A friend in need's a friend indeed, but a friend who doesn't spend an entire concert taking pictures and filming with their phone is better.
Such is the thinking of Placebo, who's shared a Facebook post "kindly ask[ing] you NOT to spend the concert filming or taking photos with your mobile phones."
"It makes Placebo's performance so much more difficult," the "Pure Morning" rockers write. "More difficult to connect with you and to communicate effectively the emotions of the songs. It is also disrespectful to your fellow concert-goers who want to watch the show, not the back of your phone."
"Please be here and now in the present and enjoy the moment," they add. "Because this exact moment will never ever happen again. Our purpose is to create communion and transcendence. Please help us on our mission."
Other artists that feel similarly include Jack White, whose shows have been "phone-free" since 2018. Tool also bans phone use at their concerts.
Placebo is currently on a European tour supporting the group's new album Never Let Me Go, which dropped in March. They'll launch a U.S. run in 2023, marking the first time they've toured the States in nine years.