Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess weighed in on the debate over smartphone use at concerts, offering a more moderate view than some of his colleagues. In a new interview on the “Everblack” podcast, Rudess explained that while he thinks “people should be allowed to take pictures,” he finds the practice of filming an entire show to be “kind of rude” and disrespectful to the performers.
Rudess elaborated on his position, making a clear distinction between capturing a moment and failing to live in it.
“I think that the only problem is if you see somebody just out there [holding the phone up and filming] the whole time, just capturing the whole thing. I just think that that’s kind of rude,” he said. “Take some pictures, capture a little clip, but don’t sit there the whole time and just hold your phone and capture the whole thing. That’s not right.”
He reserved his strongest criticism for fans in the front row who hold their phones directly in the band’s line of sight. He described this as distracting and unacceptable from a performer’s perspective.
“The other thing that’s not cool… if you’re in the front row and John Petrucci is right next to you — come on. Don’t just sit there and hold the phone,” Rudess said. “That doesn’t feel good to the performer. It’s not acceptable. Yeah, take a picture, sure, grab a moment, but put your phone down. Enjoy it. It’s rude for the player to have something right up to them. That’s distracting.”
Rudess summarized his stance as a call for common-sense etiquette. “Just to finalize that thought — do it in a natural way. Yeah, grab your phone, take a couple of pictures here and there. Absolutely. Enjoy it… Just don’t hold it up the whole time ’cause you paid money for a ticket,” he concluded.
You can listen to the podcast episode down below.
The interview comes as Dream Theater is in the final stretch of their U.S. tour, which sees the band performing their latest album, Parasomnia, in its entirety. The tour, which marks the return of drummer Mike Portnoy, will head to Asia and Australia in early 2026.
Dream Theater – Upcoming Tour Dates:
North America 2025:
- Oct. 23 – Schenectady, NY – Proctors Theatre
- Oct. 25 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Asia / Australia 2026:
- Jan. 30 – Bengaluru, India – Phoenix Marketcity Back Area
- Feb. 01 – Kolkata, India – Aquatic Ground
- Feb. 07 – Jakarta, Indonesia – Stadion Madya
- Feb. 10 – Adelaide, Australia – Hindley Street Music Hall
- Feb. 12 – Melbourne, Australia – Margaret Court Arena
- Feb. 14 – Sydney, Australia – ICC Sydney Theatre
- Feb. 15 – Brisbane, Australia – Fortitude Music Hall
- Feb. 20 – Seoul, South Korea – Sol Travel Hall
- Feb. 21 – Seoul, South Korea – Sol Travel Hall
- Feb. 22 – Seoul, South Korea – Sol Travel Hall
- Feb. 25 – Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
- Feb. 28 – Aichi, Japan – Aiplaza Toyohashi
- Mar. 02 – Osaka, Japan – Festival Hall
- Mar. 03 – Okayama, Japan – Okayama Performing Arts Theatre
Ogorthul: Immersed in the bone-shattering world of death metal and beyond. I’m here to excavate the latest news, reviews, and interviews from the extreme metal scene for you.
