Would You Go To A Concert If You Knew You Couldn’t Bring Your Phone? [POLL]

To ban or not to ban cell phones. That is the question among musicians these days but here's my question: Do we the fans have a say in this?

After doing a quick search under "banning cell phones in concerts" on Google I found a few words that stood out among the headlines listed - "arrogant" and "overkill". Not exactly the kindest words to describe musicians or their recent decisions to try and take cell phones away from the paying fans who attends their concerts. Recently Jack White joined the list of artists who now have cell free concerts and that list could continue to grow.

Are artists like Jack White really wrong? Is it really overkill? Let's look at their side of this debate first.

The artists argument isn't so much that cell phones are a distraction to them and their bands but that they don't have control over what gets recorded and delivered to people on the internet via YouTube. Back in the day bands could cherry pick the best performances on a tour for a live album or maybe even go in the studio to fix a mistake. Nowadays that's not the case.

The artists also have the audience's interest in mind. They want us to get the complete concert experience. Often times a concert-goer's view may be blocked by those nearby who are raising their phones and mobile devices in the air trying to get a snapshot of the artist to post on Facebook or Twitter. I've been at shows where someone literally had a tablet raised over their head right in front of me. Not exactly what I paid good money for.

Then there's the other side of the argument and that's the fan's side. Hey, why can't I bring a phone to a concert if I want to? I paid good money to be there and I want to capture the moment even it's for just one quick snapshot of the band on stage.

It does sound a little extreme to tell someone in the year 2018 that you can't have a phone in your pocket during a concert. Hell, I use my phone for everything these days. I listen to my music on it, put my daily reminders on it, I even set my morning alarm on it. It's practically attached to my hip.

That brings us to the poll question: Would you go to a concert knowing you couldn't bring your phone in with you?

I will say "yes". Sure it's an annoyance and I don't exactly like the idea of someone telling me I can't take a phone into a show but, honestly, I am one of those people who will maybe take one snapshot of the band and that's pretty much it. Anything more takes me away from the experience. I've been to plenty of concerts that happened long before cell phones and I had a great time every time. I can go without a cell phone for a few hours, especially when I'm rocking out to a great show.

Your turn, what's your vote gonna be? Also, feel free to comment below or on i95's Facebook page.

You can listen to Eric Senich live on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm on 95.1 FM. You can also listen online by clicking here or by downloading the i95 ROCK Mobile App.