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Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

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251–260 of 545 posts

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#251

I was about to buy Jack White tickets today and... I think I'll pass. Don't get me wrong. I've seen several shows, including Jack White, that politely ask the audience to keep their phones away for part or all of the show. That's fine with me and it basically works. But as much as I'd like to see Jack White again, I really don't enjoy being treated like a child.

I don't get your response; would you not go to a state park because there's a rule against operating motorized vehicles on the hiking trails?

That's a totally wrong analogy. A more accurate one would be when you go to the park, they boot your car and any motorized vehicles you brought on it, and you have to find someone to un-boot them when you're done.

In your analogy, the park is doing what the commentor says. Politely asking you not to do that.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#252
post #183
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Musicians need all the coverage they can get and we can probably only expect this from big name artists like Jack White.

This seems to be common knowledge, somehow, but I've never seen it myself. Maybe it depends on the type of music, or musician. I perform with a couple groups you've never heard of, and I hate seeing cell phones at performances. I'm just trying to perform, not be discovered.

In this case I'm curious: why do you need to do it in a venue? Why not in a garage/apartment/wherever no one can bother you?

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#253
post #87

I experienced the Yondr phone prison last night for the first time (at a Chris Rock show). While I detest people being disruptive with their phones, I don’t think this is the right solution. From a practical standpoint, it took a lot longer to get into and out of the venue when phones had to be locked up. Checking your phone when you pop out to the toilet meant waiting in a queue to have your phone unlocked, and bein…

> In the event of an emergency, this is a really bad idea.

How difficult is it to defeat the Yondr cases with mechanical force? I'd normally suggest a pocketknife, but places like that probably search for and confiscate those as well.

It doesn't look like the locking mechanism on those cases would be all that strong, such that most people could pull it apart with their hands if they made a real effort.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My goodness, all those people who went to concerts before cell phones must have been so hardcore, taking risks like that. I get the point you're trying to make, but to me this just reads like gatekeeping. Cell phones are useful and they can make people safer. In a world with cell phones not having timely access to one is riskier. In a world without cell phones it's a moot point. The more interesting issue -- which…

Do you think maybe the security guards and other personnel at the venue might have access to phones? Do you think that you in particular are going to be the last resort that manages to reach 911 when nobody else can? It's a weird train of thought to me. Venues are required to have their ducks in a row - emergency plans in place, etc. You not having your phone during the show is not a safety concern.

If a fire breaks out and I have to evacuate a venue, there is a _distinct_ difference in the effect on me if I have to have had my phone locked up.

In one case, I leave the facility, get to safety, and then _go home_ (eventually), at which point I have my phone.

In the other case, I leave the facility, get to safety, but my phone is either destroyed, or in a pile with 900 other concert-goers' phones, and I need to either wait around (in a place where emergency services probably don't want extra people), or _replace my destroyed phone_.

No thanks, I'll keep my phone in my pocket or backpack, and have it with me when I leave with no extra effort. If necessary, this will mean skipping any concerts or similar where that's an issue.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#255
post #232
post #87

I experienced the Yondr phone prison last night for the first time (at a Chris Rock show). While I detest people being disruptive with their phones, I don’t think this is the right solution. From a practical standpoint, it took a lot longer to get into and out of the venue when phones had to be locked up. Checking your phone when you pop out to the toilet meant waiting in a queue to have your phone unlocked, and bein…

i survived the era before mobile.. it wasn't that scary :)

Same here, but it had its own set of annoyances. Sitting at home waiting for a phone call, or trying to coordinate meeting up, particularly spur of the moment, was a huge PITA.

Even with cell phone annoyances, I prefer the cell phone world over the pre-cell phone world.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#256
post #232
post #87

I experienced the Yondr phone prison last night for the first time (at a Chris Rock show). While I detest people being disruptive with their phones, I don’t think this is the right solution. From a practical standpoint, it took a lot longer to get into and out of the venue when phones had to be locked up. Checking your phone when you pop out to the toilet meant waiting in a queue to have your phone unlocked, and bein…

i survived the era before mobile.. it wasn't that scary :)

I have to laugh at some these posts. I also lived in a world without cell phones and I (and the rest of the world) did just fine. Turning off your phones at a concert is not a big deal at all.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#257
post #137

Good. I do this at my personal parties, I have a phone bowl by the door. Few arguments are solved by Google, and creative things happen. Social Media is definitely at the point where TV was in around 2012. There were the early 'adopters' who cast out their sets and proclaimed the virtues, but they weren't shunned and understanding was attempted... what's a DVR? what's streaming? Silly questions a few years later, rig…

That may work for you as a single individual but in general it's just not realistic. Times have changed. The world has moved on.

A better solution would be to give out the password to the WiFi then throttle it to slow enough to be unpleasant to use, but fast enough that no one gives up and disconnects.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#258
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When it’s a venue you don’t know too well and there are 8 bars on each floor, that completely breaks down. Sticking together doesn’t always work, especially when queues are split between men and women for pat downs (as is usually the case in the type of venue that would force you to put your phone in a locked pouch). Of course we got by OK before mobile phones, but to suggest we give up the considerable benefits beca…

Let's think of a million different hypothetical situations in which not having a phone is bad. Result: you sound helpless.

Wow, all these hypotheticals. It's almost as if... not having a phone with you is worse than having it with you.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#259
post #189
post #87

I experienced the Yondr phone prison last night for the first time (at a Chris Rock show). While I detest people being disruptive with their phones, I don’t think this is the right solution. From a practical standpoint, it took a lot longer to get into and out of the venue when phones had to be locked up. Checking your phone when you pop out to the toilet meant waiting in a queue to have your phone unlocked, and bein…

I think the viscerality of this response is fascinating. Putting your phone in a case is a "prison", and you must check it every time you go to the toilet, and you're concerned about a terrorist attack -- enough to want your phone, but not enough to stay home, as if your apps could somehow save you. > Treat people like adults. If they break the rules, ask them to leave. Isn't that what we've been trying for the past…

Acting like adults is working just fine, unless you get irrationally annoyed at everything that doesn't go 100% the way you want it to.

I went to a movie a few weeks ago where a woman actually took a call and wouldn't shut up for 30-40 seconds while others heckled her. That's the worst incident I can remember in the past decade or so. It doesn't annoy me if someone wants to video a concert on their phone. That's their choice to have a crappy experience.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#260
post #253
post #87

I experienced the Yondr phone prison last night for the first time (at a Chris Rock show). While I detest people being disruptive with their phones, I don’t think this is the right solution. From a practical standpoint, it took a lot longer to get into and out of the venue when phones had to be locked up. Checking your phone when you pop out to the toilet meant waiting in a queue to have your phone unlocked, and bein…

> In the event of an emergency, this is a really bad idea. How difficult is it to defeat the Yondr cases with mechanical force? I'd normally suggest a pocketknife, but places like that probably search for and confiscate those as well. It doesn't look like the locking mechanism on those cases would be all that strong, such that most people could pull it apart with their hands if they made a real effort.

After they all gather their locked phones from a small confined area in an emergency?
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