4 ms·

I had a similar experience seeing them in Oslo a few years ago. They were incredibly strict about disruptions and people using devices. It came across entirely

I had a similar experience seeing them in Oslo a few years ago. They were incredibly strict about disruptions and people using devices. It came across entirely as a "don't be selfish and ruin the experience for others", and it was amazing. No talking, just music. It's the best concert I've ever been to. At the end they said to the audience "we would like to take some pictures of you guys, and of course you can now do the same". And we did. I wish more artists had this attitude, as I no longer go to any "normal" concerts. Half the audience is drunk, and half the audience is having a conversation in the middle of a song. (The first part is fine, but it tends to exasperate the latter) Of course, some music groups/performances are more suited for a "let's party"-attitude where this doesn't apply.

arp242 5y ago
I've been to more than a few concerts where the artists had to tell people to shut the hell up, usually with little effect I'm afraid. I don't expect people to stand in complete silence or never say a word, but standing there with a group chatting away like you're in a pub is just rude. If you want to chat in a pub with some background music then that's completely fair, but go to, well, a pub, instead of ruining the concert the rest of us want to see and paid for. Don't even get me started on people talking in movie theatres. When I saw Van Der Graaf Generator on their first reunion tour there were many signs everywhere telling people that the band asked people not to smoke which was pretty much impossible to miss (you could still smoke inside). I still smoked back in those days, and felt it was only polite not to. It's not a like a concert is that long. This request was, of course widely ignored by many others. I appreciate artists don't want to start a conflict with their audience, but I feel they could do with a bit more John Zorn attitude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95ODn5k_1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95ODn5k_1c
- flyinghamster 5y ago
  Phones. Nothing like being in the quiet part of a symphony when the T-Mobile jingle rudely interrupts. Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer lampooned this brilliantly with "Wrong Number."
  - arp242 5y ago
    Forgetting to turn off a phone is annoying but something I can understand and have some patience for. If a concert has 500 people and and you forget just 0.2% of the time, then there will be at least one who will accidentally forget. It sucks but it happens, and most of the time the phone owner is just as annoyed as anyone else. Standing around chatting is something else entirely. Standing around chatting after being told it's not appreciated is something I can only accurately describe in words I'll omit here for politeness.
- Slow_Hand 5y ago
  Ha! It’s always a pleasure to see John Zorn and his spirit pop up in the wild. I’ve got great respect for him and his craft.
justin66 5y ago
> They were incredibly strict about disruptions and people using devices. That's Robert Fripp. Nobody else in the band gives a damn, and Adrian Belew has even joked about how people are welcome to take pictures at his shows. On the other hand, back in the day Adrian would tell people to stop smoking in the hall, that it interfered with his singing, etc. Not an issue today, I'm sure.
- WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
  Fripp's always been known for that. In 70's/80's he'd threaten to end a show over a camera or recorder. I don't know if he ever did. I figure that's the Fripp package. I have more respect for his desire-for-control than say Gail Zappa.
  - justin66 5y ago
    Fripp has certainly been known to walk off shows, to the consternation of his bandmates, but I don't know how frequent it truly is. I was at a show in SF in 2000 where everyone just assumed that he'd walked off (he'd issued a stern warning about photography and people kept snapping pics), but I learned later that the show ending with the band walking off followed by Adrian doing the encore solo (in this case Three of a Perfect Pair, on acoustic-electric guitar, which was much more amazing than it sounds) was normal. (setlists that are available online [0] for those shows are longer than I remember, which is interesting... my memory or someone else's is faulty... I remember Three of a Perfect Pair being the end) [0] https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/king-crimson/2000/the-fillmore-san-francisco-ca-6bd8860e.html https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/king-crimson/2000/the-fillmor...
lelandfe 5y ago
There are a few clubs in Brooklyn that enforce, with varying degrees of strictness, a no cell phone policy. It's quite nice, and you definitely see a lot more people engaged and dancing because of it. As a concert goer, I don't have as big of an issue with talking - though I can imagine it must be frustrating to the musicians.
slothtrop 5y ago
Absolutely. One thing I'll say about metal shows in small venues, the audience is usually too distracted and rowdy to pull out phones and hold them up obscuring the view for everyone. People tend to be more in the moment. With rock shows or anything else I see more phones and distraction.
WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
> At the end they said to the audience "we would like to take some pictures of you guys, and of course you can now do the same". And we did. Okay see they said to us no pics because they were going to do that after the show but then just left. I figured that was just Fripp was messing with the audience - that he did that at every show. Now I feel special.

arp242 5y ago

I've been to more than a few concerts where the artists had to tell people to shut the hell up, usually with little effect I'm afraid. I don't expect people to stand in complete silence or never say a word, but standing there with a group chatting away like you're in a pub is just rude. If you want to chat in a pub with some background music then that's completely fair, but go to, well, a pub, instead of ruining the concert the rest of us want to see and paid for. Don't even get me started on people talking in movie theatres. When I saw Van Der Graaf Generator on their first reunion tour there were many signs everywhere telling people that the band asked people not to smoke which was pretty much impossible to miss (you could still smoke inside). I still smoked back in those days, and felt it was only polite not to. It's not a like a concert is that long. This request was, of course widely ignored by many others. I appreciate artists don't want to start a conflict with their audience, but I feel they could do with a bit more John Zorn attitude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95ODn5k_1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95ODn5k_1c

flyinghamster 5y ago
Phones. Nothing like being in the quiet part of a symphony when the T-Mobile jingle rudely interrupts. Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer lampooned this brilliantly with "Wrong Number."
- arp242 5y ago
  Forgetting to turn off a phone is annoying but something I can understand and have some patience for. If a concert has 500 people and and you forget just 0.2% of the time, then there will be at least one who will accidentally forget. It sucks but it happens, and most of the time the phone owner is just as annoyed as anyone else. Standing around chatting is something else entirely. Standing around chatting after being told it's not appreciated is something I can only accurately describe in words I'll omit here for politeness.
Slow_Hand 5y ago
Ha! It’s always a pleasure to see John Zorn and his spirit pop up in the wild. I’ve got great respect for him and his craft.

justin66 5y ago

> They were incredibly strict about disruptions and people using devices. That's Robert Fripp. Nobody else in the band gives a damn, and Adrian Belew has even joked about how people are welcome to take pictures at his shows. On the other hand, back in the day Adrian would tell people to stop smoking in the hall, that it interfered with his singing, etc. Not an issue today, I'm sure.

WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
Fripp's always been known for that. In 70's/80's he'd threaten to end a show over a camera or recorder. I don't know if he ever did. I figure that's the Fripp package. I have more respect for his desire-for-control than say Gail Zappa.
- justin66 5y ago
  Fripp has certainly been known to walk off shows, to the consternation of his bandmates, but I don't know how frequent it truly is. I was at a show in SF in 2000 where everyone just assumed that he'd walked off (he'd issued a stern warning about photography and people kept snapping pics), but I learned later that the show ending with the band walking off followed by Adrian doing the encore solo (in this case Three of a Perfect Pair, on acoustic-electric guitar, which was much more amazing than it sounds) was normal. (setlists that are available online [0] for those shows are longer than I remember, which is interesting... my memory or someone else's is faulty... I remember Three of a Perfect Pair being the end) [0] https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/king-crimson/2000/the-fillmore-san-francisco-ca-6bd8860e.html https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/king-crimson/2000/the-fillmor...

lelandfe 5y ago

There are a few clubs in Brooklyn that enforce, with varying degrees of strictness, a no cell phone policy. It's quite nice, and you definitely see a lot more people engaged and dancing because of it. As a concert goer, I don't have as big of an issue with talking - though I can imagine it must be frustrating to the musicians.

slothtrop 5y ago

Absolutely. One thing I'll say about metal shows in small venues, the audience is usually too distracted and rowdy to pull out phones and hold them up obscuring the view for everyone. People tend to be more in the moment. With rock shows or anything else I see more phones and distraction.

WarOnPrivacy 5y ago

> At the end they said to the audience "we would like to take some pictures of you guys, and of course you can now do the same". And we did. Okay see they said to us no pics because they were going to do that after the show but then just left. I figured that was just Fripp was messing with the audience - that he did that at every show. Now I feel special.