I remember the days when concerts created candid individual connections. Serious solitude within the masses is a gift; something to be revered, relished, and protected. Whether it was headbanging to Motörhead at the Oxford Apollo, playing my private air guitar to Status Quo at The Milton Keynes Bowl, or lamenting lost loves to Level 42 at the Hammersmith Odeon, one thing remained constant: it was just me and them ─ akin to reading a book, where imagination, intrigue, and isolation are precious commodities ─ although there is one vital ingredient that makes this whole emotional engagement real: unfettered vision.
At 6’2” I acknowledge that it’s unusual for me to miss much of the action; but even my height cannot compensate for the idiot in front of me who whips out their mobile to film the whole damn thing. This act alone immediately disrupts my solo encounter, since the optical nerve is super sensitive to changes in light within our field of vison and my eyes are drawn, moth-like, to the conflicting screen sheen. My cranial curiosity – an automatic human response ─ then connects with the why, when, and how. Why attend a live event and view it via a secondary medium? When the fuck will you ever view the shaky, shitty production? How inconsiderate can they actually be? Thus, totally destroying the immersive experience of a live concert.
The offensive film makers are even ruining their own experience due to the “photo-taking-impairment effect” ─ a psychological degradation of memories. Simply put, those who film recall less of the experience than those who keep their mobiles securely stowed away in their concert shorts.
For balance, it is only fair that the counter argument is given an airing, and Cory Garcia, a contributing Editor to the Houston Press, makes a reasonable attempt to justify the subsequent uploading by proclaiming, “it’s giving me a chance to experience, even in a reduced capacity, what I missed.” But does this claim hold any form of equivalence? In a word – no. Research by ComRes ─ which engaged with over a thousand UK adults who had attended live events within a twelve month window ─ concluded that, “70% say they find it irritating when other people take pictures and video during the performance,” whilst a whopping 69% maintain that punitive action should be taken to outlaw the disruptive practise. So, in this tsunami of content-collecting tech, I’m not a grouch after all. And some headliners agree too.
In 2013 in Atlanta, Beyoncé sang “Irreplaceable” and encouraged the crowd to join in, passing the microphone to some excited fans, although one missed the opportunity to create their moment of fame because they were videoing it on their mobile phone. Venting her frustration, she fumed, “See, you can’t even sing because you’re too busy taping. I’m right in your face, baby. You gotta seize this moment, baby! Put that damn camera down!”
Amongst others, Bob Dylan has a no photos policy, whilst Björk – a lady I wouldn’t want to mess with – made this welcoming concert statement: “At the artist’s request please refrain from taking photographs or recording images. This is distracting to Björk and she would encourage you to please enjoy being part of the performance and not preoccupied with recording it.”
By all means, take your pre-concert selfie, but once the main event kicks off, put your mobile away and enjoy. This is a unique event that deserves your undivided attention, and in the words of Sheena Easton, it’s “For Your Eyes Only.”
© Ian Kirke 2023
@ianjkirke
Title photograph by Noiseporn on Unsplash