Consider this scenario: You buy a ticket to see superstar comedian Chris Rock on his “2017 Total Blackout Tour.” When you arrive, you learn about one critical stipulation: You have to put your cellphone (and a smart watch, if you wear one) in a special locking sleeve, known as a “Yondr pouch,” during the performance.
The pouch remains on your person, but its built-in, location-based technology keeps the phone locked away until you exit into the lobby. Thus you can’t take pictures, shoot video, check in on social media, or anything else. If you figure out a way to tear open the pouch and use your phone — just forget the rest of the show. You’re immediately booted from the venue.
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That really is a total blackout — and that’s exactly how it works on every stop for Rock’s new comedy tour. But he’s not alone in demanding what the tour calls a “phone-free viewing experience.”
In 2015, comedians Hannibal Buress and Dave Chappelle were among the first performers to employ Yondr technology on a wide scale. Comedian Louis C.K. has used it as well. Since then, musicians such as Guns N’ Roses, The Lumineers, Alicia Keys, and Prophets of Rage have done the same.
Although they haven’t deployed the technology yet at their concerts, megastars Adele and Beyoncé might be considering it for future shows.
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Last year, Adele admonished one attendee at a concert in Italy, “Can you stop filming me with a video camera? Because I’m really here in real life — you can enjoy it in real life.” (It should be noted that the fan had gone so far as to film with a tripod.)
Beyoncé had a similar comment to fans at a 2016 live show: “Y’all gotta put the camera phones down for one second and actually enjoy this moment.”
Graham Dugoni, founder of Yondr, told The Guardian his company’s technology is intended to make performances better experiences for artists and fans alike. “When you use your phone to record something or are texting, you are not really there. Your mind is somewhere else,” he said.
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Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz told The Washington Post he has tried “all sorts of things. If you yell at the audience or treat them like kids, they’re going to act like kids. It’s a little bit clunky, but it’s better than telling them to leave their phones in their cars or forbidding it.”
Artists hope to cut down on bootleg video and audio of shows, which often quickly spread on the internet.
By restricting fans’ phone use during performances, artists hope to cut down on bootleg video and audio of shows, which often quickly spread on the internet. Comedians are particularly concerned about their material being shared early on their tours — something that makes their best bits old news by the time they’ve done several tour stops.
The Yondr technology works like this: When you arrive at a venue, you’re told you need to put your phone in a Yondr pouch, which comes in three sizes and resembles a small laptop sleeve. If you need to use your phone, you must leave the phone-free zone, which triggers the pouch to automatically unlock.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled by the idea of having personal property rendered unusable. Of the Chris Rock tour, Twitter user @dukesweet10 tweeted: “Wow what a diva!!!! Can we just lock his ego in a Yondr bag?”
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Jason Bailey, film editor for the pop culture site Flavorwire, said on Twitter of the prohibition: “Look, no one hates people watching shows through their phones more than me, but this is an easy way to ensure parents (hi) don’t buy tickets.”
That touches on a common theme many internet commenters have raised: What if a babysitter needs to reach you during an emergency? Is it worth it to be unreachable during a performance when time is of the essence?
On the other hand, the same could be said for the commonly accepted requirement to turn phones off in a movie theater. While some moviegoers choose to turn their phones to silent or vibrate mode, the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain has an absolute zero-tolerance policy on cellphone use during movies.
In any case, artists who have used the technology seem to love it — so comedy and music fans can expect Yondr requirements to become more widespread. Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan praised the concept following the band’s first reunion performance last year.
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“It was wonderful,” McKagan told The New York Times. “It was the old-school feeling, where people were dancing and getting down. It was really cool.”
And such shows might not be the only places where devices could end up on lockdown. Dugoni told The Times that Yondr has been renting its devices to schools, restaurants, even wedding venues. He said the technology could be used in future sporting events such as golf tournaments.
“It’s about helping people live in the digital age in a way that doesn’t hollow out all of the meaning in your life,” he told The Times.
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