I’m making a public vow, which I fear I may abandon the moment Lana Del Rey comes on stage at Wembley in July: to stop recording concerts on my phone. Last Sunday, producer and DJ Kaytranada responded to a fan on X who was frustrated at motionless concertgoers with their phones in the air, writing: “I think we have come in this age where everybody’s trying to catch a moment for their own social media presence. It shows their appreciation instead of them dancing and enjoying shows like we used to.” Even though I wasn’t at Kaytranada’s show, he had me bang to rights.
I have in the past incessantly recorded gigs, insisting to myself that there is no impairment of my enjoyment, or that determinedly rejigging the camera for a panoramic shot of the entire stage was all part of the concert experience. Lost in the spirit of a moment, it can be nice to snap yourself and friends singing along to your favourite artist, and to create a personal archive of a concert’s best bits.
