So Rufus Wainwright played here last night. Great performer, pretty decent venue. In the first row a relatively clueless couple spent the ENTIRE evening photographing the show – flash photography overload. Truthfully, at least 20 flashes per song. Every song.

It was absolutely disruptive for all those in the audience, not to mention the artists struggling on stage to keep some semblance of sight and sanity. During intermission (Rufus’ costume changes are something to behold…seriously), the management even went over the P.A. to specifically request, at the artists’ request, NO Flash photography. That should have ended it right there. No drama, just a reminder.

But, did this stop these in-bred, Cro-Magnon knuckledraggers? Nope. They kept right on holding us all hostage to their sense of entitlement, their egocentric candid camera cavalcade. I seriously wanted to find the venue’s management and request for them to be tossed from the club at one point. It was THAT bad. You could visibly see Rufus wincing during many of his songs, trying not to be blinded by the light.

So basically the time has come. Let us lay down some simple to follow ground rules before we go out in public anymore people. Respect is due, manners are important, and you are not the only celestial object rotating ’round the heavenly firmament folks. It is time for all good children to mind their P’s & Q’s, and be a part of the audience, not a part of the performance.

C’mon ‘lil club kid. That inter-connected world of planetary stimuli has got you seriously jacked far too twitchy. Consider the rest of us too as you go and diminish the artists’ ability to perform, and the audiences’ ability to enjoy the performance please. Just say NO to that urge to be constantly at the center of the playground dizzy disc, forcing all the rest of us to tumble pell mell off the spinning attraction.

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