Why I Got Reprimanded At A Weekend Concert

Over the weekend I attended a performance by KD Lang.  About 3 tunes in, when she started singing one of my favorites, I pulled out my cell phone, snapped a couple photos, then shot 30 seconds of video.  That's usually what I do at shows.  I like some still shots for posterity, to document the concerts I've seen over the years.  And the video clips are great for when I'm back home, and want a quick hit of the artist's music. And, I'll admit, I also wanted to share some footage with my friends who were not able to attend.

Normally, this is not a problem because I'm usually in a crowd of younger folks who live and breathe with their cell phones.  When many audience members are actually video recording the entire show, my shooting short 30 second clips don't seem to bother anyone.

But Saturday, I was on the younger side of the audience and the woman next to me said that my phone camera was distracting.  I apologized and put the device in my purse for the whole rest of the show.  It was only after I put it away that I realized this crowd was different.  Nobody else was using their electronics, so okay, this was a lesson for me in good tech etiquette.

The plus side of not holding my phone was I really was present.  I experienced the beautiful music instead of thinking about camera angles, lighting, or how I might caption the pic on Facebook.

I was also glad the woman spoke up.  She was polite and simply told me that my camera light was distracting her.  I'm glad to have had a chance to fix the problem, rather than agitate her for 90 minutes.

On the down side, I didn't have my phone to document KD's amazing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."  But then I got home and found it on YouTube.  From all the people that got away with using THEIR cameras at other concerts!

What do you think is proper phone etiquette at live shows.  Is it okay to capture a little video footage?  Or do you think shows should be "no phone zones?"