It’s been almost a month since the Stones played the Staples
Center
I am left with one nagging regret. I made a huge mistake when
I bought floor seats to a concert that I had been waiting years to see. If
you’re over 6-feet tall, the floor location might be a desirable one. I,
however, had to stand on my tippy toes the entire time and peek around, in
between and over the shoulders of the more statuesque fans. Once in a while, I
snuck up front into the aisle and had a direct view of Jagger or Richards strutting
around the stage before I was swept back to my seat by the Gestapo-like security
guards at the Staples Center
I've had floor seats in the past and have always been able
to see between the people in front of me. This time was different because everybody
had their damn cell phones held out, up in the air, as they recorded parts,
if not all, of the concert. Nearly half of the audience viewed the entire
concert through the tiny screens of their phones. As they angled for the best
shot, I had to rapidly maneuver to peer through jutted elbows and poke my head underneath
armpits. At times it seemed as if I was trapped behind a solid wall of towering
bodies.
Will somebody please explain why a person would view a
concert through a cell phone. Why is it better to experience the concert second
hand rather than seeing it with their own naked eyeballs? I don’t get it. Mick,
Keith, Ronnie and Charlie were right there, live and in person. And, if you
wanted to watch it on screen, there was a giant video display behind the band,
showing a real-time edited version of the live concert.
Comedian Louis CK witnessed the same phenomenon at his
daughter’s dance recital and urged parents not to block their own children out
with their smart phones: “The resolution on [your] kid is unbelievable. It’s
totally HD.” The Stones were merely a few feet away from some people, yet they
chose to hold up phones in front of their faces and record movies that they
think other people want to see. I've watched these amateur clips shared on Facebook
and tweeted by enthusiastic fans. Frankly, they’re less than stunning and are
not at all an accurate representation of the live concert experience. This is
not how I want to see or remember the Stones, two inches tall, blurry with inaudible
sound
Perhaps these fans think that their recordings will be the
only way to see the Stones over and over again. I wouldn't worry though. If I
know the Rolling Stones, and I think I do, the 50 and Counting Tour will soon
be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download for purchase at an outlet
near you.
