When I saw King Crimson in Philadelphia last year, the first thing I noticed as I made my way to my seat, were two enormous signs propped up on the stage, informing the audience that under no circumstances will cell phones be tolerated. No photos of any kind until the band stopped playing and only then, will they accomodate by posing for a few shots.
Okay, fair enough.
The first set ended. The band walked to the edge of the stage and stood side by side, smiling and bowing. I took out my phone, and some tall, lanky guy stood in front of me and said, "Don't do that." I said, "The band stopped playing." He didn't move. I said, "Get the hell out of the way." He didn't. I moved and he followed, and kept blocking my way, saying "Don't do that!" I didn't need this to escalate, but I was on fire. I could have lived without a few cell phone pics. But, I wanted to punch this arrogant putz right in his fish face. I bought a beer instead and that was that.
I found the following on the Ultimate Guitar site and thought it was a great read. Whether you agree or not, it was the first time I truly got it. It really makes sense.
King Crimson singer/guitarist Jakko Jakszyk discusses the band's strict no-phone policy during live shows, explaining what the fans should understand about it.
"Here's the thing: any Crimson fan coming to the shows, know this... During soundcheck, we run through a piece called 'Fracture' - to Crimson fans, it's one of the holy grails and we don't play it very often.
"Sometimes it appears in the set and we still don't play it and the reason we don't play it is because someone has taken a photograph. It's a difficult enough piece to play as it is, but playing it in the new tuning is a real challenge [for guitarist/bandleader Robert Fripp].
"He's kind of out on his own and it's a real leap of faith. If we do a show where there are cameras going off, it will just screw his concentration and he won't do it.
"I think sometimes people have a sense of entitlement that, 'I've paid for a ticket to come to watch the show so I'll take pictures if I want to.'
"Well, OK, but if you're laboring under the apprehension that your behavior is not going to affect how the show is, then you're very wrong. There's a case in point.
"If a camera goes off and 'Fracture' is on the setlist, Robert won't play it because he feels it compromises his ability to play it.
"The filming thing... there are a couple things about the filming thing. One is Gavin [Harrison], our drummer, he says it affects him because if he in the middle of a solo and he's thinking about trying something unusual or trying a new thing that's just come into his head, and he sees somebody filming, he won't do it.
"Because in his head, he's thinking, 'Oh shit, if I do this and I cock it up, it's going to be up on YouTube before I get back to the hotel,' so it affects you on that level too.
"On a personal level, I don't know how old you are, but I have two kids and I really started to resent the tyranny of having to film my children doing stuff for the first time... because I'm physically there.
"I'm physically there on sports day watching them run, I'm physically there watching my son try to walk across the kitchen for the first time, and I don't get to see it or experience it because I'm looking through some sodding little lens.
"The first time I get to see it is on some fuzzy little recording I made, in the living room, with other people. I then think why would you want to do that at a gig? We work very hard to make it sound right. We've got an amazing sound guy.
"You're in the middle of this experience and you want to look at it through this horrible blurry little thing where the sound is completely shit. To do what? Does that then become an authentic memento of where you were at the time? I don't get it.
"It doesn't bother me in the same way as it does the others, I guess, but I know it affects the others sufficiently that it compromises what we do and how it sounds. I just don't understand it on a completely level where it just makes no sense to me."
10 comments:
Amen lets do our best to try and live in the moment
I admit I took a few photos during a couple of Recent KC shows. I wasn't anywhere near the stage and I didn't use a flash
If you're going to take a photo to enlarge, frame and hang, that's one thing, but to take a picture to keep on your phone for the next couple of years and never look at - what's the point?
Randy
I'm so glad Robert still wants to do it that I'll gladly honor his wishes.
The drummer's point is well taken. Clams get posted and ridiculed, and stay forever.
I saw The Mighty Crim in 2017, and enjoyed the experience so much it didn't occur to me to take a picture at the end when they bowed. I have better pictures in my head, and remember how well they resolved material from "Lizard". It never made more sense to me.
I'm an inveterate documenter, including with cameras, but it's never occurred to me to take a camera/phone to a show, even once. That in itself is perhaps odd, but I never even thought about why I don't think about it until reading this post. I guess, like some, I'm there for the moment and don't want the distraction of documenting it. I do the latter by grabbing a setlist (when possible) and/or keeping my ticket. I do have a drumstick from the Buzzcocks show I saw in the early 90s, tho!
C in California
Unless you're the entertainervon stage, don't be obnoxious.
I saw KC in support of THRAK... great show, perhaps the best I've ever seen, great chemistry between the band... just couldn't ask for better... I saw them in support of The ConstruKction of Light... some a**hole took a photo near the beginning of the show and the mood was completely different... the entire band seemed pissed and it was a lackluster show for me... People need to think.
Completely agree with this as an audience member and as a performer. As an audience member NOTHING annoys me more then someone taking pics in front of me... then checking them on their phone... then showing them to their buddy completely oblivious to what is happening on stage and around them. As a performer, Lousy YouTube vids (shaky and bad sound) do not give a good impression of your show... also ( as alluded to above) are you performing to the audience and reacting to them, or are you cutting a cool pose for the camera.
I like the idea of KC saying "take photos now", same thing happened at a Gillian Welch/ David Rawlings concert. They played one for the cameras... then said, put them away and enjoy the concert. Which we duly did.
and another thing- look at professional photographers at work... they are unobtrusive. They get the shot(s) and retreat. They don't stand there in the middle of a crowd saying "look at me, I'm an idiot".
I love this post. It's about an idiot not understanding you were following the wishes of the act (while not wildly obsessive about said photo/souvenir) but equally annoyed they thought it was their job to tell you what to do. Audience invariably disappoint! But it's also about you completely supporting and understanding the act not wanting the interruption and wondering why you are spoiling your appearance by taking crappy photos. Agreed all around. I still remember Cassandra Wilson stopping a Blue Note performance to tell -- cliche alert -- Japanese person with a camera why she wanted them not to take photos and for us all to be in this moment together in her grand regal fashion. I've often thought as an act I would do the first song telling folk video and shoot away and we'll pose and then put 'em away so we can all enjoy the concert. Get it out of your system, schmucks!
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