Madonna in Mexico City and the Tragedy of Concerts and Smartphones (a continuation)
My friend Pilar and I had been waiting more than a year to see Madonna in concert. Having
bought tickets to her Miami show last year, which she canceled when she got sick, we (plus our
significant others) finally witnessed her spectacular –a word I don’t use lightly– Celebrations
Tour in Mexico City.
As a lover of live music, I go to my fair share of concerts and festivals.
I have to say, it’s been years since I’d seen something as impressive as this.
There was fire, there were dancers dressed as Madonna through the ages, there were Cirque du Soleil-style antics, and there was Salma Hayek.
I had, in fact, been lucky enough to see Madonna 20 years ago at Madison Square Garden. I
remember rivers of fans walking around Midtown dressed in Madonna-inspired outfits and a
remarkable sense of excitement and community. It was incredible to witness this again two
decades later in my city. I don’t claim to be the biggest Madonna expert, but I do know what
she means to people, what an absolute revolutionary she’s been in so many ways, and what a
badass she continues to be at 65.
All that being said, I have two complaints. One: Palacio de los Deportes desperately needs air
conditioning. My deepest gratitude to the fans sitting in front of us who brought, well, fans, and
were sharing their wind with us. Two: PHONES. I was shocked to witness the moment when
Madonna appeared onstage. Virtually every single audience member had their phone out. I
mean, sure, you want the grand shot of the Queen appearing onstage but, wouldn’t you rather
remember the moment than the feeling of seeing it through a screen?
I’m not going to pretend that I never took my phone out. Of course, I took some photos and videos and bragged about going to the show on Instagram. But as you will clearly see if you’re reading this post, there’s no way photos or videos can do the show justice –no matter how good your phone is.
We’re all paying serious cash to go to concerts these days. Isn’t the point of experiencing them
live, as the name suggests?
I’ve written about this before on my old blog, and reading that post almost eight years later proves that things have, as expected, gotten worse. At the Madonna concert, the woman sitting in front of me recorded 90% of the show on her phone. Why? Was
she streaming it?
Unless she was recording it for her friend the mega-fan who got sick and couldn’t go, it makes no sense to me to watch the show on a tiny screen, let alone hold your arm up for almost three hours.
Last year, I saw Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service performing together in Denver in
what I like to call my Eras Tour: Death Cab played the entire Transatlanticism album, which was
celebrating its 25th anniversary, while The Postal Service played Give Up, which turned 20.
And while yes, I sneaked a picture and a video here and there, it was a practically phone-free show. I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that most audience members were elder millennials –a
theory I also suggested in the Last Shadow Puppets show in that old blog post–, or if the Ben
Gibbard effect is just too magical. Either way, it made the show much more enjoyable and
memorable. Not only was my view of the stage clear and obstacle-free, but the energy in the
room was incredible.
At the risk of sounding New Age-y, everyone was so present.
But there’s science that backs this.
Music as a communal experience has real effects on our senses and emotions, making us feel like we belong to something bigger. Shared musical experiences can make us release oxytocin and improve our feelings of well-being. It’s hard to think of that powerful feeling when you’re experiencing everything halfway. Sure, you’re physically there, but you’re viewing everything through a screen, probably thinking of a future post and the reactions it’s going to get. And this applies to so many experiences as viewed through social media, traveling being perhaps one of the main ones –and a topic I want to address later.
I sometimes wish I could go completely analog and offline, but I know it’s not realistic. Plus, I do
love a good TikTok. But I do believe that sharing, in the deepest sense of the word, happens
when we’re fully present, experiencing something with others. And there are few things like a
great live music show to do that.
Thanks for reading!
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