by Christian LeBlanc » Mon Sep 27, 2010 12:03 pm
Good discussion - quickly to be rendered moot, when video-capture devices can be more easily and cheaply worn in hats, in eye-glasses, etc.
But for now: "Jeff Tweedy...says there's something more at stake than just distracting the lead singer (which is 'just rude'). 'I think you're surrendering your own memory to a very imperfect medium,' he says. 'Our memories are imperfect to begin with but that's what's beautiful about it.'"
From when I saw The Cure perform in August 2004, I have 3 sets of memories. 1) photos from a disposable camera I smuggled in. 2) professional-quality video done of the concert, as a bonus for some internet subscribers at the time. 3) 1st-person memories!
All three diverge somewhat. I watch the dvd I made more than look at the pictures, and recently looking at the pictures again gave me a better remembrance of where I was standing in relation to the band, etc. From my mind's memory, I also remember that the pictures made it look like we were further away than we were.
And of course, the audio sounded much better in person than it did on those videos (and soundboard mp3's that someone recorded...a 4th version of the memories that I forgot about!).
Personally, I prefer someone in the audience to be quietly tending their tech than loudly blabbing to their friends and ignoring the music, which I see show-goers around here do all the time. BUT, I suppose someone who cares about the music that much, wouldn't be one of the people who would blab and ignore the show. Maybe I'm generalizing?