Iconic musician Nick Cave has sparked debate on concert etiquette after scolding his phone-obsessed audience during a recent performance.
The 67-year-old Australian rocker, currently touring with The Bad Seeds to promote their new album ‘Wild God’, showed clear signs of exasperation with fans constantly filming on their phones.
In a viral clip from his Kraków, Poland gig, Cave bluntly told the crowd to “put your f**king phones away”.
His stance on the matter led to an outpouring of support in the comments section, with many agreeing with the singer’s sentiment.
During the show, Cave indulged the audience with a brief opportunity to capture him on their devices, saying: “Listen. It’s fine, you can film a little bit, but are you going to do that all night? Just a little bit? How about we all film me now, you ready? And then put your f**king phones away. You ready? Here we go.”
After posing for 30 seconds, he instructed them to stow their phones: “Thank you. Put ’em away, put ’em away. That means you. Put it away. That means you. Now we can have a concert.”
Fans weary of mobiles at live shows lauded Cave’s reprimand, with one comment highlighting: “Let me tell you, he is not joking in any way, he’s dead serious, put them bloody phones away – they’re spoiling the intimate directness of a concert.”
Another said: “Nick Cave is not joking – he’s just making his point without resorting to anger. This is an object lesson in assertiveness. He gets the point across very effectively and doesn’t lose the audience.”
Another wrote: “The big thing that phones take away from is the collective experience. There’s a special feeling being in a crowd that is all experiencing something together. Not only do phones block the view, but they subconsciously push you back into the individual, instead of being in the collective. That’s why people get upset, they aren’t just being stuck up.”
One viewer highlighted the irony of the situation: “The paradox, that this video is filmed. So we have the ability to see and respond. And like be judgemental about others.”
However, some defended the use of phones at concerts for archival purposes: “I’m glad that some people do record some gigs on their phone as I can sit here watching loads of them on my phone, like gigs I couldn’t attend etc…” And one user humorously remarked: “Old man yells at crowd.”