Because he's in the front row of a show that I have to assume he paid money for and he's not paying any attention to the band. Ignore that this is Slipknot for a second: would you find this behavior acceptable at a play or a musical, etc? As someone who has played a lot of shows, I know that this would annoy the shit out of me too.

Also, this was probably the highlight of the show for this goob.

Back in their day kids paid attention to concerts and held up lighters.

At a Slipknot show, sure, I'd be surprised if ANYONE was paying attention!

I can see why bands used to throw tantrums over flash photography, because bright lights flashing in your eyes are incredibly distracting. But if you can't hold your audience's attention, that's not your audience's problem - that's yours. Don't get violent and abusive just because you suck at your job, Corey!

Cena - what if you've got a Lighter App on your phone? What if that poor fan was trying to bring up his Lighter App, so he could show respect to Slipknot?

The hating people with smartphones at concerts thing largely stems from when there are a sea of people holding up their phones recording it, which means their bright screens are pointed at everyone behind them, which can be really distracting and annoying for people who just want to watch and enjoy the show. See images like this:

http://tinyurl.com/z9662ll

When I'm at a concert and a bunch of fuckers are recording it with their phones, I catch myself watching the concert on their screen instead of looking at the stage, this pisses me off. I'm a pretty tall guy too, so I imagine it must be that much more annoying for shorter people who are going to have a hard time seeing things anyway.

CapnS - that just looks like a sea of lighters.

I dunno, they seem to be holding everyone else's attention though. I don't think there's a single artist or band on Earth capable of holding 100% of the audience's attention, especially these days as there are more distractions than ever.

You've put me in a spot where I am essentially defending Slipknot and I don't like it.

Were you into nu-metal, Cena? I know you liked rap, and it's basically rap.

Well, rap with slightly-better singing, I mean.

No, never was.