to experience things as they happen, not see them through a mobile phone.
Phones aside, how was he? A Dylan live show can be brilliant, terrible, and all the things in between. Must be interesting for him to play such iconic venues decades after his famous gigs there.
I don't know...Personally I like to take a couple of souvenir snap shots at the start of the gig and then put the phone away. Being in the moment is what live concerts is all about. True! But on the other hand I would have hated it if no one had taped those Zeppelin & Floyd gigs back in the days...
The Never Ending Tour rolls on. Saw him at the London Apollo in Hammersmith in 1991, about 4 times in a week’s residency. And then he was back for the Fleadh Festival in Finsbury Park in ‘92 I think. Magical!
I completely agree. I was at an event at the Royal Albert Hall recently (a film with live orchestra) where people were recording videos throughout. Highly distracting, and also not allowed according to the posters outside. I wish it was an enforced rule.
Same deal at a Raconteurs gig a few years back. Wish they’d send, as part of the deal, a few nice photos from the gig to your locked-up phone so you can brag about being there afterwards
Went to a Placebo gig in Portsmouth, and they just asked if we could keep our phones in our pockets and just be in the moment. Made for a much better experience
I understand the idea and prefer gigs when spectators refrain from filming throughout. But I hate these pouches:what if you need to stay in contact with a babysitter or anybody important. A sticker on the camera might be better
Love it. It amplifies the presence in the field and you can feel it I think.
I prefer no phones. I’ve spent countless minutes watching the show through someone else’s phone screen
There is no downside to this!
I hate people that film entire shows on their phone, but I do like to take a snap or two, maybe a vid clip as a souvenir. Otherwise you miss things like this:
They did that at London palledium when we saw Madonna on 2020. It would have been useful because she was 40 mins late and tbh there was little that was worth recording....
Definitely 👍
There should be more places like that. A lot more.
I agree - enjoy the moment and create good memories
I like to take a photo for sharing and looking back on, however Matt Johnson of The The was pretty clear he didn’t want to see phones at a gig earlier this year. The audience behaved, and it was altogether ok!
Little Faraday baggies?
I am also old, but it is never a bad thing to be in the moment fully. 🧡
When will Pluto regain planet status?
Une bonne idée !
You’ve changed a proper Oldham lad would be off to Werneth Park with a bottle of White Lightning or Thunderbirds
Marvelous idea. Music isn't heard when there's a phone in front of your eyes.
I think it's a great thing. If u go to see Bob Dylan u don't need to be f'ing with ur phone. Enjoy the show with respect or leave. Better yet don't come!
Good thing. I watched the 1993 Fleetwood Mac concert on BBC the other night. No phones, no sight of security guards, a real connection with the, very close, audience and no phones waving about in their line of sight. Be in the moment.. no need to waste it by recording it.
I wish every theater would require patrons to do this!
The idea of a live concert is that you are not having to experience via a small screen - so why would you want to concentrate on a small screen? Yes, PUT THE FKING PHONES AWAY!
My mother - having seen him twice in the past - went to the Albert Hall to see him this week. He didn’t disappoint because she had very low expectations, she informed me that, as expected, he was Bob Dylan
But with the gait of Joe Biden
Mother, through her laughter, tells me that this is marvellously accurate
yes, we need more of that.
Was this so no one could text "Judas!" at him?
I think overall its probably good things but I do love a bit of gig photography
That sounds like heaven. I can’t bear seeing a load of phones up in the air at concerts.
bring two phones
But both phones would end up in the phone bag they make you put your phones in. Watch would work
Instead of bags they could have used sacks. That way there would be a lot of saxophones.
It just means that all who attended were actually there. As opposed to being there in retrospect. Love it
A very sensible approach
High school in Australia
Definitely a good thing. Last concert many people were standing and holding up phones, ruining both their and others' experience to get poor quality videos.
I agree 100%
I'm all for this. Take my phone and lock it up.
Sounds perfect, really.
When I saw Bob the phones in bags policy was announced at time of ticket purchase and not a surprise. But I laughed when I saw the guy running sound had about 18 bajillion iPhones attached to his MacBook.
Absolutely marvellous idea.
I've done that too at gigs. I think it's a great way to ensure you're right there in the moment...because the option isn't there to be otherwise!
❤️❤️❤️
👍
Sounds wonderful
I think it's a good thing too. Live music is about the moment. Being there, with the artist, listening to the music they are playing for you. If you would prefer to watch it and listen to it on a screen you may as well stay at home. Bob is a genuine legend.
Absolutely approve. Trying to peer over a sea of screens is sole-destroying. Can you put your phone in front of your own face and not mine? 😂
Good idea, - should be mandatory at concerts (indoor), restaurants, schools (and during mealtime at home!)
Absolutely enjoy the here and now
I’ve been to shows like this and it’s great! I think the two key points to doing this successfully are being very clear in advance so people can plan and having clear and easy to access policies related to people with disabilities who may need accommodation.
As a visibly disabled person it was explained to me that if I needed my phone that I should return to FOH and they’d open the bag for me. They’d have to close it again before I could return to the theater.
Was that a reasonable accommodation? I also wonder about accommodations for medical reasons such as monitoring via apps.
As someone who uses a Dexcom to monitor my blood sugar via an app, this is the reason I'd neverbe able to go to an event using Yondr pouches even though I support the idea of phones away at concerts and other music events. It would not be a suitable accommodation for blood sugar monitoring.
Yeah, that’s one of the first things I thought of (I’m a nurse), but this is where it seems like accommodations should still be an option. For me, bottom line is that this is great, but if it isn’t accessible, it’s just ableist. Thank you for sharing!
Yondr has been doing this a long time in a lot of places. They must have a policy or statement on this issue.
I had no problem with it. I don’t monitor blood sugar, for example, via phone app though. I don’t know how that would work.
I've been to gigs and seen people scrolling through social media whilst the band is on. All for a no phones policy but the bags thing is a bit overkill. Just get security to chuck the person out.
Oh I love that. You actually get to see the gig (not just through the phone screens in front of you.)
The last time I went to a concert cellphones did not exist
I’m very pro this. Paid to see an act. Not an act through a sea of screens
But where’ll I see the stories with 10 minutes of low quality concert footage now?
I'm going to Ghost in August and they're doing the same thing. I'm cool with it.
Phones away at gigs, 100% agree. Should it take putting it into a provided bag to stop the urge? Definitely not. Some self restraint for 90-120mins shouldn't be that hard.
Approve wholeheartedly
All concerts should go this way. A real viewing experience
Great idea...wish more artists would do it.
Sounds blissful. I’m fed up of watching concerts thru other people’s phone screens, live in the moment!
We saw James in Glasgow and the audience were asked to put phones away and have no other distractions before they came on to play, we were a wee bit disappointed not to be able to take photos but have to say we had a fab experience just concentrating on the gig
I agree it’s a good thing. If anyone prefers to view the world via a phone screen that’s up to them but in large groups the waving of phones changes (and I would argue spoils) the event for others.
I had to do the same at a Bruno Mars concert and wasn't happy I wasn't going to be able to take pics. But it was so awesome with people listening and dancing and no phones blocking the view. I would do it again!
Definitely time to ban phones at gigs, it’s ludicrous that people spend all the gig filming stuff they are never going to watch again, rather than enjoying what’s in front of them.
Yes. I think it’s ultimately doing the audience a favour - although you can’t buy a beer using Apple Pay ….
King Crimson and Tool do the same. It makes a huge difference. You are in the moment and just enjoying live music. It’s a lost art in itself.
I saw A Perfect Circle earlier this year. Maynard James Keenan (also singer for TOOL) is very anti-phone at gigs. 1) it’s refreshing to see the crowd respect his wishes to keep phones down relying only on the honor system and 2) it is really remarkable how much more real the experience feels.
I saw Dylan before mobile phones existed. Wish I had a photo of it though.
Proper. Respect. Treasured.
This is my boomerishest opinion. Phones away at gigs! Watch the actual humans!
Yes, as a fellow boomer it’s my rule too. If you want to look at film footage of the event there will be plenty pf it on many platforms to choose from.
Nothing worse than your view being broken by the person in front’s smart phone! Back to only having to compensate for the tall fellas in front, not the short people with long arms!
I'm old enough to remember a time without mobile phones
I'm pretty indifferent to it. Like I don't care if some teenager or some young guy/lady wants to record their experience seeing Bob Dylan live. At the same time, if they requested you to turn your phone off, etc. I respect that too. As long as everyone enjoyed themselves, that's all that matters.
Good idea, but maybe the artist could play one song during which people can take a picture as a memento. Not such an issue in very large venues (O2/Wembley) IMO.
I once saw a show by Robert Henke (electronic music & visuals) where he asked that no one take photos, film or record during the show so as not to disrupt anyone else's enjoyment, and then afterwards, he'd re-play ~10 or 15 minutes of 'the best bits' - all free to wander round & film it or him.
Just making sure - I have to disconnect my house phone from the cable to the wall and bring it along?
Excellent idea
It's fantastic
Absolutely approve but 19 year daughter thinks it's crazy as want to capture and replay the moment 🤷🏻♂️
Great idea.
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Sounds good. Although I do think there maybe a small window (of opportunity, as opposed to small window in front of the stage) to take a snap for the memory.
He’s been doing that for a while. It definitely improves the experience.
Great show, and great with the phones locked away: I'd be up for that happening more often. A couple of women up in the circle made a strong case for no alcohol at gigs either ... but that seems less likely to take off.
I think phones should be left at home. We could tether them down with some sort of cord
Great idea 💡
Reminds me of Richard Julian’s song Photograph I prefer a memory to a photograph youtu.be/v15vvvU9VPg?...
I like the sound of a “dark audience“ count me in.
I think that’s a great idea!!!
Yes and can we also stop people from yorp-singing along to the hits like bad drunken karaoke.
Yes, nothing more annoying than the person on the row in front who spends all of one song taking pictures, and all of the next song looking at them. And realising they're crap.
I think the fact that people want to view reality through a lens instead of in the moment is something something something Guy deBord something something something Spectacle something something something #BeneathTheStreetsTheBeach
In general I hate the use of mobiles at gigs. I've seen people video a song, then sit and watch it back during the next song? Mad.
We saw Fish a while ago. He was playing acoustic stuff so asked for quiet and no phones. A bloke walked up to the stage to video a song & at the end Fish followed him back to his seat and gave him a verbal bashing. Just rude when he asked for no filming.
Great idea ... every venue should do this
I saw him in Australia about ten years ago - didn't recognise one bloody song.
Same, he sounded very umm how do I put it..growly
Yes I grew sick of myself tbh experiencing everything through my phone. I do 1 pic for the family now at events then just put my phone away.
I think it’s good to have phones away, but as a parent I’d also like to be able to be reached in case of emergency
When I saw Jethro Tull last year they asked everyone to put their phones away until the end and then for the last song said everyone can get their phones out and record this one. This seemed like a good compromise to me.
Last weekend, I was at the Lightning Seeds gig, LCR, UEA Norwich. It was completely spoiled by people on their phones, talking to each other, and sharing photos. Why bother going to a concert if you are going to do this. Public Service Broadcasting has also stopped this practice. Thank goodness
I've been to a Dylan concert and it was awful. Dude just mumbled his way through the entire set. Wouldn't even know what song he was on if it wasn't for the band. Played 0 hits (this was during his country music phase). Opener Merle Haggard was great though.
I love it. Normal at a classical concert and Dylan is a classic
Saw Jack White and it was the same, wee phone bags. It's up to the artist, I'll respect their choice either way.
As an exam invigilator putting phones in boxes - reusable/bags - not reusable sometimes backfires when the phone starts ringing during an exam. This was A level Physics amongst a packed hall. Kudos on the ringtone.
Presumably that was not a faraday bag, for it would not then have rung. I keep my car keys in a faraday bag.
I wrote a parody song about Hal Sparks, to 'Mr Jones', and left the Bob Dylan reference in. One line says "do I feel seen?" Then Hal says on his show today "I see you ladies!". Follow me and hear the song soon! All phones should have little bag time outs.
Yes, yes, yes! And anyone caught singing along should be thrown out.
I love it. It makes the experience so much better. I hate going to concerts and trying to see the stage over and around everyone’s uplifted phones. Only downside is there aren’t as many bootlegs to listen to 🤣
Should be done more often. In classrooms, for example!
Definitely a good thing. I go to quite a lot of gigs and most of them I watch through a sea of phones. Grrr
I once watched the whole of a Justin Furstenfeld (Blue October) gig in Manchester on the iPad of the person standing in front of me. Awful experience.
Emotionally dark or a lack of human perceptible photons?
Agreed
Saw him twice in the 1960s, a year apart. Was at the concert in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, when ‘Judas’ was shouted at the stage. It was Dylan’s first UK tour with the Band.
Tim Minchin does something similar, asking people to be in the room instead of having their screen interrupt the experience. makes a huge difference imo.
Depends on the gig. Dylan absolutely. Coldplay probs do half their set as an app or an algorithm
Saw him in Perth, Western Australia 1978. Wasn't a great show. People with better seats liked it. The phone thing is great. You see people recording live shows, are they ever going to watch them again? Put the phone away and watch.
It was fantastic. I was up in the choir seats on Tuesday and it really made people engage with the work. What videos have leaked look crap anyway, great to have the focused memory.
💯 behind this idea. Many nightclubs in Berlin forbid the use of phone cameras. Makes for a much better experience. Would like to see this happen more elsewhere.
Yes! Unless you have a medical reason for your phone, or a letter from your mum, leave the phone alone.
Approve 100%…girls young enough to be my great grand kids kept videoing in front of me for so long… finally got tossed
Absolutely!
Excellent idea. I went to an Eddie Vedder solo gig a few years ago -playing ukulele etc. It was ruined by phone and iPad screens and ppl more concerned with sharing where they were on SM rather than enjoying the music.
If they could do this in the cinema too I would start going again
It's a good thing. To be in the moment. Having to watch multiple people filming a whole concert in front of you is very distracting and detracts from enjoyment.
Saw Crowded House at the O2 the other day. Great gig, but very restless audience. Mobile phones, but also talking through the music, people getting up continously to get drinks etc. Did not enjoy it.
I think people are losing the ability to experience moments in time in person, they think the experience can only be real if they have a record of that moment.
Absolutely. In classical concerts it’s still pretty good. But there’s always the one person who doesn’t silence or the person who has to take pics. If it ever gets more prevalent I’d gladly give up my phone to the little bag.
Agree entirely, abhor the lit up screens of the idiots in front who will rarely rewatch the footage that they capture
The times they are a changing
You know something is happening But you don't know what it is Do you miss your phone?
Saw him at Wolverhampton Sunday night. Started on time, played 20-25 songs, did not pause between songs for a break or chat to the crowd. Any of his better known songs were re-arranged almost unrecognisably, then after 1hr45 quick bow and off. The most Dylan show, done his way, no phones++
Yes! Uncompromising certainly :-)
Still can’t forgive him for going electric.
I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse a few years ago (Leeds?) and no such restrictions were in place. However, there were almost zero phones held aloft. It was amazing! So either NY fans can't raise their arms above their heads, they don't own smart phones or they just came for the experience man.
I saw him in the spring here in Dallas and they did the same thing. I loved it. I was forced to just take in the music and focus
Wish all concerts did this. But then I’m old enough to remember events pre- cell phones.
I approve. But maybe I'm old?
Definitely a good thing.. we saw Pearl Jam this week and there were less phones out because mostly old people 😆
I'm becoming more and more in favour of this approach, getting fed up with a sea of screens at a gig.
Good idea, but it shouldn't be necessary. People shouldn't need good manners and consideration for others to be imposed on them.
So grateful to artists who do this. We’re here for the music!
Nah, I've seen Dylan four or five times and I am happy to keep my phone in my pocket-- I don't need to be taking pics or scrolling during his show-- but letting venue staff lock it up in a little bag? Not happening. Emergencies can happen at concerts too, and I want access to my phone.
Completely agree. It was the same arrangement when I saw him in Glasgow 2 years ago and it was rather fine not to be distracted by other people’s phone screens.
I've only seen Dylan pre-cell phones so I can only assume it's a better experience??? I think a big concert with special effects and stuff can handle the audience having their phones, but an intimate show is harmed by that. Dylan is better when it feels intimate.
I saw Dylan 10 years ago. Sound was dreadful. Dylan stood sideways to the audience for 95% of the concert. No interaction, the gig turned into a guessing game as to which song he was not singing. Lesson: people don’t belong on pedestals. If it sounds bad then it probably is bad. (Dylan fan).
Support the principle, but not sure about the bags. Maybe close the bars at RAH during shows as people stumbling around in the dark with full glasses are even more distracting.
I saw Dead Can Dance about 10 years ago. They didn't make anyone put their phones in bags or anything, but the audience was just so nice. In between songs, everyone clapped. The rest of the time they were quiet and calm and the world was just full of beautiful music. I wish it was always like that.
That’s awesome. I think that is the way of the future- certainly in universities. I’m taking postgraduate classes atm, and it’s sad to see half the students reading off screens about unrelated content during lectures. Not judging them, I would just rather interact while we are all together!
Saw the wonderful Kate Bush in 2014. We were all under strict instructions not to record too. She’s always ahead of her time.
They did it to prevent photos and bootleg videos. Crass commercialism at its finest.🙄🙄🙄
Great thing. Feels like a lot of people attend events purely to film/photo themselves at said event to then show other people that they were there rather than to experience. Really odd kind of meta existence
I was at a show where they did that. We couldn’t open our bags, but we could keep them with us so we had possession of our phones. Anyone who needed to use theirs could step into the lobby and get their bag unlocked. Overall I approved.
I'm not sure. I just saw Bobby Weir and the Wolf Bros last night and I'm reliving it thru my pics and vids.
Definitely approve of that! Keep the experience real and in the moment.
Definitely a like from me, I am an oldie - but off to see my home town band next week (Hard-Fi) and just want to hear the guys play
