Put Down That Cellphone

Concert venues may be the latest attraction to ban the use of cellphones for video. Melbourne, Australia’s Cherry Bar isn’t the only venue banning the use of cell phones for videoing concerts, but it’s definitely one of the most popular venues to implement this rule. Cherry Bar has welcomed plenty of top bans, from Guns N’ Roses to The Black Keys. Owner of Cherry Bar, James Young, says the response to the ban has been about 99% positive. Young released a statement to explain why he decided it was time to finally say no to cell phone cameras during live performances:

“The idea for the ‘phone ban’ comes from a communal feeling that genuine live music fans are sick to death of having people obscure their view, f*** with the gig vibe and embarrass themselves by staring at their phone screen instead of the live music on the stage right in front of them,” Young said in a statement released to The Music.

Young isn’t the only one who thinks it’s time to end cell phone use during performances. Comedian Dave Chappelle is known to go as far as handing out locking cellphone sleeves to fans that won’t release your phone until you leave the venue or the show is over. Jack White, singer and songwriter, also openly demands fans not be allowed to record anything during his live performances. Perhaps, like Young says, it’s because the whole point of seeing it live is to experience it live….so why record it when there are millions of recordings online? Just enjoy the show, folks!