Madonna announces three cell phone-free San Francisco shows
Madeline Wells at SFGate.com reports about Madonna playing three shows in San Francisco as part of her Madame X Tour this fall and the spotlight goes on the fact that use of cellphones will not be allowed.
Tickets for the three shows are going on presale today and on general public sale this Friday but this is the first time that the new phone-free policy has been mentioned prior to the ticket sale.
Madonna just announced three dates in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Theatre on her “Madame X” tour. The catch? Don’t even think about looking at your cellphone during the show.
For her S.F. shows on Oct. 31, Nov. 2 and 4 (as well as her dates in other cities), the 60-year-old pop legend will be requiring concertgoers to use Yondr, a small neoprene pouch that puts a phone on lockdown with a magnetic device. People can therefore carry their phones with them during the show, but can only unlock them from their pouches at designated Phone Use Areas in the venue.
Recently, Yondr has become popular in Bay Area high schools like San Mateo High School, where all students and staff are required to place their phones in pouches at the beginning of the day. Jack White also required fans to use Yondr at his Bill Graham Civic Auditorium show last August. Yondr founder Graham Dugoni told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time:
“The reason people go to experience live music is to be swept up into a shared mood,” . He said that when someone takes out their cellphone, that collective mood is ruined. “What that does is create a little paper cut. That energy leaves the room and doesn’t come back.”
Read the full story on SFGate.com.
