If one is old enough to remember going to concerts before there were cell phones, and it wasn't really that long ago, then one understands the experience was different than what it is now. In the ancient days, people held up lighters when a slow song came on. Now, what a performer sees is thousands of cell phone flashlights.
The other issue with this is that people are often spending too much time looking down at their phones, watching what they just filmed at the concert while the concert is still ongoing. So much is missed, and the musical artist knows it, too. Why put on a show if fewer people are paying attention?
This is the question Tobias Forge, Mr. Everything of the band Ghost, was asking himself during the group's current run of shows. He then decided to make a rule where no one could use their cell phone during concerts, and the person could keep their phone, but how to put it in a pouch so there was no way to use it.
Tobias Forge of Ghost explains the importance of just putting your phone away
This is nothing new. Some venues and bands have done this from time to time. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville has had this capability for a while, and it makes sense. Besides not allowing fans to video record the show, it forces the fan to pay attention to the show, for which they paid an expensive ticket to see.
But Ghost isn't just changing policy from venue to venue, but for the entire end of their long tour. Forge has noticed a difference.
During a question-and-answer session with fans in Birmingham, England, the day before the Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne farewell concert at Villa Park, where Forge appeared and sang "Bark at the Moon" with one of the supergroups, Forge broke down how he almost decided to stop performing live because of cell phone use and how much Ghost's concerts have improved since the ban went into effect.
He said, "We had to really vet that idea. What does it mean? Who has done this before? Oh, not many. It really hit me when we came to certain countries where they have generally been much more enthusiastic. And you come out, there’s like 18,000 people there, and there’s like, 10,000 phones...And you’re just like, ‘What is this – what has happened?... I came to a point where I’m like, ‘I don’t think I wanna do this. … If this is how it’s gonna be, I’d rather not do it.’ That's how worthless it became."
Since the ban, though, audience participation has been much better, and the concert feels like a truly live event. The surprise is why it took bands this long to have fans simply put away their phones. Live in the moment, and enjoy the music.