Being a University of Exeter honorary degree-haver and certified musical polymath, Damon Albarn knows a thing or two about a thing or two. The Blur frontman and Gorillaz mastermind is imparting such wisdom upon us amid his press rounds to promote the Blur reunion documentary (in theatres today across the UK and Ireland) and the band's forthcoming live album, Live at Wembley Stadium, weighing in on performers like Bob Dylan and Jack White opting to ban cellphone use at their concerts.
Dylan just announced a UK tour and shared that he will be prohibiting phones at the shows; attendees will be required to seal their devices away in Yondr pouches, as White and other like-minded artists have required at tours in recent years. The press release for Dylan's run of shows describes the policy as intended to "make the occasion even more unique."
When asked for his opinion during a new interview with BBC Breakfast, Albarn said he disagreed with such bans. "If you start banning things where does it end?" he explained of his reservations, although we could all surely think of some things that should definitely be banned from gigs. "I think you've just got to turn up and do your thing."
Albarn added, "People won't want to be on their phone if you're engaging with them correctly," exposing himself as having clearly never even seen video footage of a pop concert from the past year or so, with last summer, in particular, having ushered in the #YeetBeat trend of fans throwing all kinds of things — but cellular devices first and foremost — at performing artists. People can refuse to act right no matter how good the show is, Damon!
In addition to having the "phones are bad" crowd on one hand, there are likewise well-documented safety concerns about locking away people's cellphones during a concert (plus the logistical challenges of making the process of entering and exiting larger performances even lengthier).