Current Events > Thoughts on having to lock/bag your phone for a concert/performance?

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How do you feel about bagging your phone to see a show? Comedians and some musicians make the audience bag the phones for different reasons. Could you enjoy the show without having to capture any of it?

For those that dont know the process:

https://www.overyondr.com/phone-locking-pouch

Venues then have kiosks where you can unlock your phone (usually in a spot beyond the view of the stage) in case of an emergency.

It doesn't really bother me because I'm not on my phone at a show and I understand why acts, especially folks touring with a new set that's still being refined into an eventual TV special, would be reluctant to have their content leak.

They idea that anyone would enjoy a show less because they weren't watching it through their phone is mind-blowing.

Yes, lock the phones away. Those people are a menace.

It doesnt bother me at all, and its kind of a red flag to me if it does bother you.

I wouldnt mind at all if i had to lock my phone away for a show.

Especially if youre at a concert with an energetic crowd you shouldnt be on your phone much anyway

People who record live events on their phones are scum of the earth so I'm okay with it

Last time i went to louder than life. My phone didnt really work anyway. Like no signal. So lock it up, dont care.

I'd love it.

Personally I try to film like a 20 second snippet for memories sake of a song I really enjoy, but being subjected to below when I'm trying to watch the show myself makes me a little misanthropic.

https://images.wsj.net/im-750140/

It's annoying AF to see a bunch of phone screens up in the air. I'm all for it, live in the moment.

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It's not getting taken away. You put it in the bag, and you hold it. In case of emergency, you just go to a nearby kiosk and they unlock the bag for you.

The first/only time I've had to do it was when I saw Kevin Hart and Chris Rock last summer. Rock was filming his new Netflix special, so he didn't want any of it to be leaked. My kids were home alone (18 and 15 years old) so it was slightly unnerving not being able to check my phone, but I just went to the kiosk in between sets to send them a text to make sure all was ok.

As far as needing it as a clock, can't help you there. lol

no because as a photographer the phone is the only camera i am able to bring and I am usually paying extra get up close seats, or GA, so I can get close for cool photos

also yea def recording 10-30s clips of the best parts to send to friends and family

I think its lame, and I think the idea that low quality cell phone footage would cause people to not be interested in a comedy special is absurd

in my experience its mainly the types of comedians that complain that you cant say anything anymore without getting canceled that do it

also not for nothing but I am a parent and sometimes there are emergencies you need to be able to respond to

I wish they'd do it at every show. I'm tired of going to rock shows and having to a) watch through an ocean of phones and/or b) have everyone around me tweeting/texting/whatever between songs

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Someone holding up a phone to block my view in order to get a 30 second video clip that looks and sounds worse than one you can easily find online can get annoying.

I personally haven't encountered this because I don't really go to big shows, but I feel like it would make me pretty uncomfortable between sets when I don't know what to do with my hands lol

Back in my day wed put on our Sunday best to got out to see a show and the phone stayed mounted on the wall in the kitchen (where wed make home cooked meals from scratch) when we got back wed put the cat out for the night and wave to the neighbor who was doing the same

Ive been to like a million concerts and its extremely rare that people taking video is an actual annoyance

maybe if youre seeing someone huge with 20 year olds and literally everyone has their phone up, but that usually happens for the first song, people dont hold that shit up the whole show

plus those huge acts like that are in arenas most of the time where youre elevated above the people in front of you

R1masher posted...

Back in my day wed put on our Sunday best to got out to see a show and the phone stayed mounted on the wall in the kitchen (where wed make home cooked meals from scratch) when we got back wed put the cat out for the night and wave to the neighbor who was doing the same

And then that cat would jump back in through a window and put you out, and you'd have to bang on the door until Wilma lets you back in

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filming a show doesnt affect me, but depending on the medium it does affect the artist.

its less concerts and more shows like stand up comedy. With music, you can hear a song repeatedly and it doesnt really impact your enjoyment of it, but every time you hear a joke its going to be less funny. Because of that, comedians dont want their jokes getting out to the public since people are less likely to pay to see a comedian tell jokes youve ever heard. Its pretty annoying going to a comedy and hearing a stand up tell the same jokes you already heard on their specials, for instance.

of course, there are other reasons comedians dont want their sets filmed. Most of the time theyre workshopping the jokes, so they dont want that unfinished, unrefined joke getting out into the wild before its ready, because that unfunny joke can make people not want to pay to see them.

think of it like a musician. They arent putting their demos out for people to hear because the demo is unfinished and raw. Demos stay in the studio and dont get heard by the public, but comedians dont get that luxury. They have to workshop their material in public, so sleeping people from filming their sets in comedy clubs is how they prevent their demos from getting leaked before the material is ready.

No.

While I hate seeing dozens or hundreds of phones in the air, but the thought of an incoming emergency call being gatekept by anyone is not a show I would attend.

My wife and I were at a live Whose Line event with friends. They got a call mid show that their daughter was having a seizure. The thought of walking somewhere, possibly waiting and then getting someone/thing to unlock MY phone so I could use it in a situation like that is not acceptable. It doesn't matter if there is nothing I could do, doesn't matter if they called 911 and everything was being handled (they had). Fuck that.

Tool does not allow people to take pictures at their live events. If you are caught, you are ejected. They open up a few sets for pictures and videos. They do all of that without locking your phone in a bag.

In the current mass shooter climate, I'm against it. But I'd just avoid going to that show if I know ahead of time that they require phones to be locked up. I always prefer to just live in the moment rather than take a bunch of photos/videos. But I'd want to be able to access my phone ASAP if there's an emergency.

Do you know how much less drugs I'd be able to buy if I owned a phone

Mortainous28 posted...

No.

While I hate seeing dozens or hundreds of phones in the air, but the thought of an incoming emergency call being gatekept by anyone is not a show I would attend.

My wife and I were at a live Whose Line event with friends. They got a call mid show that their daughter was having a seizure. The thought of walking somewhere, possibly waiting and then getting someone/thing to unlock MY phone so I could use it in a situation like that is not acceptable. It doesn't matter if there is nothing I could do, doesn't matter if they called 911 and everything was being handled (they had). Fuck that.

Tool does not allow people to take pictures at their live events. If you are caught, you are ejected. They open up a few sets for pictures and videos. They do all of that without locking your phone in a bag.

I can only speak of my experience, but in the bag they put it in, you can still feel your phone vibrating, so it at most delays things a few minutes, or however long it takes for you to get to the kiosk and unlock you phone.

I'm not necessarily advocating for them, but the time I had to do it, it didn't really bother me in the least.

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You have your phone on you at all times, it's just in a "bag" that's locked

bigblu89 posted...

I can only speak of my experience, but in the bag they put it in, you can still feel your phone vibrating, so it at most delays things a few minutes, or however long it takes for you to get to the kiosk and unlock you phone.

so every time your phone vibrates you have to walk over to the kiosk to unlock the phone to figure out if its someone calling about your extended warranty or if your kid is in the hospital?

TheGoldenEel posted...

so every time your phone vibrates you have to walk over to the kiosk to unlock the phone to figure out if its someone calling about your extended warranty or if your kid is in the hospital?

I theory, yes. If you absolutely NEED to know who called you.

Again, I can only speak for myself. I was with my wife the one time we had to do it. SO if my phone were to go off and then hers shortly after, we would've realized something was up.

TheGoldenEel posted...

so every time your phone vibrates you have to walk over to the kiosk to unlock the phone to figure out if its someone calling about your extended warranty or if your kid is in the hospital?

I mean the times I've had to do it the bag was clear so you can still see what the notifications are.

codey posted...

I mean the times I've had to do it the bag was clear so you can still see what the notifications are.

The one I had to use wasn't see though, but I have seen the ones where there is a window where you can see your phone screen.

I went to one show where hundreds of people were filming on their phones.

Two weeks later, I did a search on YouTube for that concert and found like 3 videos that weren't even entire songs (lol)