All Cell Phones Banned at Major Concert

Anyone who has been to a concert in the past two decades knows that the audience is filled with people using cell phones to capture the moment, whether it's people taking photos or videos to share on social media or to keep for their own memories. But one recent concert banned cell phones entirely.

During a recent concert at the TD Garden in Boston, the Swedish metal band Ghost held a concert that it billed as a "phone-free experience" where all phones were explicitly banned. All 11,000 attendees had to agree to have their phones locked in a small, magnetic pouch that they kept with them or wore around their necks.

The fans had to agree to allow an attendant to secure the phone in the pouch – a process which the Boston Globe says took about 10 seconds. Then, on the way out, each pouch had to be individually unlocked by workers employed by the manufacturer, Yondr.

If someone did have to use their phone for any reason while inside the venue, they could go to one of five "phone use" areas spread throughout the venue, where an attendant would unlock their pouch and re-lock it when they were done. If anyone was caught using their phone outside of those designated "phone use" areas, they would be escorted out of the venue.

Ghost's frontman, Tobias Forge, explained the decision to go with a phone-free experience for their concerts.

“Maybe I’m old school, maybe I’m old-fashioned,” Forge said during a recent interview. “I just feel that we’re having an intimate moment, and it disturbs me that you’re filming while we’re doing this together. I’m doing something for you to respond to me.”

It's certainly a unique way of doing things in a world where everyone seems to be glued to their respective devices. But it seems to have gone well.