Randall Roberts’ commentary on how the “deep listening” concert experience has been severely eroded because of technology, short attention spans and narcissistic behavior is sad but absolutely true [“Please Hold Those Tweets and Vids,” Jan. 12].
Gone are the days when the whole idea of going to a show was to get a sense of how the artist was going to re-create the new studio tracks in a live setting; it was critical listening for two solid hours or, if it was a Springsteen show, nearly four hours. It was a wild party pre- and post-show along with a heady debate about what the artist did or didn’t do, but during the concert all eyes and ears were locked in on what was happening on stage.
I’m not trying to kill the buzz, but putting away the smartphones, getting your money’s worth and perhaps learning something in the process sounds like a good idea to me.
