Musician Ryan Adams berated a "most disrespectful" audience at Sydney's Enmore Theatre when concert-goers persisted in taking flash photography – even after he explained it triggered a genetic illness that made him dizzy and sick.
The American rocker and alternative country balladeer suffers from Meniere's disease, an inner-ear disorder that can upset balance and cause tinnitus, vertigo, dizziness and vomiting. Seizures can also be sparked by flashing light, so audiences are warned that flash photography is banned at Adams' concerts.
But on Thursday night, while playing to a full house with his band, the Shining, Adams initially advised one woman in the audience that the infra-red light from her phone camera was disturbing him. The 40-year-old singer and guitarist told her it was "not your fault" and suggested he could give her some tape to cover the light.
When the audience cheered, in support of Adams, he replied, "No, it's not funny," and proceeded to deliver a brief lesson on his condition.
Later in the show, however, Adams complained "this must be the most disrespectful audience" and said about 25 people had kept taking flash photographs, even after he had explained his illness.
He complained he felt dizzy and ill, and he could not understand why people would behave that way. He mentioned people wielding "lightsabres" and called people in the crowd "Orcs", a reference to the villainous goblins in The Lord of the Rings.
It was an echo of Adams' reaction to a flash-photograph at Philadelphia's Tower Theatre last November, when he stopped singing mid-way through one of his most crowd-pleasing ballads, Oh My Sweet Carolina.
"I have f–king Meniere's disease," he told a concert-goer. "Can you stop? Can you just stop in the front row with your flashes.
I'm sorry, I have a disability called Meniere's disease, and you flashing with your camera, I get so dizzy I want to throw up. I can barely stand up."
He also said: "If you flash me with your camera, it feels like you took a lightsabre and you sliced my brain in half."
The condition is so debilitating for Adams that he took a two-year break from music from 2009. He had been known as a sometimes tetchy and irritable performer but he has mellowed and displayed good humour in recent years.
Adams played a one-man show at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Tuesday night, switching between two acoustic guitars and piano. Signs warned against flash photography and, before he came on stage, an announcement reminded patrons of the ban.
Nevertheless, some in the audience did not get the message – until Adams reminded them again.
On Thursday night, signs also warned against flash photos. After his lecture to the audience, Adams played on to an enthusiastic crowd and he replied to howls of affection by repeatedly assuring them: "I love you, too."
While the lights went up at the end of his main set, and some shuffled out assuming he would not play an encore, Adams and the band returned with four more songs. They went on to Byron Bay on Friday to play at Splendour in the Grass.
