One random day this past June, I was sitting in the MSU Breslin Center parking lot with my best friend, trying to find motivation to enter the new recreation center, when we checked Instagram and saw that Phoebe Bridgers was going on tour for the first time in years. Anyone who knows me knows that Phoebe is one of my favorite artists of all time and is actually the creator of what I consider to be the greatest album to ever exist, Stranger in the Alps.
So it was safe to say that we signed up for the presale, made a group chat with a few other friends, and eventually, a few days later, secured tickets without even a second thought. It was not until I had the tickets sitting in my Apple Wallet that I took notice of two words in her Instagram announcement caption: “no phones.”
At first, I was simply confused. How does that even work? How would they manage to take my phone from me? Then, when more information came out and I realized that the phones were going to be locked away the second we entered the arena, I was kind of freaked out.
What if someone needs to contact me? What if I need to get a hold of someone? Unlikely scenarios that have never happened to me at a concert, or anywhere else, started ringing through my brain. Then the not-so-dramatic questions started coming: how will I remember it if I cannot record? How am I supposed to take cute pictures?
Having my phone had been so ingrained in my concert experiences that I genuinely could not imagine going to one without having my phone. I filmed every concert. It was a thing I did. I got to my seats early so that I could have cute pictures to consider posting on Instagram, another thing I just did. Would it still be enjoyable if I could not do these things?
But no matter how off-putting the no-phones decision was, I was not going to let it stop me from seeing my favorite artist. Now looking back, a week after the concert, I can wholeheartedly say that I think every concert should have no phones.Â
The first perk of the concert was that I went in completely blind. I knew the setlist because it was posted online minutes after the first show. But people who went started talking about the impressive light work, the visuals, the stages, etc., and normally I would have seen a million videos of it before it was my turn. It would have still been beautiful, but I’d have known what to expect. There was no surprise element. This time, I went in knowing nothing, and it was amazing.
That brings me to the second benefit of the no phones rule: you can do amazing things with lights and visuals when the light from a million phones is not brightening up the place. No matter how dark a concert usually is, you can still see everyone’s camera flash, or just the screens of everyone standing in front of you. At the concert, all you could see was the lighting that Phoebe and her team had prepared, and it was stunning. They were the best concert visuals I had ever seen. The many different colors, textures and speeds of lighting made the entire thing beautiful.
Third, I actually got to appreciate the entire concert. I did not have to worry about dancing too much or moving my hands excessively because there was no camera I needed to keep steady. I got to belt out the words as loud as I wanted because there was no anxiety about my horrible singing voice being extremely audible in my video. No one understands how little they are living in the moment until they truly experience it, and it is the greatest feeling.
Next, people got to be creative. Most people know about the common concert practice of turning on your flashlight during emotional songs. I saw so many people bring lighters that looked beautiful scattered across the stands, and a lot of others brought glowsticks. It was so cool to see people think outside the box. I have also seen so many people online and on social media drawing the concert because they could not take pictures. It forced people to be creative and use skills many definitely would not have considered if we just had our phones.
Finally, the highlight of the whole show for me was when Phoebe came back out and did an encore and sang “Scott Street.” The lights were turned on, and we got to hear the entire arena sing, “don’t be a stranger,” repeatedly while we all waved our arms back and forth. There were no phones covering faces or people with one occupied hand. Everyone could fully participate, and it was a beautiful ending to the best concert experience that I have ever had.