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I didn't take a photograph today, and I'll tell you why. Today I went to see a fantastic Japanese band called Mono (a video of them, thanks to YouTube, is below). Usually in the case of such an event, I would have taken my camera with me - and indeed, the gig itself afforded a number of opportunities that I could tell would have made perfect photographs. However, there was one thing about the gig tonight that I could not stand. Mono are a band of contrasts; loud and quiet, high and low, hard-hitting and soft. These contrasts are important in their music, in creating the feeling they produce, and the atmosphere of each section of their songs (often longer than 10 minutes each) is crucial in their music.

So, how was their live performance? Absolutely fantastic. Everything was perfect... except one thing. In the quiet moments, enjoying the mellower side of Mono, what could I hear? Click... click... click. The shutters of cameras and flashes disturbing the light show. I've never been this annoyed at photographers before, but tonight proved that in some cases photography simply detracts from the experience. Everybody who came tonight to see Mono came to experience their music. I doubt there was a single person there who came for the sole purpose of taking photographs, and yet even those people who took away photographs as a memory of the experience detracted from that said experience for others. The relentless snapping of camera shutters during the most delicate sections of Mono's songs was infuriating, and I have to say that I couldn't be more glad that my camera stayed at home, and I enjoyed (as far as was possible with said interference) Mono's live performance for what it was: music. Not a photographic opportunity.