I traveled to Durham, NC to see Wilco last night. Wilco has always been pretty lenient with audio recording (“taping” as us old folks like to call it), so I was surprised to see how much the band’s new “No Photos or Cell Phone Usage” policy was enforced by staff at the venue:
* NO CAMERAS PERMITTED: Still or Video. Professional photographers MUST obtain a photo pass via Wilco’s management or publicist. No exceptions. Please be considerate of others.
* We ask that you refrain from using your cell phones during concerts.
* Wilco does permit audio taping and trading of live performances wherever it does not conflict with venue or other restrictions beyond our control. We do not allow direct soundboard patches. Wilco supports the free trading of live recordings for non-commercial purposes.
Of course, I did manage to sneak in this shot at the beginning of the first song. I even felt a little guilty.
However, as the night progressed, more and more folks where asked to please turn off their mobiles. One of our group even took a pic (with a flash) and had to leave the auditorium with security and perform an exorcism of her camera to delete the blurry picture she snapped.
I was more than disturbed at this initially and thought how silly this type of control is in 2010 when I could be tweeting or facebooking pics out and causing the band some free publicity.
After sleeping on it, I think I get it now.
The band did this for the same reason that Steve Jobs does his crazy control thing… it’s all about crafting an experience.
Sitting through an evening with a band amidst a glowing sea of backlit LED mobile screens distracts from the show. OSX on a Dell would be a similar distraction from the UI or “Apple Experience.”
Should the band (or Steve Jobs) be that attentive to detail and delivery that they feel compelled to sculpt a complete experience of information transferral from their brains to ours?
Is there room for this sort of classroom experience sculpting (and no, I’m not talking about “no gum chewing” or “no note passing” type rules here) to enhance student learning?
That’s what I’m thinking about tonight.
