Selfie Sticks And Tablets Are Now Banned At Soundwave

Punters heading to Soundwave in either Sydney or Brisbane this weekend have been informed to leave your selfie sticks and tablet computers at home, else they will be confiscated.

Promoter AJ Maddah took to Twitter during the Adelaide and Melbourne legs of the festival this weekend to call out “people with those fucking camera sticks”, telling them to “have some consideration for people behind you trying to enjoy the show.”

Maddah actually told one follower on Twitter over a week ago that the sticks would be banned from the festival, but seems to have ramped up his stance following events he witnessed this weekend. Speaking to Fairfax, Maddah said anyone found with a selfie stick at Soundwave Sydney or Brisbane will have them confiscated and placed in a cloakroom for the duration of the festival.

“It is just the ultimate expression of narcissism,” Maddah said. “Most of them are pointed at the stage with kids taking photos. But I think the one that kind of put it in perspective for me was there was a band set going and a young girl pointed it at herself. It took every fibre of resistance I had not to just grab the stick off her and kick her out.

“But then I figured she may have possibly paid for her ticket and so I resisted,” he added. Maddah believes about “40 or 50″ selfie sticks were in use at Soudnwave Melbourne – something he doesn’t want to see repeated in Sydney and Brisbane this weekend. “It’s absolutely not going to happen. We’re just not going to tolerate one person using them.”

“It is insane that people don’t have enough courtesy to care about the people around them,” he said. “Just don’t bring them.” Maddah has since also noted that tablet computers, such as iPads, will not be allowed at the festival.

Dear people with those fucking camera sticks: please have some consideration for people behind you trying to enjoy the show. Thank you.

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 22, 2015