Garth Gets It Right With Strict No-Phone Policy In Vegas

Garth Brooks has instituted a no-phone policy for his Las Vegas residency shows.

Good. 

Folks who attend a performance will be required to place their cell phones inside a locked pouch. If an attendee should have to return a call or use their phone during the performance, they will need to leave their seats and use a designated station to unlock- and then relock their phone before they can go back in. If you are caught somehow still using a phone during the performance, you forfeit your right to be there and will be forced to leave. Kinda like how you are required to get up and leave to use the restroom and will be asked to leave if you do it in your seat.

There are plenty of people who are balking at the idea of not being entitled to take a crappy video of an entire performance they'll never once watch again. Let's answer all of their disingenuous questions.

What if there is an emergency at the event? 

Well, that's why there is security. Those people are paid to handle it in a professional manner. If there is a shooting, they'll call the police. More people calling will not get the police there faster.

What if I have an emergency at home? 

You can step into the lobby to return the call. If you are leaving your children/ pets/ property with someone you don't trust to handle an emergency in your absence, you are a bad parent/owner/ don't really value your stuff that much.

But I love documenting my memories! 

What are you? A goldfish? If you think you'll forget about the time you went to Vegas to see Garth Brooks, maybe get a journal.

Who does he think he is? 

He thinks he is Garth Brooks, a man who has won 2 Grammys, has nineteen #1 hits, nine #1 albums, has appeared on SNL multiple times, and can sell out massive arenas on multiple nights. The man wrote Standing Outside The Fire and I will hear NO disrespect. He is the king of 90s country. His show, his rules. 

 I am chronically entitled and I still don't understand! 

There are many reasons an artist might not want to see a sea of cell phones at their performance. Comedians frequently try out new material that might not be quite ready for mass consumption. Musicians do too. Some want to retain the rights to their performances- that IS their right. And some artists want their fans to have the best possible experience- one that doesn't involve having someone else's phone shoved in their faces. I swear these are the same people who talk at the movies. Main character syndrome much?

If you cannot go two hours without your phone, that's fine, and that's your problem. If you are that deeply tethered to it, why are you at a live performance anyway? Stay home and let the rest of us enjoy the show in the best way possible: in the moment, beautifully present- and not through the screen of a cell phone.