Mitski, who has sold-out shows up coming up next month in Toronto and Montreal, is asking fans to put their phones down.
In a Twitter thread on Thursday, the 31-year-old singer said she understands the ubiquity of mobile phones and is OK with people snapping pics of her on stage. “But sometimes when I see people filming entire songs or whole sets, it makes me feel as though we are not here together,” she wrote. “This goes for both when I’m on stage, and when I’m an audience member at shows.
“I love shows for the feeling of connection, of sharing a dream, and remembering that we have a brief miraculous moment of being alive at the same time, before we part ways. I feel I’m part of something bigger.”
Mitski said she feels a disconnect with fans who are watching her on their phones.
“When I’m on stage and look to you but you are gazing into a screen, it makes me feel as though those of us on stage are being taken from and consumed as content, instead of getting to share a moment with you,” she wrote.
“Ultimately it’s your night, and I want you to enjoy it as you like. I don’t want to be greedy, I’m fortunate to get to play! Just putting out there that sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can experience magic at a show. But only if we’re there to catch it.”
The singer is set to play Toronto’s Massey Hall on March 18 and the following night at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Montreal. She will be back in Montreal on July 30 for a set at the Osheaga festival.
Mitski is not the first artist to address the phenomenon of going to a live concert only to experience it via video.
At a 2016 show, Adele made headlines when she scolded a camera-clutching fan: “Could you stop filming me with that video camera? Because I’m really here in real life, you can enjoy it in real life rather than through your camera,” she said.
"This isn’t a DVD, this is a real show.”
At live shows by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, signs read: “Please do not watch the show through a screen on your smart device/camera. Put that s*** away as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian.”
The Lumineers singer Wesley Schultz often stops their hit “Ho Hey” to remind the audience “that it’s important we connect with you because that’s why we all came here.”
Bonnie Raitt has complained that fans holding up phones is “distracting” and makes it “hard for me to connect emotionally.”
Jack White went so far as to insist ticket holders locked up their phones in pouches on his 2018 tour. “We think you’ll enjoy looking up from your gadgets for a little while and experience music and our shared love of it IN PERSON,” read a statement from his tour managers.