The great debate: should phones be banned at gigs?
We weigh in…
What’s On is dedicated to getting to the bottom of the debates that matter. This month, we’re talking phones at gigs. Coldplay called for a phone-free sing-along of A Sky Full of Stars at Glastonbury. Hï Ibiza has a no-phones-on-the-dancefloor policy at two of its summer residencies. So is it time to silence screen? Dubai-based DJ Dean Curtis goes B2B with Alice Holtham-Pargin, What’s On’s Group Editor…
The case for: Dean Curtis, DJ
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Think about a singular moment of the best gig you’ve been to. Its probably the music building, the lights, the pyro, the CO2 cannons, singing along, smiling, feeling good and experiencing a shared energy that extends beyond you and your friends group. When we are distracted by our phones or capturing the ‘moment’ for the ‘gram, we usually miss the small stuff. Gigs need to have crowd participation in order for them to be epic. So, if the crowd is distracted, it can lose the overall effect. If phones are banned, everyone can just enjoy the moment.
Just think about it, imagine you’re filming to show your friends what an epic party you’re at and the majority of other people are filming also. Your video will be rubbish. It will be rubbish because instead of showing an epic party, you will be showing a group of people looking at some flashing lights and loud music through their individual small screen.
Are there any exceptions to the rule? Perhaps if Martin Garrix comes up to you and asks for a selfie, then maybe you can get your phone out. But overall put the phone away and enjoy the moment and music.
The case against: Alice Holtham-Pargin, Group Editor
I’ve been to my fair share of gigs over the last decade and a half. And there’s a part of me that’s pretty smug that my early clubbing days weren’t documented with 11 Instagram stories, 3 snaps and a Tiktok. But as I’ve gotten older, and those gigs, DJ sets, and club nights have gotten more distant and less frequent, they’ve all blurred into one compilation of dancefloor-dominating fun. And sometimes I wish I could revisit a specific moment or time through an out-of-focus video, or dancefloor selfie that really could have benefited from flash (and a filter).
You see, I see those photos and videos as time capsules, reminders of moments that meant something: seeing Alesso for the first time with my high school best friend after we’d spent years dancing around our bedrooms to his music; hitting up Defected in Dubai to remind me of the years I spent at their club nights in Manchester as a student; hearing Perfect by Ed Sheeran live a few months before my husband and I made it our first dance song at our wedding. I’m not saying people should be out here recording entire 90-minute performances, but capturing a video of a moment you’ll look back on for years to come? I don’t see the harm in that.
Image: David Menidrey/ Unsplash
