I was at the [fantastic] show last night.  The team handling the Yondr pouches were friendly and efficient.  It&#x27;s weird to have your phone in your pocket without being able to use it.  Akin to a dead battery, but bigger.  I&#x27;d been concerned that it was going to take forever to leave the venue because we had to line up to get our phones out of the pouches, but they were also friendly and perfectly efficient on the way out.  I&#x27;d say it didn&#x27;t add any more time than getting a 21+ wristband on the way in, and even quicker while leaving.<p>The show was absolutely more enjoyable.  I don&#x27;t personally care if people check their phones and record live shows, but I absolutely despise when my view is obstructed by someone waving their device around trying to get a shot.  I&#x27;m here to watch a relatively expensive live show, not watch other people record it.<p>As a potential downside, the opening comedian hadn&#x27;t showed up, which left us sitting and watching &#x2F; listening to the DJ for 2 hours before Dave Chapelle hit the stage.  The DJ did an excellent job keeping the crowd entertained, but there were a few lulls where I would have loved to pop into HN or Reddit or something since it was literally idle time.<p>Sure, there was plenty of interaction, chatting, some dancing, and other fun with people around us.  And maybe there was more than there would have been otherwise.  But I still felt a bit like I was being punished.  I know perfectly well how to balance being social with staring at a screen, and I&#x27;d rather not have that option taken from me.  There were three times in that two hours that a quick google or calendar lookup would have enlightened rather than hindered the moment.<p>Who knows the consequence for someone who is &quot;on-call&quot;?  I haven&#x27;t been on call in a few years, but I&#x27;d hate to have to miss a great show because of it.<p>All in all, I&#x27;d say it was well implemented and an interesting exercise that might be a bit hard to swallow depending on the show, the venue, and our various communication needs.  I was happy to do it for one of my all-time favorite comedians.  It&#x27;s not likely I would have participated for a smaller show.<p>Edit: sidebar - in the article it says...<p><pre><code>    Simply leave the designated zone (and head, say, to the lobby bar), and, as you move past several strategically placed stations, the pouches can now magically be unlocked.
</code></pre>
We had to go to the tables at the exit (or to the downstairs bar outside of the venue) for them to release the locks with a big magnet akin to the anti-theft contraptions at retail clothing stores.  Maybe they just used those because it&#x27;s a much smaller venue, or maybe the &quot;designated zone&quot; isn&#x27;t prime-time yet.