Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally say what we've all been thinking

As reported at SPIN, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally took matters into their own hands and told their fans in no uncertain terms that they will no longer put up with the idiot practice of people taping shows with their smartphones.

At a New York concert April 7 a sign was posted outside the venue which read in big, black, block lettering:

"PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THE SHOW THROUGH A SCREEN ON YOUR SMART DEVICE/CAMERA.

PUT THAT SHIT AWAY as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian.

MUCH LOVE AND MANY THANKS!

YEAH YEAH YEAHS"

Onstage, Karen O reiterated her desire to protect her fans from the glare of a phone screen shining in their eyes while some ingrate proves to the world that he was there with a bad video and a sore arm. She gave the fans a few minutes to take photos, then told them to "put those motherfuckers away".

Hopefully, this high-profile acknowledgement of the smartphones-at-concerts issue will bring the problem to a head, and make it less socially acceptable to ruin other people's experiences, whatever the reasons for recording are.

Smartphones are infiltrating into way too many areas of life and the practice of preserving every moment for shaky posterity should not be allowed in dark areas where it's painfully distracting for others.

The experiment has failed and it's time to end it. I applaud Karen O for using her influence for the greater good. The ignorant need to be educated.

For a local example of the instant ire this issue raises in people, see the Straight's review of Nick Cave's April 6 show at the Vogue, which saw one such "cretin" up front, obscuring the view of everyone behind him. From the comments that follow, it's a wonder that no one smacked the offending smartphone out of the guy's hand.