Yesterday’s Times explores the phenomenon of cell phones being taken to concerts, or, um, just having a cell phone and then later going to a concert, I’m not exactly sure. According to the article, people can record videos of performers falling down, or pay money to enter contests. For instance, audiences at recent Gwen Stefani concerts were apparently quite eager to spend 99 cents to give their phone number to the record company in exhange for the possibility of better seats, and Korn fans could vote on the last song of the show–for $1.99. Hooray?
The article’s attention to moneymaking contests ignores the two ways cell phone proliferation has affected my concert-going experience: first, at Coachella, you can sign up (for free!) to receive text message updates on band set times or delays, which can actually prove invaluable; and second, madly texting “whr r u?!?!” 2000 times until knocking heads with the person I’m looking for, both of us staring down at our pretty glowing screens.
