Maybe phone free-events aren't such a bad thing

There was an uncomfortable moment on Wednesday night at Acrisure Arena during comedian Dave Chappelle’s performance. While in the middle of a joke, Chappelle caught a woman in the front row aiming a phone at him.

Chappelle called for the camera man to put the woman on the video screen as he publicly humiliated her and called for security to throw her out. The woman’s friends, who were allowed to keep watching the show, were visibly embarrassed as security surrounded them as she got up. The comedian told security to delete the photos and/or video she had on her phone before leaving the building.

As she was escorted through the floor by Riverside County Sheriff deputies and security staff, Chappelle told her to “kick rocks” in the parking lot while waiting for her friends. Many people laughed but the tension could be felt throughout the entire building. Chappelle continued the show and then brought up the incident again later with the woman’s friends.

But even though some would argue against the move, Chappelle had the right to remove her.

The show was advertised as a “phone-free experience.” A Glendale-based company called Yondr was on-site presenting ticketholders with a pouch for cell phones, smart watches and anything that could be considered a recording device. The pouches are locked at the beginning of the show and then unlocked as attendees exit.

It's unknown how the woman managed to take her phone into the show without a pouch considering the extensive security check outside the venue that included bag checks. But where there's a will, there's a way.

As a journalist that uses a phone during live events to make electronic notes, track a setlist and check in with an editor, the rule also applied to me, even with a media credential and the venue issuing me a ticket.

Yondr’s website features testimonials by entertainers promoting the pouches with a comment by Chappelle stating, "People actually watch the show, they're in the moment, and they're vastly more fun to speak to." There are others featured on the site, such as actor and rapper Donald Glover, Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers and comedian Chris Rock, who also performed on Wednesday.

The list of entertainers utilizing Yondr is growing. Former White Stripes frontman Jack White, punk band Misfits, Bob Dylan, Adele, Beyonce and more are asking fans to lock up devices at concerts.

But how is this viewed by fans? In a 2018 Rolling Stone article, Yondr’s Chief Executive Officer Graham Dugoni said “We really don’t face much pushback” from audiences.

From a comedian’s perspective, it’s understandable why a phone-free experience is necessary. Anyone that ever attended a comedy show at the Improv in Ontario, which hosts well-known comedians, already knows cell phones are not allowed during a performance. This is because comedians perform the same material at each show for several months and don’t want people to hear the jokes on sites like YouTube or Facebook, giving them less of an incentive to buy tickets to live shows.

When I saw comedian Brad Williams twice within a year at the Ontario Improv, the second show was the same but with some modifications. Rock’s Wednesday performance was also similar to his April show at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

As a teenager who went to concerts in the ‘90s and as an adult during the early 2000s, the live music experience changed when phones began featuring cameras. I’ve gotten used to it while attending festivals such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, shows at the local casinos and performances at The Hood Bar and Pizza. I’m guilty of taking out my phone and capturing footage or photos myself.

I sat behind a woman using an iPad for several minutes to take video of Culture Club, which prompted frontman Boy George to call out the woman telling her the show wasn’t a “single-person experience.” I watched most of a KISS concert through hundreds of phone screens and saw the Rose Bowl become a sea of cellphones during the first 10 minutes of a U2 concert.

Maybe Yondr isn’t such a bad thing. Disconnecting from the outside world for a few hours to enjoy a distraction-free concert or comedy show should be promoted as the new “immersive experience.”

Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Maybe phone-free events aren't such a bad thing