Ghost World Tour Will Be a “Phone-Free Experience”
I really hate watching a concert through someone else’s stupid cell phone video. You’re never going to watch that shitty quality video again, so why are you bothering? At the same time, while it’s an annoyance, concerts are generally full of grown-ass adults and policing their cell phone usage is just dumb. Maynard James Keenan’s policy of literally kicking people out of concerts for using their phone is just going too far. Well, it seems at least one band is following in Keenan’s footsteps, as the upcoming Ghost world tour will be a “phone-free experience.”
The official tour poster for Ghost’s upcoming world tour has some fine-print on the bottom reading:
“This show will be a phone-free experience. Phones will be secured in Yondr pouches. Guests maintain possession of their phones at all times.”
What the fuck is a Yondr? No, it’s not the blue dude from Guardians of the Galaxy. According to the Yondr website, it’s a pouch that you put your phone in and, once you enter the “phone-free space” the pouch locks itself and will not unlock until you step outside of the phone-free area. Okay, so what happens when this asinine contraption stops working and just doesn’t open up? Am I then allowed to use the pouch to smack whoever came up with this stupid rule?
As The PRP points out, the band first instituted this policy at their September 11-12 shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California because the group was filming the concert themselves for their Rite Here Rite Now concert film and, apparently, frontman Papa Emeritus IV (real name Tobias Forge) really liked that idea, telling Rock Sound in June that:
“I have never seen a crowd interact the way that they did since I was in a club band. They were the best shows I’ve ever done with Ghost, just because I didn’t have to see those fucking mobile phones.”
At least one fan pointed out on the Facebook post about Ghost’s tour that some people, like type 1 diabetics, need their phones to monitor their health. Hopefully there will be exceptions made for medical needs, but an easier solution might be to just not treat concertgoers like children.
By the way, here’s the dates again for their “phone-free experience” tour:
Tue Apr 15 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Wed Apr 16 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Sat Apr 19 – London, UK – The O2
Sun Apr 20 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Tue Apr 22 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
Wed Apr 23 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle Frankfurt
Thu Apr 24 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
Sat Apr 26 – Lyon, FR – LDLC Arena
Sun Apr 27 – Toulouse, FR – Zénith Toulouse Métropole
Tue Apr 29 – Lisbon, PT – MEO Arena
Wed Apr 30 – Madrid, ES – Palacio Vistalegre
Sat May 3 – Zürich, CH – Hallenstadion Zürich
Sun May 4 – Milan, IT – Unipol Forum
Wed May 7 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena
Thu May 8 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
Sat May 10 – Lodz, PL – Atlas Arena
Sun May 11 – Prague, CZ – O2 Arena
Tue May 13 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Wed May 14 – Oberhausen, DE – Rudolf Weber-ARENA
Thu May 15 – Hannover, DE – ZAG Arena
Sat May 17 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
Tue May 20 – Tampere, FI – Nokia Arena
Thu May 22 – Linköping, SE – Saab Arena
Fri May 23 – Sandviken, SE – Göransson Arena
Sat May 24 – Oslo, NO – Oslo Spektrum
Wed Jul 09 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
Fri Jul 11 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sat Jul 12 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Sun Jul 13 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
Tue Jul 15 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
Thu Jul 17 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Fri Jul 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Sat Jul 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Mon Jul 21 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Tue Jul 22 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thu Jul 24 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Fri Jul 25 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Sat Jul 26 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Mon Jul 28 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
Tue Jul 29 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Wed Jul 30 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
Fri Aug 01 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
Sat Aug 02 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Sun Aug 03 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
Tue Aug 05 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Thu Aug 07 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sat Aug 09 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sun Aug 10 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Mon Aug 11 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Thu Aug 14 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Fri Aug 15 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
Sat Aug 16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Wed Sep 24 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
