Arcade Fire - "Born In The USA", WayHome Festival

Springsteen enthusiasts Arcade Fire played yet another tribute to their idol last July at the WayHome Festival in Ontario.  True to their hipster nature, the Canadian band sang a few lines of "Born In The USA", at a Canadian music festival.  Unfortunately, it is tough to tell whether the video is of poor quality, or if the performance itself wasn't very good (I'm leaning towards the former).  This, however, leads me to a rant that I'm sure many fans of going to concerts can relate to.

Whenever you see a live band, the pit will be littered with people holding up their cell phones to record the show.  While some musicians will try to ban them, it's a battle that is long over; love them or hate them, the smartphones are there to stay.  I have two conflicting thoughts on this issue.  My heart says that people should put down their phones, live in the moment, and enjoy the amazing performance that they paid good money for.  However, my brain says: who I am to tell people how to enjoy the show?  And, haven't I posted hundreds of articles using recordings that people made at concerts?  Touché, Rorybrain.

However, let's be realistic - there's a happy medium.  For the dozens of cameras at every concert, there's only maybe 1-2 good quality videos from any show that I can find online.  The success rate of recording is poor.  So, I'd ask all amateur concert historians to take an honest look at their abilities.  Are they producing quality concert footage?  Is it worth the distraction?  Can they improve the moments they capture?  If smartphones plan to be a permanent feature at concerts, the least we can do is improve their output.