Long gone are the days of holding your lighter up in approval and rhythm with the ballad. Harmed by smoking bans and first displaced by the cell phone; the tradition has now further been done in by Coldplay and some lighted wristbands.
File this under 'concert etiquette' (or 'let me carbon-date myself') but there was a time where you held your lighter aloft during the ballad at a rock show. The cell phone stepped in for a time, but now has taken that to 11. Take a look at this dramatic light show from their show last Friday in England:
http://youtu.be/_H7qdvg9xWM
I'll admit that the result is impressive. Especially since the wristbands, , pulse and change all in tandem with the house lights. I'm also assuming that they don't burn the user or set fire to an adjacent concert goer's hair either.
The whole experience did remind me of a great though, if you're the kind that wants to disapprove of the march of technology invading your concert experience. Between wristbands, smartphones, , and social media though, it's clear that concerts and the impending season will never be the same.
