Everybody knows you’re not supposed to yell “fire” in a crowded theater unless the theater is filling with smoke.
But apparently there are still people out there who think it’s OK to yell “hello” in a crowded theater. Into a cellphone. During a concert.
I saw Kronos Quartet at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday night and have been outraged ever since. I’ve just got to vent.
No, I’m not outraged about Kronos, whose playing was exquisite, as always. Their program was on the esoteric side — what some listeners might call “challenging” — but really, really powerful and moving, IMHO.
On the bill — the second half of the concert — was “Black Angels.” That’s the piece that inspired violinist David Harrington to form Kronos when he heard it for the first time in 1973. If you’ve never heard it, there are many moments of extreme quiet — almost inaudible music. All the more reason the audience was almost holding its collective breath, trying not to interrupt with the noise of inhaling and exhaling.
And that’s when the cellphone rang. It was in the purse of a lady in the row right behind me. After she rummaged around for it for several painful seconds, everyone who had turned to glare at her assumed she would then silence it, duly chastised for forgetting to turn it off.
But no.
She answered the fucking phone. Loudly. “Hello?” she yelled into the device. Horrified, we all desperately tried to shush her. She said another sentence to her caller, and then got the hint. “They’re telling me I got to turn it off, gotta go,” she shouted. And then she did.
Kronos didn’t miss a beat. But they, like everyone else in the theater, certainly heard it. I was fuming. Stunned. Incredulous.
Had the woman never been in a theater before? I’m guessing not. After the show, someone in her row told her, as if he were speaking to a toddler, that she wasn’t supposed to talk on the phone during a concert. “Well, I didn’t know that,” she replied rather huffily.
But still. Where is the common sense, not to mention common courtesy?
As rude as people can be in the cellular age, we’ve nonetheless come to rely on the manners of total strangers in a place like the Flynn. To assume and expect a modicum of consideration for the performers and fellow theatergoers.
Maybe that’s why John Killacky, executive director of the Flynn, forgot the usual request to turn off cellphones and other devices during his introductory remarks. He shouldn’t have to remind people, but I guess he does.
I’m pretty sure the lady in question will not be reading my blog post, but I wish I could tell her she violated that concert for me and, I think, many other people that night. After all, here I am spending time complaining about her behavior rather than writing about how awesome the musicians were and are.
I suspect I’m not alone in wanting to apologize to Kronos, on behalf of Burlington, for the dis.
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That is cringe-worthy. I had almost equal rudeness at an Ani Defranco show. Some young woman was texting…at least once a song her screen lit up, disrupted everyone (because you can’t help but look) and it continued the entire show. Sad nobody knows how to see live music, respect it.
People like that should be killed and eaten.
Maybe if the band wasn’t playing so loud, she wouldn’t have had to shout. Did Kronos even consider taking a short break so she could conduct her call? Probably not.
Oh, that is the WORST!
I’ve heard that talking and texting on phones is an epidemic in movie theaters across the country, but I haven’t witnessed much of that in my weekly movie-going.
What happened in Florida is horrific, though. (A multiplex patron was texting before the movie even started. Another called him out, then shot and killed him.)
If the idiots in Vermont state government are not willing to pass a law making hand use of a cell phone illegal while driving (http://www.wcax.com/story/24543118/will-vt-lawmakers-ban-hand-held-cellphones-behind-the-wheel) then why should anyone care what happens in a movie theater 😉 http://youtu.be/_3WWpCUme3M
I was at that show and I was just as horrified! I was all the way on the OPPOSITE side of the theatre and heard her quite CLEARLY! It was VERY rude indeed! And how can someone NOT know it’s not okay to answer a cell phone during a show and then talk SO loud that everyone in the theatre can hear her!! I don’t buy it; It’s COMMON sense & people need to practice it more!!! Luckily it was short lived as I also heard many people around her “Sushing” her to be quiet & she ended the call.
Schools used to have assemblies where students were taught good audience behavior. That’s not happening anymore. Maybe the second page of every program should have a list of expected concert behaviors in big bold letters. Cell phones are not the only thing to address. People are back and forth in the middle of songs instead of during applause.
Unless something drastic happens worldwide, I believe we are sadly in the midst of a total decline of ethics, etiquette, morality, and common sense. The digital devices are so addictive that they have completely changed the lifestyles of hundreds of millions of intelligent and creative people. When was the last time you read a real book? How about buying and reading a newspaper or magazine? Could you imagine turning off all your devices, including your computer, for an entire evening, or weekend! Would you call a friend on the phone? Would you sit down and actually write a letter by hand? Would you visit a friend at their home or in a restaurant for lunch or dinner? Would you go to a movie or a play? How about visiting a house of worship? Just look at how your entire lifestyle has changed since you got into texting, emails, GOOGLE, Facebook, etc.
It is never too late to realize that you have the power to become human again. I wish you well in your recovery.
So for this person to not understand about common sense …seems like this happens everywhere.
Cell phones are good but there is a time and place for them.
Don’t get me going on driving and cell phones…I can’t understand the Governor about cell phones…common sense..most teenage kids don’t think about what is common sense..enough issues on the road without adding in cell phones into the mixture….
“Sad nobody knows how to see live music, respect it.”
What’s the point of doing something in real life if you can’t simultaneously immerse yourself in virtual reality? I mean, are you even really doing something unless someone who isn’t doing it knows you’re doing it? And what’s this nonsense about live music? Have you even heard MP3 music? It’s sooooo much better… like texting is better than talking and sexting is better than sex. Grow up and join whatever century this is; live is dead!
Killed and eaten? I happen to know the circumstances and why the woman in question would indeed not be able to understand that cell phones should be turned off in a theater.
So while this was certainly unfortunate and upsetting … let’s pack up the haughty attitude and practice some kindness.
Pamela, think about this: that call was during the God movement in Black Angels. The high cello solo was the VOICE OF GOD.
Marc
If there was a reason she didn’t know the phone should be off (as someone suggested who “knows the circumstances”), then perhaps that someone could have done something pre-emptive. Or, afterward, let the phone-carrying person know that that was it – no more Flynn shows for a while. Pamela, I’m with you.