My cellphone rant

[lyn-boundy]

With luck, there may be two people who have now learned their lesson –
http://reclusiveantiquarian.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/actor-berates-woman-during-play-for.html
http://www.contactmusic.com/news/conductor-stops-show-to-berate-cellphone-user_1283227

I do try to be understanding when this happens because it could happen just once to any of us and an embarrassed owner struggling to turn their phone off gets a teeny bit of sympathy from me but answering the call is unforgiveable – especially on 3 separate occasions as the woman above did!

But as Carl says, rudeness is nothing new – before they had cellphones these people talked loudly to their neighbour through performances. There’s just a certain kind of person who thinks they are the centre of the world and that nobody else matters and unfortunately the progress of technology does little to convince them otherwise. Perhaps the solution would be for everyone else to burst into laughter and point and mock until the phone is switched off, though I’m not sure that would improve anyone’s theatre outing.

[jimmy-h]

I kinda like the point and laugh approach. My daughter was in a movie theater and a couple of young guys were goofing off jumping over seats. One of them tripped and she stood up and did the “slow clap” (applauding someones stupidity). The theater broke into applause!

[kay-lister]

Four of us were singing at an old folks home in the “Parlor” area (we were right in the middle of Amazing Grace), when one of our guitar guys cell phone went off. We ALL stopped dead in our tracks . . . He took out the phone, answered it (it was his girlfriend), he explaned that we were right in the middle of singing, blah, blah, blah . . . he hung up AND we picked up RIGHT where we left off!! He apologized to the people (about 20 total) after we finished the song. I could have DIED!! We held it together until after we got out the door and the ALL FOUR OF US CRACKED UP!

I ALWAYS leave my phone in the car when I have gigs. I think Robby (our guitar guy) does now too.

😉 Kay

[jimmy-h]

I dont know if any of you have heard of the Alamo Drafthouse, but it’s a nice movie theatre (more than one actually) that prohibits cell phone use. People get kicked out if their phone lights up during the movie. There is a funny youtube video with a badmouthed girl complaining on their voice mail about being kicked out.

I wont link the video since it has bad language, but you could easily search for it on youtube.

[emma-graham]

Lesson on how to handle mobile interruptions. 😉

[tony-morosco]

Wow, a performer checking their phone between songs is the height of unprofessional behavior.

I keep my phone in silent mode pretty much all the time. I only turn the ringer on if I have a real reason to, like I don’t have it in my pocket to feel it vibrate and I know I am expecting a very important call. Otherwise it is set to silent because no matter where I am I know that no one wants to hear my cell phone ring tone, even if it is brilliant.

But when I play, or just go to a concert, or a movie, I turn the darn thing off completely. Even on silent mode, if it is in a pocket and you forgot and have change in that pocket when it starts to vibrate against the lose change it can sound just as loud and bad as a ring tone. There is no reason to have it on during a performance and turning it off completely just eliminates any possibility of disruption or embarrassment.

I love technology and I really appreciate the convenience and multi uses for my cell phone. But I didn’t grow up with cell phones. I know it is perfectly possible to exist without one, and so being able to go a couple of hours without focusing my attention to one doesn’t seem such a big deal to me. I get wanting to check messages, but don’t get not being able to resist doing so for two hours.

How do these folks take a flight where you may have to have your phone at least in airplane mode for hours?

[Sylvia]

Emma, that fiddle guy was so cool…but what if you don’t know the piece the phone is playing? I’d be OK with Fur Elise…. At first, I thought he was just going to stare him down. That’s probably what I’d do.

[Angela Biggs]

Jimmy, that kind of policy makes me really nervous. I wear an insulin pump and sometimes have to turn on the back-light to check it while I’m in a movie theater. (Or it “alarms” — vibrates — and the light turns on automatically.) If someone jumped on me for my “cell phone” lighting up, I would get very, very upset.

I’d far rather see people receive mistakes with a sense of humor than have to report my chronic illness to management every time I go to the movies, or risk being publicly shamed!

[jimmy-h]

Yeah, that would be bad. I just find the policy amusing because it is such an annoyance. There are waiters at the theater and I would imagine you could just warn them beforehand. If they still griefed you over the light you could probably ruin their year with an Americans with disabilities lawsuit. I’ve been twice and it’s not like they were patrolling the place. Most people get the hint.

[lyn-boundy]

Emma, that is truly brilliant! It does seem that every performer these days should have a clever response (or sometimes, just a very angry one) at the ready.

Incidentally, Tony’s post made me wonder if there is something in what was said earlier about women more often being the culprits, simply becasue we don’t have pockets (or not as often as men do anyway). Our phones are usually in our bags and perhaps more easily forgotten and less quickly tunred off. No excuse, I know.

[Philippa mcauliffe]

My mum recently nearly sacked her new music teacher (male) who was continually checking his phone and texting during her lesson. I asked if he was young and she said about 40 so its not just school kids who cant leave their phones alone. In the end she put her bow down and told him that if he couldnt concentrate on her playing for 60 mins then clearly she would have to find a new teacher. Phone has not been in the room since. I practice with mobile phone ring tones going off before concerts and so far I have played through but do you think its better to stop and wait for them to turn off and restart from a good point or should you just carry on?

[sherry-lenox]

My ringtone is a harp but I’m super compulsive about turning my phone off and on appropriately. The ringtone is one of the standard selections on iPhone 5.

[carl-swanson]

Well, it just happened again. I was at a concert of Thomas Hampson and a string quartet. As he was about to start a song, some old bag’s cell phone went off, with a loud Rumba kind of beat no less!!! It took her a minute to find the phone(it always does). Then, less than 30 seconds later, her companion’s phone went off! The audience groaned, and the woman directly in front of the two offenders(both women, both in their 70’s) told them to get out. They left. During all of this, Thomas Hampson simply walked around the stage waiting for it to end. I wanted to stand up an apologize to him, but I was afraid that people would think that I was the offender.

[kreig-kitts]

I wonder if Lyn’s purse theory has some validity. When I go out and am wearing a jacket, as I usually am at a concert, my phone is in the inside breast pocket. It only takes a second to turn it off and put it away, and another second to double check during the announcements before the performance (I always double check). A purse would make that much more difficult and keeps the phone out of sight and mind.

I also, however, have a much different view of my phone’s place in my life, compared to many people I know or see in public. I don’t think the phone’s purpose is to allow people to interrupt whatever I am doing at any moment, and I regularly let people go to voice mail. If I’m out for a walk or enjoying a coffee and the news at Starbucks, that’s what I’m doing and I’ll talk with them later. I might send a text saying that I am out and will call back in the evening. Consequently, I leave the phone on silent almost the entire day unless I am at home.

[paula-fagerberg]

I do take my phone on stage with me–I use an iPhone app with historical temperaments on it, so if the harp goes out of tune (or heaven forbid, a string breaks) during the performance, I need it close by. I am paranoid, however, about setting the phone to “do not disturb” AND shutting the ringer off. I would die if it buzzed or rang or something during a concert…

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