Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe has made it clear that he’s no proponent of fans filming him and his bandmates when he’s performing onstage. Decades into their career, the multi-platinum groove metal outfit have grown to command a sizable audience, and Blythe would much rather those attending their shows get lost in the moment, than try to capture it digitally for posterity.
Blythe vented on the matter on a new chat on ‘Kyle Meredith With…‘, stating the following of his disdain for fans too attached to their digital devices in a live setting:
“Put your fricking phones down and be present. I haven’t done this yet, but I’m going to. As the phones come more and more and more, I’m going to walk out one day at a particularly phone-driven show and I’m gonna bring a stool, and I’m gonna set it down in the middle of the stage after a song or two, and then I’m going to turn on my phone, and I’m gonna point it at the audience, and I’m gonna sit there, and I’m gonna sing a whole song. I’m not gonna move. I’m gonna do what they do. And then at the end, I’m gonna say, ‘Did you people enjoy that? No? I didn’t either. So why don’t we be here together? Put your fricking phone down.’
The memories that you’re going to have, because you’re experiencing this show through this digital filter or whatever of a crappy cell phone video… You’re not Steven Spielberg. Sit here and enjoy the show with me. Be here with me, because that’s how it was when I started going to shows. Except for — thank God — those people back in the ’80s who were photographer nerds. The weird people, there was always one or two with a camera who would take pictures, and thank God for them, ’cause they documented things. But everybody else was present. And people are missing it nowadays by viewing a show through a tiny iPhone screen. Be here with me.”
As to why he feels that way, he offered:
“I’m not asking for sympathy, like, ‘Poor Randy, he feels bad.’ But, yeah, the relationship is missing. And I want a relationship with the audience. Because the harder you go, the harder I’m gonna go. The more you look at the phone, the more I wanna sit on a stool and film you. And it’s gonna happen one day.”
One prominent metal band who’ve taken an infamously hard stance against filming at their shows is progressive alternative metal stars Tool. That group employ a rather strict no-filming policy at all of their headlining shows.
The group enforce that policy via ushers and security, with infractors sometimes even receiving a verbal bashing from frontman Maynard James Keenan himself. Keenan‘s gripes are somewhat similar to Blythe‘s in that he feels those too attached to filming the show are missing out on the connection that a live experience is meant to bring.
He also feels that the presence of a sea of cell phones in the audience are not only a distraction him and his bandmates, but also fellow concertgoers. When asked by Meredith if Lamb Of God have ever considered going a similar route to Tool, Blythe replied:
“I thought about it. My band probably wouldn’t be down with it. I’d be totally great if they were no cell phones. Because these things, they are warping the shape of our reality in a horrific way across the board.
I’m not a Luddite, I am not anti-technology — clearly we are using it right now — but I think it would behoove us to step back and examine our relationship with technology and see what is being taken from us, the human aspect. And I’m just gonna discuss music here — it’s certainly removed that human aspect, in a lot of ways, from shows at times.
I’m certainly not, like, ‘Oh, nobody can take a picture,’ I’m not that guy or whatever, but it’s really disturbing to me how much people are missing. You are, in fact, missing the show. You’re not here. You’re looking at your phone, bro. When I went to shows, I was looking around and I wasn’t looking at the band. I was looking around at the cute chicks who were there. You know what? You’re not gonna get that on your cell phone. There is no ‘swipe left’ or whatever in the middle of the show. Get off your phone. Be here with us. Meet people, talk, have a human experience.”
Lamb Of God are currently out on the road celebrating the 20th anniversary of their gold-certified full-length album, “Ashes Of The Wake“. Mastodon have joined them as co-headliners on that run, which finds the latter performing their own 2004 release, “Leviathan“. Kerry King, Unearth and Malevolence have been opening those shows, with the following dates remaining:
08/13 Moorhead, MN – Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater
08/15 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
08/16 Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Events Centre
08/17 Kent, WA – accesso ShoWare Center
08/18 Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
08/21 Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
08/23 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
08/24 Rio Rancho, NM – Rio Rancho Events Center
08/25 El Paso, TX – El Paso County Coliseum
08/27 Magna, UT – The Great Saltair
08/29 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/31 Omaha, NE – The Astro Amphitheater
