“Phones at concerts are one of the reasons why I may never tour again,” The Pretenders frontwoman, Chrissie Hynde, said recently. “I can’t handle it. Something about the energy in the place is disrupted.”
Hynde is one of those artists for whom the term “legendary” applies. The Pretenders are a hugely influential act and Hynde is an important figure, having broken through at a time when rock music was still largely a boys’ club. Her words carry weight.
So, is this legendary musician right? Are phones killing live music, and if so, can they be stopped? Well, in the case of the latter, the answer is yes, and quite easily, as Harry Styles proved at his recent show at the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live in Manchester, which was being filmed by Netflix.
Styles’s gig was phone-free. Given what the streaming giant paid for exclusivity, you can understand why. Yondr pouches were supplied to gig goers, who were also given disposable cameras.
As someone who attends between 30 and 40 shows a year, sometimes more, because live music is one of my great passions and venues tend to be pretty good at catering for disabled people, I’ve only come across these pouches once, at a Jack White show a few years back at the Eventim Apollo in West London. The pouches were fairly simple to use, although the queues to pick them up got quite long. That, however, isn’t terribly unusual. The Apollo can accommodate more than 5,000, but has just one entrance. Larger venues tend to have multiple entry points, easing that problem.
Today’s versions of the Yondr pouch can be simply unlocked at a magnetic post in phone-free areas upon leaving, and seem to work quite well. That said, the company’s FAQs are a bit woolly on how they affect phone-linked medical devices, such as blood glucose monitors. I didn’t have one at White’s show, it was some time ago, but I do now. The phone can be turned on in the bag, but I wonder if the low/high blood sugar alarm would work. I do have access to a (non-phone) reader, so I could use that. However, I would think allowing a type-one diabetic to eschew the pouch, so long as they didn’t record, would count as “reasonable adjustment” under the Equality Act.
So there’s the solution to Hynde’s problem. She needn’t retire, and it would be a shame if she did, as she proved when I had the pleasure of seeing her at Hyde Park in 2023. Of course, there is the issue of cost, but given the price of shows these days, that oughtn’t to be a problem. Especially if you involve Netflix.
Jack White has joined Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, and Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers as a featured endorser of the tech on Yondr’s website. However, it’s interesting to note that there were no apparent strictures placed on White’s audience during his half-time appearance at the Detroit Lions NFL Thanksgiving game, which also featured Eminem, last year. Several members of the small crowd who got to watch from the field were visibly recording.
Of course, the conditions were set by the NFL. And I’m not blaming White: how many artists would turn down the chance to get their music in front of a 50 million-strong TV audience, which the Lions clash with the Green Bay Packers delivered? The streaming revenue after the event for him and the White Stripes, the duo he fronted before going solo, must have been quite impressive.
I confess to recording the odd song myself at concerts. It provides a souvenir of the show when other options, such as T-shirts, have officially moved into the “ruinous” price category. Not that the latter has stopped me from adding to a collection that is now several hundred-strong, but I’d draw the line if confronted by the £50 price point that Beyonce tested on her recent tour.
It’s worth noting that some artists embrace phones as part of the show, with artists such as Taylor Swift getting the crowd to turn on their phone lights during their biggest ballads. Fans used to use cigarette lighters for that purpose. I know, I’m really showing my age now.
I seem to remember that it was at a Sparks performance that attendees were urged to post their recordings to YouTube so the band could make a little extra cash. If it wasn’t them, my sincere apologies to the incomparable Mael brothers. I would be more than willing to prostrate myself before them at this summer’s London gig.
To my mind, by far the bigger irritant as an audience member is people conducting loud conversations when the artist is performing. Those recording are at least listening to the music and engaged with the show. They don’t bother me much. That isn’t true of people loudly discussing which pub to go to on Friday night at a show that I might have spent £100 or more to attend when I’m trying to listen.
It doesn’t matter so much at a punk or metal gig, where the music is loud enough to blast them out. But for the less ear-shattering genres, it’s an issue. I’ve taken to wearing a beanie, even in the height of summer, to muffle the sound. However, if Yondr could come up with a better solution, count me in.
