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The worst gig-goers aren’t phone-wielding teens. It’s creepy blokes zooming in on female musicians

At a Kylie Minogue gig last Friday, the man next to me spent the entire show filming her in close-up. This unsettling behaviour leaves women – artists and audience alike – feeling surveilled

The expansiveness of the show made it all the more galling to be forced to partially witness it through the digital camera of the man sitting next to me, who spent the entire gig – and I mean every single second of it – training his priapic lens on Kylie through wobbly 10x zoom. I’ve stood next to this – always middle-aged or older – man dozens of times, watching him maintain a shakily tight focus on the women on stage with his ancient silver Olympus, and wondering what on earth he’s going to do with those photos and footage later. Digital Camera Guy’s lack of self-awareness makes people profoundly uncomfortable As performers in a paid-for, public setting, they’re obviously there to be looked at, but there’s a difference between a reciprocal exchange with an understanding and respectful audience, and feeling monitored.

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