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Piano concerto stopped by cellphone


Skinny

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Part of me thinks with how "connected" we all are, it's an honest mistake. We all have cellphones, and nobody's perfect, and could forget to turn off a device.

 

The other part of me thinks WTF, turn that sh*t off. Jerk.

 

I've heard cellphones go off at funerals. One went off at my wedding this summer.

 

Seems ridiculous, but it's almost like we need to have everybody stopped at the door for these events, and made to check if their device is properly silenced.

Stuff and things.
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Sweet it sounds like the phone belonged to someone in the orchestra!

 

He would not survive one of my gigs. He would just have a stroke or something. LOL!

 

 

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Two weeks ago I performed at a concert with a well-known blues artist, and the opening three songs were to be performed by a trio of acoustic guitars. Sure enough, a cellphone went off ON STAGE during the second tune! One of the backup singers was charging her iPhone on the bass player's amp and left it on. It brought the show to a complete freakin' stop until the phone could be located by a stage hand. Everyone was gracious but it was totally unprofessional.
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I recently went to my niece's high school play, and before it started they very politely (and with a good dose of humor) reminded everyone in the audience to turn their phones off.

 

I think it's to the point now where, if you expect silence during your performance, you either do this or suffer the inevitable consequences.

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Sweet it sounds like the phone belonged to someone in the orchestra!

 

 

 

 

This is going to happen to me someday. I had mine go off in rehearsal last week. Fortunately we were playing something very loud. :rawk:

 

They turn up the volume when the cell rings in that video to make a point. Honestly, He come's off like a douche. I've been doing classical shows for 30 years: I've seen people faint, have heart attacks (audience members), have coughing fits, be loud and drunk, kids running around, on and on. Had an orchestra member throw up on stage (while we kept going in spite of the stench), instruments break, stuffs fall down from the catwalk, people fall into the pit. A few times, the orchestra was seriously lost. Without exception, the orchestra kept playing.

 

We were playing a slow, soft movement in New Orleans- Dixieland band paraded by. Played a Mozart symphony in Savannah in the Civic Center, which had two halls and two shows going on. On our side=symphony. The other side= Motley Crue. :laugh: In Erie, the symphony hall is across the street from the arena. If a local team wins, the fans all beep their car horns, and the symphony is in the middle of a concert.

 

I've played 100+ shows where people with special needs were loud, needed assistance, etc. Last month, some old dude's hearing aid went crazy and shrieked "beeeeeep" for 20 minutes. Stuff happens. As much as I loathe phones going off in concerts, I loathe stopping even more. :cool:

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You should write an Adventures in Violin book. It would be cool. You could collaborate with other classical musicians to gather a collection of really good stories from the concert hall.

 

Motley Crue :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I get your point, Cygnus64. But a cellphone going off is easily avoidable for both the audience and the performers. Most of your examples sound like there wasn't really a simple way to prevent them.

 

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Judging from the lobby and the parking lot etc, they had waaaaaaay more drunken sluts than we did.

 

Sooo, you still had some then? Drunk and slutty classical music groupies, I wonder what they looked like...

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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I get your point, Cygnus64. But a cellphone going off is easily avoidable for both the audience and the performers. Most of your examples sound like there wasn't really a simple way to prevent them.

 

Right, but the ancient adage still stands: The Show must go on. I named things 10X more distracting than a cell phone, yet somehow we got through it. He took an annoying situation and made it even worse.

 

Drunk and slutty classical music groupies, I wonder what they looked like...

There was a hottie at the show on Saturday. She was about 90, but she didn't look a day over 88. :rawk:

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The pianist was being a drama queen.
This. It's not like the person answered the call, started talking during the performance, etc. I've seen people do this at movie theaters, usually repeating, "I'm at a movie, can I call you back?" For some reason, this seems to never make the person at the other end shut up and hang up. :rolleyes: They keep talking instead.

it's an honest mistake.
The performance being stopped would have been more annoying to me than the ringing. If the guy stopped it like that, I'd want them to start over again from the top. http://blue-funk.com/NonBandPictures/smileys/tongue.gif

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Women used to get into fist fights Franz Liszt's shows fighting over gloves thrown to audience.

 

Nothing like a good cat fight during a gig.

 

Concerts used to be fun. LOL

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I think that it's even worse when the one of the guys performing stands on stage and checks his text messages during someone else's solo. Witnessed a trumpet player do that at Yoshi's in SF last year...though it's hard to imagine that happening in an orchestra.
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I think that it's even worse when the one of the guys performing stands on stage and checks his text messages during someone else's solo. Witnessed a trumpet player do that at Yoshi's in SF last year...though it's hard to imagine that happening in an orchestra.

 

Inexcusable. :facepalm:

 

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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The pianist was being a drama queen.

 

There is this thing called etiquette in classical music.

 

No matter what the genre. My phone goes into airplane mode the moment I hit the stage.

Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles

http://philipclark.com

 

Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50

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The pianist was being a drama queen.

 

There is this thing called etiquette in classical music.

 

No matter what the genre. My phone goes into airplane mode the moment I hit the stage.

 

+1 here , thumbs up.

They probably should've taken the song from the top again a 2nd time actually.

 

Brett

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I think that it's even worse when the one of the guys performing stands on stage and checks his text messages during someone else's solo. Witnessed a trumpet player do that at Yoshi's in SF last year...though it's hard to imagine that happening in an orchestra.

 

Are you absolutely positive he was checking text messages? My cell phone serves as my clock - and I check it when we're getting close to the end of a set to see if we're sticking to the schedule. Unlike a lot of other devices - I can see the large backlit numbers without any problems. Usually, I set the phone in the unused space at the bottom of my keyboard rack. But, sometimes, when I have to set the rack on edge on the floor - the phone sits either on my lower tier board or on the upturned rack (both of which require me to pick it up to look at it). I'm as discrete as I can be with it - usually just pressing the "home" key (to wake it up and activate the display) - and never futz with it any more than that. BUT, I am touching my phone - and could easily be criticized for "playing with my phone" during a performance.

The SpaceNorman :freak:
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Phones and tablets can be functional for gigs more than just soft synths. A fellow church organist of mine puts all his sheet music on an iPad and all he has to do is swipe the screen or select a sheet music file while he is playing the organ saving him from turning pages. I have seen people record themselves with their phones to evaluate their performance at a later time.
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Ten years ago, business conference audiences turned off their cell phones. Today. more than half the audience leave them on.

 

When I speak at a conference, some audience members verify my sources and research in real time. It's a difference world today.

 

I don't like it, but I've gotten used to it.

Steve Coscia

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I've seen people do this at movie theaters, usually repeating, "I'm at a movie, can I call you back?" For some reason, this seems to never make the person at the other end shut up and hang up. :rolleyes: They keep talking instead.

 

This and texting during the movie is why I just don't do theatres anymore anymore. Drive-ins are about the only place I will watch a movie outside of my house.. It's too bad because I really like the "audience experience" you get in a theatre, but there are just too many inconsiderate people. :(

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My phone, and most of my coworkers, associates, etc., stays on vibrate. I can hear my phone vibrate when it's in the kitchen and I'm on the 2nd floor taking a shower in the master bath. It's gotten to the point in business that you get a look if your phone vibrates. My company training classes fine you $5 if you're caught looking at your phone. It goes into the pot and prizes go out at the end. Being in sales, working on some large projects with high demands from customers, some guys just throw cash in the paot, take the call, and leave the room. What's $5 vs pissing off a multimillion dollar account?

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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Being in sales, working on some large projects with high demands from customers, some guys just throw cash in the paot, take the call, and leave the room.

 

Haha, that reminds me of something OT.

We had a young college intern for the summer, so the office started a 'swear' jar! Our boss just walked up first thing, and dropped a $20, saying "might as well get this over with!" :)

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