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grattan

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Ban on mobile phone cameras atgigs?

Tue 31st May, 2011 in International News

Don’t you just love going to gigs and standing still to film crappy camera phone footage of the show? You know you’ll never watch it again, but it’s about proving you were there, right?

The electro rock duo Ratatat, who recently visited us for the Big Day Out tour and impressed punters with their ‘amazing visuals, in-your-face light show and energetic stage presence’, have declared that they’re in favour of banning camera phones at their gigs as they are “distracting for people in the audience, and for us on stage too.”

Multi-instrumentalist Evan Mast explained his support for a ban to the Edmonton Sun that “I understand the sentiment. It’s cool that people want to take a piece of the show home with them or show it to their friends or whatever. But I kind of feel like it would be more fun if they just enjoyed the show. If everyone’s kind of doing this thing where they’re thinking about how they’re going to enjoy their experience later or show people later or something. I would rather them not use their cellphones, even if it’s for talking or texting.”

Ratatat

January 31st, 2011

The Hi-Fi,

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berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

When I review gigs I take notes on my phone because I'm gen Y as fuck, but I always hope the band don't notice and think I'm not paying attention, I'm in fact paying them lots of attention.

Standing behind some wanker who'd filming is the fucking worst though.

sarahanne

sarahanne said on the 31st May, 2011

If Grattan had his way this would be law.

hellboy1975

hellboy1975 said on the 31st May, 2011

I'd be all for this but it will never happen.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 31st May, 2011

Ditto. Im always worried that the band and other audience members will think im some indie snob who's just texting/tweeting all his friends saying how lame the band is.

Then I say we make Grattan our new overlord.

benr3

benr3 said on the 31st May, 2011

I'm guilty of snapping a few photos mid-gig at most shows I go to, but I never film anything because its waste of time, the footage looks like crap and always sounds like a bomb going off!

It seems pretty pointless to try to take a stand against it though because it would be impossible to stop people bringing their phones into shows.

Maybe bands could try to film more of their shows professionally and then make the footage available to ticket holders, that way people would still have proof they were there as they'd be the only people who could buy a copy. Band makes more money, punters get a high quality memento of the show - everyone's a winner!

grattan

grattan said on the 31st May, 2011

That makes me sound a little nuts - but I really don't understand the appeal of filming shows, other than for some lame 'Look imaginary friends, I was really there in public at a thing with other people' thrills.

I went to a Chemical Brothers show a while back and the dopey bastard next to me didn't move an inch, he just stood there like some kind of bloated human tripod and filmed the whole show on a camera phone. It makes no sense at all why pay the $$ to be suck a sad-sack just go home and stand in your lounge room with Rage turned up really loud.

garthinho

garthinho said on the 31st May, 2011

this title doesn't make sense

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 31st May, 2011

When I review gigs I take notes on my phone because I'm gen Y as fuck, but I always hope the band don't notice and think I'm not paying attention, I'm in fact paying them lots of attention.

Standing behind some wanker who'd filming is the fucking worst though.

Ditto. Im always worried that the band and other audience members will think im some indie snob who's just texting/tweeting all his friends saying how lame the band is.

I'm guessing that neither of you hold your phone up above your head to take notes though.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

I'm guilty of snapping a few photos mid-gig at most shows I go to

I don't think there's really anything wrong with taking a few snaps, your arms are a brieif obstruction to somones view for 5 seconds. It the unflinching, pointless filming that is terrible.

Is that a challenge?

I mainly feel bad when it's during the support because it's more obvious as there are less people and I know when I'm playing that if I see people on their phone it doesn't feel too good. By the time most headline acts are on the room is usually full and I'm not worried about the band seeing me ha ha.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 31st May, 2011

That makes me sound a little nuts - but I really don't understand the appeal of filming shows, other than for some lame 'Look imaginary friends, I was really there in public at a thing with other people' thrills.

I find it distracting as well.

It's annoying having several people's hands in the air with their phone or camera filming the gig in your field of view for the entire gig.

Considering there are going to be professional photos taken at pretty much every gig that are going to be far superior to yours, I don't see the point.

Let's also not forget that filming a song/show is a breach of copyright because you are taking an unsolicited recording of the show.

curiousj said on the 31st May, 2011

i like take photos and occasionally short snippets of video at gigs but i'm never gonna record a whole song because i do want to enjoy being there for one. for someone like me who's short, someone in front of me filming the whole thing is incredibly annoying. but, how would you police something like this? everyone hands their phone into a big bucket before the gig? there are cameraphone police in the crowd? it's totally unrealistic.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

I can't find the actual quote but I remembe reading in interview with Josh Homme where he said something along the lines of "I don't mind people taking shitty videos of the gig on their phone because it would probably stop some guy making money from selling his shitty bootleg footage on ebay."

I've been to plenty of gigs where security are full on about people having their phones up.

oldgregg

oldgregg said on the 31st May, 2011

Gregg takes a note pad and pen when he's reviewing gigs and sits at the back.

actually I lie, when I reviewed the drums last month I was shooting too and I was at the front, taking notes on the edge of the stage, but I looked up the whole gig so I didn't appear rude or miss a photo opp, I couldn't read my notes the next day. wait this had a point, oh yeah, the girl behind insisted I try and record some of the gig for her on her phone, and I said I think he'd notice, and she was like but my friend really wants to see them live.

I'm sure her iPhone recording will make her friend feel as though she was there.

benr3

benr3 said on the 31st May, 2011

I think is one of the biggest reasons bands have a problem with it, the footage inevitably ends up on youtube and means that when fans search for authorized recordings they have to trawl through heaps of grainy 30 second clips that sound horrible.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

Gregg takes a note pad and pen when he's reviewing gigs and sits at the back.

actually I lie, when I reviewed the drums last month I was shooting too and I was at the front, taking notes on the edge of the stage, but I looked up the whole gig so I didn't appear rude or miss a photo opp, I couldn't read my notes the next day. wait this had a point, oh yeah, the girl behind insisted I try and record some of the gig for her on her phone, and I said I think he'd notice, and she was like but my friend really wants to see them live.

I'm sure her iPhone recording will make her friend feel as though she was there.

How much nip did she have to show before you did it?

oldgregg

oldgregg said on the 31st May, 2011

she had to let me film them on my iPhone,

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 31st May, 2011

I don't think it is something that requires security in the crowd to police.

If it becomes something that is heavily frowned upon, the crowd should be able to police itself. Punters could convince someone near them that they should stop filming the show as it is highly annoying to other punters.

Ticky_McGregor said on the 31st May, 2011

I think it is great when someone goes to a show but only likes the bands 'best' song, so when the song that they 'lurve' comes on, they just stand completely still for the only song that they actually enjoy.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 31st May, 2011

Trying to view the gig on a 2 inch square cameraphone screen is hard enough .

It's even harder if you're moving around!

By standing really still and filming, you get a good momento of how much everyone else in the room was jumping up and down and enjoying the song.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 31st May, 2011

i don't mind people taking a few pics during the show of the band playing. but i get really annoyed when someone turns their back to the band to take a pic with their friends with the band as the background.

polite_society

polite_society said on the 31st May, 2011

I like taking a couple of pictures for teh memories, but people that film entire songs or gigs tend to annoy me. Also people up the front of the stage, but spend the entire time texting. wtf. Why are you here?

grattan

grattan said on the 31st May, 2011

http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/photos/4.jpg

oldgregg

oldgregg said on the 31st May, 2011

did you spend the morning drawing that?

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 31st May, 2011

oldgregg tell me you know about Oatmeal comics - its fantastic...

oldgregg

oldgregg said on the 31st May, 2011

better than the perry bible fellowship?

MilkySheep

MilkySheep said on the 31st May, 2011

I went to 3 gigs in Seattle when I was there, and at all 3 gigs as soon as someone got out their phone for a video or photo, the security took it off them and made them check it in the coat room. It was awesome, especially when standing down the back, to not be distracted by tons of bright little screens. I fully support this.

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 31st May, 2011

if your attention span is so limited that you get distracted from live music playing at about 100db by some one elses phone, then you probably shouldn't waste your money on gigs in the first place. if people wanna take photos n stuff on their phones then let them, it doesn't effect anyone else.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

Except for when it does.

JaneMelanie

JaneMelanie said on the 31st May, 2011

I used to take photos at EVERY show/festival but stopped a few years ago (camera broke after getting sprayed while at festival) and I have a far better time not worrying about a) if I captured a 'moment' i'll never bother to upload to facebook, send to anyone or actually have the urge to re-live again b) if some drunk is going to fall on me and smash my camera.

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 31st May, 2011

yeah like... never. i dont know about you but i've never heard this conversation..

"How was the gig?"
"I dont know! The guy next me pulled his phone out!"

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 31st May, 2011

i agree, i used to take this lil camera to gigs that had kinda shitty picture but when you record it picks up the sound really well. i captured some pretty cool footage that i still enjoy and have shown other people and they have enjoyed it. i don't bother now because my phone doesn't pick up sound as well and i actually can enjoy myself more if i'm not worrying about getting decent footage, but i couldn't care less if other people want to.

benr3

benr3 said on the 31st May, 2011

Its annoying when you pay good money (often $100+) to see a band and your view is obstructed by phones and cameras. I don't think anyone has a problem with a couple of quick photos but we're discussing the pointless filming where a person holds their phone in the air for most of the show and then never watches the footage they've recorded anyway.

p1owz0r

p1owz0r said on the 31st May, 2011

I agree with this completely unenforceable idea, but i still think Ratatat are wankers

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 31st May, 2011

this is such a rare occurance though, and when it does happen its usually not that hard to move some to where your view isn't obstructed, or if your in allocated seats, the only way i could see it being a real issue is if it was the person directly in front of you, in which case you could grow a pair and tell them that it's blocking your view. to completely ban it just seems extreme and anal. i actually like ratatat's music but it kinda disappoints me that they would complain about such an insignificant issue.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 31st May, 2011

yeah like... never. i dont know about you but i've never heard this conversation..

"How was the gig?"
"I dont know! The guy next me pulled his phone out!"

I've also never heard this conversation

"How was the gig?"
"Oh, man, you weren't there? Check out this crappy low-res video, it totally captures the experience."
"Wow, it's like I'm really there!"

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 31st May, 2011

It was really annoying at Eddie Vedder when the ushers kept shining a torch in my face because the person next to me had their phone up.

Joe Smiggens

Joe Smiggens said on the 31st May, 2011

That makes me sound a little nuts - but I really don't understand the appeal of filming shows, other than for some lame 'Look imaginary friends, I was really there in public at a thing with other people' thrills.

I went to a Chemical Brothers show a while back and the dopey bastard next to me didn't move an inch, he just stood there like some kind of bloated human tripod and filmed the whole show on a camera phone. It makes no sense at all why pay the $$ to be suck a sad-sack just go home and stand in your lounge room with Rage turned up really loud.

Spot on.

Fucking losers. It's ridiculous. Enjoy yourself, remember it, or I will smash your phone and make you cry.

hedonism gibbon

hedonism gibbon said on the 31st May, 2011

i like to "acciddently" bump into people that hold their phone up for more than about 3 secs, you'd have to have tunnel vision for that shit not to distract you as a keen observer of a band, esp if you ae quite short like me, it happens too often, esp early in the gig. It ruins the moment you might be immersed in every time it happens and the more you are into the band, the more distracting and annoying it is.

you're supposed to be enjoying the LIVE experience (esp assuming the band are dance/move/mosh-worthy) not pathetically capuring it for your memories or mates, leave that to real camera men/women and check out a website of photos the next day.

and yes Youtube is hugely overloaded with shitty low quality videos that aren't worth watching or listening to

madkidz

madkidz said on the 31st May, 2011

benr3

benr3 said on the 31st May, 2011

I don't know how many shows you go to , but this has annoyed me at almost every gig for the past 5 years at least.

I regularly ask/tell people to stop filming or move but in my experience these kind of meat heads can't be reasoned with, it usually results in them threatening me and I don't go to shows to get into fights.

Stefan Beck

Stefan Beck said on the 31st May, 2011

I say if they want to film the whole thing they should start video mode on the camera and then sticky tape it to their foreheads.

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 31st May, 2011

This thread misses the big fallacy in the article: that a Ratatat show has anything worth videotaping in the first place.

(Hint: It doesn't)

Aidan1234567

Aidan1234567 said on the 31st May, 2011

i usually take my digital camera and take photo's at a concert, probably too many by a lot of your standards but i don't do it for the whole gig, maybe 1/3 maximum

i can't really think of being completely distracted by someone with their phone out filming a concert, but i remember at an Amy Meredith concert (*braces for ridicule*) some guy stood stock still the entire gig and that was very annoying so i guess the same goes for dickheads with phones, i think for the whole performance too, that's just downright stupid, i'm very tall though and can usually see over/around anyone with their camera/phones

one thing that does really annoy me at gigs is when people use the flash on their camera
not only does it fuck the photo completely, it literally distracts every single person in the venue, especially the performers

p1owz0r

p1owz0r said on the 31st May, 2011

I am confused because Wilco encourage recording, and I like Wilco a hell of a lot more than I like Ratatat but then I also dislike people holding cameras up in front of my face. Help me.

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 31st May, 2011

Off memory, Wilco endorse the act of recording bootleg copies of shows for trade and free distribution only. They like the idea of their music spreading out of the live arena and into the lives of many for no extra cost.

That said, they hate pictures and make the lives of photographers and mobile camera phone holders a living hell.

One of my friends has a poster that describes as much from one of their Sydney shows.

TnkA said on the 31st May, 2011

i'm sorry but just cause people don't wanna see how shit this band is doesn't mean they should ruin it for everyone, ff encourages camera phone use, so does linkin park and many other bands, if camera phone use distracts this band they're obviously not good musicians on stage then

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 31st May, 2011

ff? fleet foxes?

Never knew calm guitar-indie-folk was big with the bombastic shitty-numetal crowd.

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 1st Jun, 2011

I don't know how many shows you go to , but this has annoyed me at almost every gig for the past 5 years at least.

I regularly ask/tell people to stop filming or move but in my experience these kind of meat heads can't be reasoned with, it usually results in them threatening me and I don't go to shows to get into fights.

i go to a lot of gigs. it sounds like you're just incredibly unlucky. this issue has never bothered me for more than 5 minutes at a gig.

This thread misses the big fallacy in the article: that a Ratatat show has anything worth videotaping in the first place.

(Hint: It doesn't)

i like ratatat's music, but i've heard they're shit live. funny enough i actually tried to youtube some live footage of them before the big day out, and the footage i found made me go "hm... that looks really boring."
i think that could be the main reason behind their complaint.

ff? fleet foxes?

Never knew calm guitar-indie-folk was big with the bombastic shitty-numetal crowd.

i think he meant foo fighters. i saw an interview with grohl when he was here and he was saying how awesome he thought it was how, due to amateur footage on youtube, people were singing along to songs that hadn't even been released yet.
surprised no ones mentioned daft punk and the fact they've actually constructed entire film clips out of amatuer footage. their live shows actually have a good reputation so it's not that surprising they don't have an issue with it.

death_in_vogue

death_in_vogue said on the 1st Jun, 2011

This pisses me off when I'm shooting and there's no barrier. It can be hard enough shooting over heads, but heads and arms and phones? Ugh, the photos are going to turn out crap anyway.

Alfonzo said on the 1st Jun, 2011

One of the best concerts I went to was Neil Young on his solo tour over the last year or so. Saw him in a few theatres, and it was no photography/video allowed. The ushers/security enforced it strictly. The odd rogue camera would appear briefly, but for the main part nobody got their shitty cameras out. It was great. But you need a theatre setup with aisles/ushers/seats etc to police it.

You can get decent quality video on iphones these days, and sound is OK depending on if you cover the mic or not. I admit to taking the odd short video at uncrowded shows, but only if I have a sightline that lets me hold my phone next to my chest, and I won't look at the screen. Arms outstretched in the air for any length of time is fucking annoying and deserves a broken phone.

Photos are just completely pointless. For 98% of gigs, it is physically impossibly to take a decent photo from the crowd with anything a regular punter would be allowed in with. Then you see these morons taking photo after photo when they realise the last photo they took was shit. "Oh shit, look, its blurry, I better take another one, and another one, and another one, oh, I better use the flash, oh it's still shit, I better try again ... "

Paul_Busch

Paul_Busch said on the 1st Jun, 2011

Well they have been enforcing NO DANCING at many a concert for years....and well, that ain't rock and roll to me. No cameras....I wish them luck with a generation or more that now have these devices. It does NOT distract me from being in the moment musically with a band...but if a band says no photos or cameras, I respect it. And I do also take notes on my phone....much easier than a notebook for me...when my memory may fail me for a review...or I want to recall a quote. So what to do...well, really, don't police your neighbours at a concert unless they are really, really annoying you...and then, do it with kindness.and if you are smoking a joint (which hardly ever happens anymore(Sigh), pass it on.

Paul_Busch

Paul_Busch said on the 1st Jun, 2011

And being 6'5, people have wanted to ban ME from concerts for years....or tell me I should stand at the back. Mmmm...not!

MuzikChik

MuzikChik said on the 1st Jun, 2011

A lot of people have their arms outstretched toward the band anyway... does it really make a difference whether they are holding a phone or not?
I can understand being annoyed at someone holding a phone/camera up for a whole gig, but if they want to spend a couple of songs taking photos or short videos I really don't see the problem.

I find it more annoying when people decide to jump on their friends shoulders for a few songs :mad:

SaMBoY

SaMBoY said on the 1st Jun, 2011

damn straight. ive been known to throw things at people on shoulders. thats the fucking worst, most inconsiderate shit honestly.

really i think people are being naive if they expect to go to a concert and have a completely unobstructed view, and if the only thing obstructing your view is a tiny little mobile phone, that's hardly worth whinging about. the only way nothing would ever get in your way is if they organised the standing areas with all the short people at the front, tall people at the back, and told no one to raise their arms above their heads.

Ronny

Ronny said on the 3rd Jun, 2011

This may just stop photos at gigs if apple go ahead with this [URL="http://m.cnet.com/Article.rbml?nid=20068404&cid=null&bcid=&bid=-1"]patent

grattan

grattan said on the 3rd Jun, 2011

Wow!

A newly published patent indicates that Apple is apparently tinkering with the idea of a sophisticated infrared system for the iPhone--one that could help in Cupertino's quest to become BFFs with the music and movie industries.

What's really going on here is basically a way for an iPhone to receive data about its surrounding environment. The entertainment industry could come in if, for example, a band--or more likely, its record company--doesn't want a concert to be recorded illegally. They could place infrared transmitters around the stage, which, when picked up by an iPhone camera pointed at them, could trigger a disabling of all recording on the phone.

HelloSailor

HelloSailor said on the 3rd Jun, 2011

There was a camera ban at Cat Power but as much as I love her I think she has a few issues :(

hearsz

hearsz said on the 9th Jun, 2011

i think if artist's (especially the bigger artists) want to stop people who film at their gigs, then why don't they do what powderfinger did on their final tour and make the gig available to buy on audio (possibly on dvd in the future)? so that way, the fan has that rare souvenir from the gig if they want it? music sales for a lot of artists are on the decline and artists always complain that the only way they can make money is to tour all year round.. so by introducing a cd/dvd purchase option at the gig before or afterwards, it becomes win/win for the fan & the artist. i was fortunate enough to see the foo fighters in march for the charity gig at the riverstage & i had my digital camera confiscated (by request of the band) before i entered the venue. that didn't bother me, what annoyed me was the number of people who were allowed to take photos & video from their i-phones?? in other words, there really is no real point in artists banning the use of cameras with the way technology is nowadays...

neuroticwill

neuroticwill said on the 18th Jun, 2011

it looks like apple also wants a ban on mobile phone cameras at gigs:

http://pitchfork.com/news/42892-apple-to-stop-iphone-live-videos/

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 20th Jun, 2011

it looks like apple also wants a ban on mobile phone cameras at gigs:

http://pitchfork.com/news/42892-apple-to-stop-iphone-live-videos/

well spotted, neuroticwill.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 20th Jun, 2011

i was at one of the shows on that tour, and it certainly didnt stop people filming the gig, saw heaps of them doing it.

neuroticwill

neuroticwill said on the 20th Jun, 2011

ha oops, probably should have read the thread before posting that one.

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 20th Jun, 2011

I am all for this.

BAN THEM ALL.

MOBILE PHONES / BLACKBERRIES / FAX MACHINES / CARRIER PIGEONS / TWO CANS CONNECTED BY A PIECE OF STRING

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

batdan

batdan said on the 21st Jun, 2011

I am all for this.

BAN THEM ALL.

MOBILE PHONES / BLACKBERRIES / FAX MACHINES / CARRIER PIGEONS / TWO CANS CONNECTED BY A PIECE OF STRING

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

What about cameras? Photographers are just lazy sketch artists.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

And c.unts to boot.

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

yeah Camera's as well. BAN BAN BAN.

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

and yeah PHOTOGRAPHERS too, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

nah, shoot the c.unts. banning's too good for them.

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

yeah shoot them then ban them, that will learn them all good.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

http://www.allfromweb.net/img/bizarre/torture_devices_through_history/brazen_bull.jpg

how about this?

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

http://www.allfromweb.net/img/bizarre/torture_devices_through_history/brazen_bull.jpg

how about this?

This could be the support act.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

http://www.shanmonster.com/witch/torture/impale.jpg

maybe this?

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

http://www.shanmonster.com/witch/torture/impale.jpg

maybe this?

Vlad the Imapler style. Nice.

Reckon this would be good for anyone with an I-phone

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

Vlad the Imapler style. Nice.

Reckon this would be good for anyone with an I-phone

quartering is too good for those fuckers.

batdan

batdan said on the 21st Jun, 2011

Less impaling and more sketching!
http://www.sketchplease.com/wp-content/sketches/John-Cliff-Burton.jpg

rodismdotcom

rodismdotcom said on the 21st Jun, 2011

Less impaling and more sketching!
http://www.sketchplease.com/wp-content/sketches/John-Cliff-Burton.jpg

That's better than most of my photos.

If it works in the courts it should work in music mags.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

http://img.printfection.com/14/16313/mtG0u.jpg

this concept could work...

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 21st Jun, 2011

The best would be the punter snaps.

Artistic license could run wild.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

The best would be the punter snaps.

Artistic license could run wild.

http://www.glbt512.com/t/Shirts/RNBW_Vomit.jpg

would be a fair and accurate representation in most instances.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes said on the 21st Jun, 2011

^^^ i think that's actually Brittles.

grattan

grattan said on the 10th Oct, 2011

Things Bogans Like:

So, why? Why would the bogan so studiously be such a big music fan, to the point that it actually likes ‘Music’ on Facebook. Not an individual artist or band, but ‘Music’. Our thousand monkeys experts at the Boganomics Institute in Genève have, after several billion hours of rigorous testing, nutted this problem out. The bogan, knowing that everyone else ‘gets’ this music caper, must fit in. It must, on pain of social exclusion, give the appearance of enjoying the mundane bleatings of Michael Bublé and, by extension, encourage the musical abortion that is Human Nature. It must undergo the trauma of indie rock gigs to prove its bona fides. This, of course, explains why the bogan is incapable of attending these gigs without resorting to shouted conversations and the occasional punch-on.

However, these are bogans we’re talking about, and subtlety is not their strong suit. The bogan would not waste time listening to music simply to enjoy music, but to establish its street cred. So, beyond the aforementioned musical drive-bys and Facebook
posturing, how can the bogan prove that it is a music fan? By taking photos, of course.

Having established that the bogan is unlikely to frequent live music performances for the pleasure of witnessing live music, it becomes easily understandable that the bogan’s true purpose for being there is to stand front and centre, raise their iPhone above the crowd, in order to get a blurry, diagonal capture of half of Kings of Leon’s lighting rig, and a flurry that could possibly be their bassist’s hand, and start snapping. And snapping.

In Phuket, the bogan is perfectly happy to enjoy the experience of getting smashed on buckets of beer and errantly identifying ladyboys while only taking the occasional snapshot. The experience of live music, however, is lost on it, so attempting to create a visual record of its attendance, and uploading it – post-haste – to Facebook becomes of paramount importance. Forward-thinking bogans may even upload a Twitpic or two while still at the gig, adding reams of bogan musical veracity to its already bulging resume of forgotten, but recorded, concerts.

The Facebook photo album ‘Kings of Leon Awsum!’ rapidly assumes equivalent importance to other albums demonstrating the bogan’s max clubbing skillz such as ‘Friday Night OMG!!!1!’, ‘Boutique Fridayz!!!’ and, of course, the unforgettable ‘Friday Night with the Girlz!!!’. The only real difference between these undifferentiated dark blobs of pixels is that three contain elevated images of poorly arranged cleavage, while the other (un)focuses on a brightly lit stage 40 metres away. The bogan now understands music.

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 10th Oct, 2011

But where are the glowsticks?

Thessaly

Thessaly said on the 10th Oct, 2011

eight years ago-or-so, at the concert with seated audience.
few songs and the crowd gets carried away, bunch of people run down to stand in front of the stage and enjoy the music. they're blocking the view of us in front rows, but it's okay - they enhance lovely atmosphere and we're all enjoying the show.

last year, seated audience again, and again those from the back rows walk up to the stage and block the view. i'm thinking at first: oh bugger, but let them be....

then, wait a minute! most of them are pulling out their cell phones and recording the... *facepalm*
really? you come 2 meters away from your fave singer or whatever, and you're gonna savour the moment like that?

i was so happy when the security sent them all away :cool: