Phone in hand or hands in the air ? In Nîmes, the Paloma hall prefers “that everyone experiences their concert as they wish”

Téléphones en main, les mains en l’air… et pourquoi pas les deux ? Illustration Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Alors que certaines salles de concert déclarent la guerre aux téléphones, la scène de musique nîmoise préfère laisser les spectateurs libres de leur choix. À chacun de décider s’il préfère lever les bras ou les écrans.

The lighting pulses, the bass vibrates the walls, and the crowd is in a trance. But instead of seeing an ocean of faces transported by the music, we find ourselves facing a sea of ​​small luminous screens. Welcome to a concert in 2024, where mobile phones have become the spectators' essential companions. But this omnipresence of screens is starting to make some teeth grind, especially those of certain renowned artists, like DJ Bob Sinclar, who no longer hesitate to step up to the plate.

“Some tap their feet… others take out their phones”

In Nîmes, the question arose for Fred Jumel, the director of the Paloma concert hall. For him, the presence of telephones is part of the evolution of society, and especially that of the younger generations. “The issue of cell phones is present in an uneven way from one concert to another”, he specifies. “Young people, on the other hand, are not necessarily bothered. It is more of a generational problem. Everyone has the right to experience a concert as they wish. Some people tap their feet or tap their hands, others take out their phones."

Fred Jumel is the current director of Paloma. Illustration Midi Libre – YANNICK PONS

In other words, each to their own. Fred Jumel does not seem to want to play the role of taste policeman when it comes to concerts. According to him, Paloma has no intention of imposing a general ban on telephones, “unless we are expressly asked to do so. But for the moment, it is not on the agenda”, he says. On the one hand, phones help promote concerts through social media, but on the other hand, they can also disrupt the experience that artists want to offer their audiences.

Complaints? Yes, but not because of phones…

And what about the spectators? ? Are they bothered by this invasion of screens? ? Not really, according to Fred Jumel. “We have not seen any complaints about this. On the other hand, there are complaints because people cannot stand it when others sing too loudly. But that affects each person's tolerance. It's an evolution of practices."

With their lockable pockets at the entrance, the "No Art Festival" in Amsterdam and the Belgian festival of "Voodoo Village" have played the game of banning phones this summer, but for Paloma, nothing on the horizon, then. Here, we prefer to let everyone choose how they want to experience their concert, smartphone in hand or not.

The Nîmes concert hall was inaugurated in 2012. Illustration Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

And social networks ?

There remains nevertheless an important question : are the videos taken during concerts to feed social networks a good thing ? Fred Jumel recognizes that it is a double-edged sword: "We have to show that we were in a certain place, that we attended a certain concert, it is an evolution of our societies. I think that we were freer when telephones were attached to a wire. But there is also some good. Today, telephones bring as much inconvenience as pleasure."

The debate remains open, but one thing is certain: telephones are here to stay. While some venues and artists are stepping up to the plate, others, like Paloma, are more measured. After all, between capturing the moment and living it fully, everyone must be able to find their balance…