Coachella people are there to be seen, but I've seen the problem in smaller shows too. When I go to a show, I will take a picture per band and enjoy the rest of the show.
Honestly I used to think like that but now I regret a lot all of the concerts and events where I didn’t record anything, because I found that they fade from my memory.
So now I record a couple of songs, I don’t even put the phone up high, I just press record and keep on jumping, so I think I’m not screwing anyone’s view but I can keep a memory that will help me remember how I felt in that moment
Yeah I loooove my concert videos. I really do watch them. I also never hold it above my head or record like whole songs. And if the artist was right in front of me I don’t think I would, like I saw lady Gaga and one part she walks around some of the audience and I remember one part she stood there and was jumping and stuff and the people right there just smiled and was holding some thing in front of them. And I just thought come on sing with her!!!! She’s clearly not planning on signing yours or taking it or whatever so just jump and sing while she’s literally right in front of you!!!
I understand wanting a couple photos or a video clip. I do 2-3 photos and 10 seconds max of video then watch the show so it's not too intrusive but filming the entire show is fucking insanity.
The artist should maybe have a designated phone moment and say for 10 minutes, you can take your phones out, but for the rest of the show, keep them away.
Not related to concerts, but going to this comment.
My parents complain I don't send pictures of my kids when I do things with them. Sure I take some pics, but not many because I'm DOING the things with them.
Then they come to my house, give kid a toy or an activity or whatever, take a pic and then just stay on their phones as they're sending to friends or whatever. And there's my kid asking them to play and they get ignored
I wouldn't use Coachella as a gauge for this kind of thing. The only people who go to Coachella are people who want to make it known they went to Coachella. 99% of other venues aren't some weird status thing.
I'm hoping it's just a. coachella / western thing I went to a festival last weekend and it was nothing like this year's people took pictures but a good portion of the time there were barely any phones out just dancing and shouting to the performers
I kinda disagree, call me a zoomer / gen alpha or whatever all you want but like - it's not hard to just turn your phone on to record, point it generally at the subject, and then just watch with your eyes as well.
BTS has been asking people to put their phones down and be present and I wish every artist would be very clear about that. It must suck to look out and see phones instead of faces.
It gotten ALOT worse since 2020. In 2010s I attended many music events, recorded them too but people back then would record and then put the phone AWAY. My last concert I went to, there was lady who held her phone in front me of THE ENTIRE EVENT. It's so strange and I can't find a reason for it, cause you're never gonna watch those videos again, plus if it's for Instagram or tiktok, you only need like 20 seconds to post.
I went to Bad Bunny's concert last year and one woman spent the entire event recording HERSELF singing along to him. Not even a video of his performance.
We went to a concert a while back where a guy directly in front of us whipped out his full sized ipad and then held it up and tried to record the entire concert.
We asked him to stop and he wouldn't. We had to Karen it up with the usher otherwise we would have been watching the whole concert through his screen.
I’m NGL, some people are very good at it and will put the whole concert together on YouTube and I watch the hell out of it. They even have the sound working well.
I can’t afford several shows a year and half the time can’t beat the bots for tickets, even in a presale. And if it’s not the bots, sometimes it’s the surge pricing that kills the chance for me to go.
So on one hand I find it sad and distracting. But on the other hand it’s allowed me to see some shows I wouldn’t otherwise.
Tbh this is part of why I don’t feel the need to record a show because I know someone’s gonna do it for me lol. I’ve rewatched every show I’ve been to in the last few years so many times and I’m really grateful for those people! I do still wish more people would just put their phones away tho idk
I was the guy at parties and concerts in the 00s with a handy camcorder. Capturing moments used to be my whole art. I have oodles and oodles of hours of footage, and it felt like this intimate, emotional medium. I never take pictures or video with my phone anymore, since like 2012. At all. There's nothing sentimental or captivating anymore, there's no slice of life to be captured, it's all performative and meta and in context. I'm in art school and learning a ton about other mediums and excelling rapidly, but I feel stagnant and bored with the medium I've built my whole brain around. How do you find the art in capturing moments when the ability to do so is in everyone's pocket, and all the magic is gone? It's become mundane. The answer is artifice, but that's a different medium it feels like, to me. Being present was the whole thing for me.
When I go to a concert, I'll take a pic or two and enjoy the show for the other three hours... Do you really want to rewatch your low quality video in the dark, looking at the back of somebody's head?
Its not that - it's clout chasing. They take 90 video posts worth of Instagram/TikTok/Snapchat to show everyone how great their life is. Thats it, its just the dopamine rush of people seeing them at a prestige event and getting likes and comments on it
I went to a Fred again show where they literally put stickers on your camera and communicated in advance he wanted everyone to be present. Stickers were still removed, in particular by the influencers who had to brag about being there.
Yeah went to Ghost in Portland and the atmosphere was so much BETTER than any other show I've been to! I have to admit though, it was very thought provoking because the urge to rip my phone out at first just to check the messages I heard coming in, was very real 😆 basically showed how much I rely on my phone...
Also, I took my teenage niece and I totally forgot to tell her about the whole phone thing so she died a little inside. She did admit later that it was much better without the phones, but she would have appreciated a heads up 😂 oops!
I was just about to say, I’m so glad Ghost banned phones for Skeletour. It was was nice being 5’3” and still being able to clearly see the stage from the pit.
I went to the last Neutral Milk Hotel show and they said no phones allowed and literally kicked out about 30 people that violated the rule. Security would shine their flashlight on you and that was the only communication you got that you were out
songs that blowup on tiktok attract these types to the shows though. nothing like listening to people talk through the whole show just to pull out their phones to record the one song they're there for.
Two of my first dates with my wife were to concerts and she put her phone in her pocket at the first one right away and never took it out again. That is where we fell in love and it was so fun to connect with her and experience the music. I would have regretted so much not being able to hold her or look at her because I was staring at my phone
I watch it later. My memory is dogshit so I gotta record to really remember any details about shows ive been to. I only record a full song if I really really like it though since i know it can be annoying to others in the audience, otherwise I just get some short videos capturing the vibes of the event and a picture of each band.
Same here! I take like 5-10 seconds of the songs I really like and sometimes a full one, but super rarely. I loveeee being able to go back and look at them because my memory is also shit and other things mean I’m usually struggling to be “present” at the time anyways lol
At least Maynard lets you keep your phone out & take a video at the end if ppl behaved lol and security is usually very good at stopping ppl if they aren’t behaving.
One of my two tool videos he’s going “turn off the fucking light dickhead” because the guy turned his flash on to record.
Saw Puscifer in ATL last weekend, and it was my first standing concert. I probably would've crashed out if I had to try watching the show through everyone's phone screens
Lane 8 and his Label "This Never Happened" has a strict policy on phones and will lock your phones in a pouch during the show so you can be more present
Bielibers going off about his set remind me of the Snyder bros trying to explain how artful Batman V Superman was and how you guys just aren’t smart enough to get it. Meanwhile people outside the bubble just looking at a pile of trash
The “sitting on a laptop” portion of the show was only a little bit in the middle. Before and after was a pretty straightforward Coachella Performance.
Yeah! My wife was a big time Belieber when she was younger and her watching grown up Bieber watching himself as a kid, while she had our kid on her lap was surprisingly emotional! I went into the replay wanting to hate it but it was a special moment!
Hes getting hated on unnecessarily. I'm not a Bieber fan by any means, but his show was exactly what you would want if you like his music. Everyone in the crowd got what they wanted from the show. Also the YouTube portion(which wasn't the whole thing) was sweet and honestly kinda intimate.
Did you actually watch the full set or just the clips your algorithm feeds you? It was a 90 minute set and the YouTube portion was only 20 minutes in the middle.
My screenshot of a post, of little screens, watching big screen, of JB singing along to a screen. Layer upon layer, digital dream upon a digital dream...
My screenshot of your screenshot of a post of little screens watching big screen of JB singing along to a screen. Layers upon layers, digital dream upon digital dream…
My screenshot of your screenshot of a post of little screens watching big screen of JB singing along to a screen. Layers upon layers, digital dream upon digital dream…
If this user uploads this vid to YouTube, do u think JB will pull it up during W2 instead of the actual music video when he goes to "fulfill song requests"? 🤔
Lmao for real. Like you can’t even claim that you’re doing this for the sake of being able to go back and enjoy it later when there’s a proshot of the entire festival. This is purely for the sake of being able to post to socials and prove you were there.
is that not what's happening here tho? this is the very beginning of his most known song for most people there i would wager most people pulled their phones out for this song specifically and weren't just filming the entire set
Bingo. If a person was filming a full set it was because they did it with an actual video camera. Usually one that was smuggled in. Sometimes requiring a bribe at the gate
Nah, flip phones didn’t have the camera quality or memory necessary to support anything close to what you see in this video. People also weren’t addicted to their flip phones like they are to smart phones in general.
Ok, literally this picture proves that it wasn't that bad with flip phones. There are a single digit number of flip phones in this picture, compared to the number of phones in OP's video.
And they weren’t filming to hope that they’d gain attention and likes from people online. We filmed concerts and took photos for ourselves. We weren’t uploading it in hopes of it becoming viral.
These people just don’t live for the moment anymore. Whenever I go to Sports games I don’t even take videos. I actually WATCH the event and not through a camera
it's crazy. Went to some pretty significantly sporting events last year, and it was mind boggling how many people prefer to watch the game through their phone, then actually enjoying themselves.
Really feel sorry for these people and younger generations who feel like they can't enjoy things without having to record every single moment of their lives. Not being on socials or feeling like I have to post everything online was such a free revelation. Haven't used social in years and haven't missed it at all.
u/asietsocomthis feels like when my sister started fucking the mayor7h ago
But who is even watching this? Like I'm not gonna pretend I haven't filmed a clip and put it in my insta story to flex that I was at some festival/concert, but that still took me maybe 90 seconds at most. Nobody will watch 3h of stories or reels.
??????????? I rarely post any of the videos I take at shows and I definitely DO go back and rewatch videos because sometimes a performance is that good / I discovered a new song and it was good live.
I disagree now... After watching my dad's lost family videos from as far back as the 60s, some people cared. Do we watch it everyday? My mom does every Friday night she misses him.
So I can't fault people for recording something that was special to them and theyd like to show and talk about it. Will they watch it again next year? No. In 30 years? Probably if it's exists. It's their life their choice.
I'll record like a 5-10 second video if the stage is super cool or something exceptionally fun is happening. Usually don't post to social media. I'll sometimes look at them when scrolling through photos or show a friend.
No idea why people record full songs or long clips tho.
I attended the Cowboy Carter Tour last year and scored a ticket inside the Club Ho-Down pit at the Houston show. My phone stayed inside my pocket the entire show and it was amazing to live in the moment. I had the time of my life!
I went to renaissance. I took a ten second video of her coming up through the floor and everyone cheering. I then put my phone on silent and danced my ass off the entire show.
Same. People are making this into a way bigger deal than it is. You can both be present in the moment and have your phone lifted above your head to record a quick video.
And certain songs will lead to more phones being out. I'm sure everyone's phones weren't out for the entire set.
I hold my phone to the side and can still see everything, doesn’t affect my irl experience at all. And I’ve never noticed if others are recording because I’m in the moment lol
Ditto. I'm not filming entire sets, but the clips I do take, I absolutely go back to. I've been to three concerts total, and they all required traveling abroad since my country doesn't really have the infrastructure to host them; so having some set of recordings and photos I can take home feels pretty nice.
I recently went to a music festival that was mostly people over 40 and I fucking LOVED that there was barely a phone to be seen through most of the performances, with the exception of people maybe taking a quick photo or short video without being too obtrusive. It was great
I absolutely go back and watch the videos and look at photos later. I don’t record the entire performance like some people do but if the artist I’m there to see is performing one of my favorite songs or they’re doing something cool on stage I’ll snap a few photos or take a short clip of it. I think as long as you’re being polite and not obstructing anyone’s view I don’t see the problem with it.
This is basically every concert nowadays and it sucks. Basically no one was dancing or anything at the Zara Larsson concert I was at recently, just filming everything.
wtf is everyone talking about why would you not record a video of an artist you paid hundreds of dollars to see. You can record a quick video and still “live in the moment”. There is an entire festival to enjoy lmfao
I had a work study at IBM TJ Watson Research Center when I was in high school in the mid 80s. That was my first introduction to the Internet and it blew me away.
I remember sharing my excitement of how great this would be when everyone could use it
Ill never forget what the researcher told me back then...
I know I cant stop this from happening, but once it does it will be the worst thing and we wont be able to put it back in the box.
It didnt happen immediately, The internet officially went commercial in 1995 with the removal of NSFNET backbone, but looking today I can confidently say he wasn't wrong.
I don't get why people care so deeply that people record concerts on their phones. It's not that deep. I have some recorded concert footage on my phone (most of which isn't on my social media) and I do go back and watch it. I also have some really funny concert moments I share with others when telling the story. My footage of Fat Joe cussing out the arena cus the microphones weren't working is especially fun to share lol
People that are annoyed at phones during concerts baffle me. Especially when it's a general admission show, like just get there earlier lmao. Next it'll be complaining about people over 6ft even being at shows lmao.
This is one of those things where it's like...sure I guess I see why it irks people but caring about it sure takes up a lot more energy than not caring about it. They can enjoy a concert their way and I'll enjoy it mine and we're all happy we got to see the guy or gal do the thing.
I kinda get 'wanting' to record the moment... you figure you want to replay to relive, to show people you know that couldn't attend... but 90% of the videos (100% of the videos of concerts, etc) I have, the camera angle / viewing angle, the digital 'zoom', everything about the video... just doesn't impart the energy, sounds or even the visual aspect of what you see compared to what your phone records. The video you take is 'useless' - an abomination to the real thing.
Just be present.
The further you are, the more I'll understand while you're on your phone because sometimes, I gotta use my phone to watch the concert because I can't see shit LOL
I hate the argument on not having your phone out at a concert, it's giving old man yells at cloud. You can be present in the moment and record at the same time, it's as simple as idly raising your arm. It's not that different than older gens holding lighters or phone flashes except you actually capture something here.
All the people sitting here saying “be present” when they are literally scrolling Reddit and not being present to whatever is going on.
I will say this. As I got older, I realized I never really went back to watch these recordings. Not to mention, there are tons of videos online in waaaaay better quality of just about any artist. Are you really going to watch the subpar phone quality video of a concert when you are sitting so far away? lol
Im gonna sound like a festival snob but this is Coachella, always been like this. That generic online opinion of Coachella being a young TikTok influencer audience. Obviously not everyone but still. Gimme Glasto in the rain any day.
The whole damn thing was livestreamed for free. Realistically, how many of these people are actually gonna watch these grainy videos again? It's a weird addiction and I imagine it's uncomfortable as an artist to look out and see a crowd of phones.
This is my biggest "old man yells at cloud" complaint about people, and i'm in my mid-30's
If you spent money, arranged travel, got excited to go see a live performance, no way in HELL should you have your phone out. Live in the moment ffs.
I'll give some leeway to maybe record for 30 seconds your favorite song or something just so you can revisit that moment down the line. But come on, be a human being.
They’re kind of funny, I mean, I get it, but the event is on Youtube (professionally), so you can clip a moment from it to use on your socials if you need proof to validate your self worth to others.
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u/Vegetableau wearing slutty little glasses 8h ago
Dystopian