Singers are making their feelings about smartphone photography clearer, but probably not as much as the lead singer Rob Halford of Judas Priest who punted a smartphone from a fan’s hand during a show.
During a performance at the Rosemont Theater to a sold-out crowd, the smartphones were in full force and it apparently became too much at some point for the Judas Priest lead.
But it wasn’t the fact that everyone was rocking a smartphone and taking pictures that made him mad, though.
The particular concert goer that got his smartphone turned into an impromptu kickball was apparently shining an LED light in the band’s faces, impacting the performance.
That’s not cool at all. Luckily for the band and the concertgoers, no one missed a beat as Halford’s kick sent the phone flying through the air right and into the crowd.
Speaking about his actions, Halford said: “The facts are we love our fans and you can film us all you like and watch our show on your phone rather than in the flesh…However, if you physically interfere with The Metal God’s performance you now know what will happen.”
This go around, most people seem to agree with the singer – even if his actions are a little bit dramatic.
Of course, none of this would be complete without video footage of the incident. You can watch one angle of the kick by clicking here or you can watch another view of the kick by clicking here.
Some artists have banned cameras and photography outright while others, like Ariana Grande, have made life more difficult for professional photographers. The debate about it seems pretty evenly divided but most photographers and non-photographers alike agree that overreacting to cameras and photography at concerts isn’t the best trend.
What do you think? Should photography at concerts be banned entirely or should musicians and bands just deal with it as part of the modern concert-going experience? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
6 Comments
Phones at concerts are intrusive especially when you are far back in the audience and all can sometimes see is a sea of arms extended with smartphones . It’s just too much at times particularly when you’ve spent a lot of money on tickets for a show. Prior to the digital revolution cameras ect were rare at concerts even banned by some acts unless the photographers were authorised. I play in a band myself and after taking some video of our band playing live in a bar, I was dissapointed with the results. Good video resolution but overloaded audio. Phone cameras have their place but I don’t think it’s concerts or gigs.
Thank you for your comment William! 🙂
Why pay a huge amount to go to a live concert then watch it through your phone
If you want yo do that watch the official videos on YouTube
Why not actually enjoy the atmosphere of the concert its pretty special and always different
It’s annoying to the group but also to the person behind you who keeps getting the phone in their line of view.
Watch the damn concert not your phone
Many people agree with you Christine – thank you for your comment :)!
It starts out as thoughtless, but ends up as some kind of manic social disease. And it’s not just concerts – they’re everywhere, all over the world.
I do a heap of available light photography, and I hardly ever use flash. I’m fed to the back teeth with imbeciles taking photos at shows, with their flash going off, when any high school kid could tell them that the strength of light diminishes by the square of the distance and beyond about 10 feet, their flash does nothing except annoy other people.
Musicians put an extraordinary amount of thought and effort into producing their gigs.
The very least the audience can do is to put some thought and effort into chilling out, watching the show and listening to the music. And showing some respect for the performers.
If I’m enjoying a concert, I find I can’t cough or sneeze, even if I have ‘flu! And I pay for my ticket to listen to the people on stage, not the idiots behind me who can’t stop talking to each other.
I’m totally with the guy who did the punt kick.
Perhaps it would help to do a PSA on the mechanics of the flash and how that impacts your pictures. Thank you for your comment! 🙂