I took my daughter to a concert this evening - she's 9 but loves a lot of the music I did when I was a teenager. Anyway, band that was popular in the 90s, most people there were in their 50s or thereabouts. Problem was there were absolutely blinding backlights on the stage directed to the audience. Almost constantly, like they might go off for 10 seconds but then on again for the rest of the song. I moved around a bit, and it seemed like it was the same no matter where you were sat/standing. We though about leaving after less than an hour, because we were not enjoying it due to the lighting. Real shame, because otherwise it would have been a good gig but it was so uncomfortable, almost painful on the eyes and we sat there with our eyes closed most of the time. Eventually left after about 1 hour 15 mins because there was no point in staying, it just wasn't enjoyable.
So a couple of questions. Firstly, why? Why? Why are audiences subjected to this? I get that certain genres will want different lighting designs etc., also that I'm a fuddy duddy, nearly 50 etc. But why, for a concert where most people attending will be in the 45-65 age group, would you project into the audience in a way that will cause people to leave because they are uncomfortable to the point of not enjoying themselves?
Secondly, I surely won't pursue it, but at what point is it reasonable to request a refund, on the basis that the show was unwatchable? In this case, aside from the discomfort, the audience couldn't really see anything except human shapes, because of the backlighting. Isn't this "restricted view"?