1 of 1- gopher
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Offline - From: charleston, west virginia usa
- Registered: February 8, 2019
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cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
do smartphones have flashes? i know my flipphone doesn't, so i'm unclear as to how performers even know if they're being photographed with them. artists have complained about, or banned flash photography for decades, and rightly so, as it can be downright distracting to someone trying to concentrate on what they're doing and put on a good show.
my problem with cellphones is those people who spend much of the show using them for video, with their arm in the air holding the phone and blocking my view of the stage. i saw the killer (if briefly) in memphis a few years back. for almost the duration of the show, about all i could see in front of me were arms and phones...
whatever the issue with cellphones is, bob dylan, as the article i've linked indicates, has had a strict no photo policy for decades. apparently, he finally blew up about it being ignored in europe a few days ago.
Last edited by gopher (April 18, 2019 1:23 am)
- G.
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
On the other hand . . . (most) rock concerts are structured to end with a climatic finale, while this one is reported to have ended with the artist throwing what sounds like an autistic tantrum. What portion of the audience would have left feeling that Zimmerman did the right thing, and what portion would have left disappointed? Just rambling here, no response anticipated.
G.
- StereoTom
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
When I saw Dylan live in 2005, he had a slew of security goons taking the phones and cameras of anyone taking photographs. I didn't risk taking any myself.
Tom Diehl
- G.
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
If he would open with a statement requesting co-operation . . . sort of a "Please Be Kind to One Another" message like Ellen DeGeneres makes, it not only might be more effective but also create goodwill to sell tickets for the next performance. No?
- memphis boy
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
Maybe I'm missing something here but I don't see the issue with photos for the most part. I do sympathize with gopher's experience and I don't like the extended arm videoing a show either. I do remember back in the 70s the Stones were in Memphis and had their chartered jet parked on a ramp that was on the ramp I worked at. I show up early on the day of their departure all ready to photo the Stones when this gorilla walks up and says "you can't stay here." I reply that I worked here and I could stay here. He now says ok stay and I'll break your camera into a 1,000 pieces. So he moves me about 50 yds away. Interestingly I get back to my car after they leave and there's a note on the seat saying I have a music publication and will buy your photos. I didn't bother to investigate but can see what happens.
- gopher
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
G. wrote:
If he would open with a statement requesting co-operation . . . sort of a "Please Be Kind to One Another" message like Ellen DeGeneres makes, it not only might be more effective but also create goodwill to sell tickets for the next performance. No?
yeah, i agree. at the least it couldn't hurt to ask nicely, whether or not the results vary. before each bob show there is a rather stern announcement that photograhy is forbidden. it apparenently isn't getting the job done.
a few years ago i saw jason isbell. early on in his show he stopped and made a little speech in the tenor you suggest, and whatever problem he was having with cellphones didn't surface again, or was sufficiently diminished..
Last edited by gopher (April 21, 2019 2:45 am)
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Thread Starter- memphis boy
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
my question is why do they really care? They are in the spotlight and for those who may see them once who would expect them not to make a picture.
- G.
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
my question is why do they really care?
My cynical alter ego suggests he may expect you to purchase a $75 photo T-shirt
- gopher
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Re: cellphones at shows -- bob dylan reacts
or. his mamager does.maybe bob's just following the program as many acts do simply go along with whatever the bossman says, as long as there's money to be made in doing so.. certainly, we know bob did whatever albert grossman told him to do, though psrhaps things have changed... flip side is, if you aren't an ace photographer like memphis boy (i have examples of his work), some artists are in fact notorious control freaks --perhaps explaining in part their success-- and tor them it's more likely a quality control issue. they may perhaps sincerely do want you to have a really good photo, rather than a crappy cellphone image, even if you have to pay for it. regardless, that doesn't mean that many folks might still cherish their own fuzzy pic as much or more, and regardless of the 'rules' they;ll try to capture it.. so, bob and other acts, whatever their motive, are always going to be fighting an uphill battle, as cameras of whatever sort will no doubt always outnumber goons.
Last edited by gopher (April 23, 2019 5:21 am)
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