Anyone who’s been to a Tool show in recent years knows that the band kindly asks fans to put away their smartphones during the concert. One fan at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday (February 14th) learned the hard way by getting thoroughly admonished by singer Maynard James Keenan in the middle of the band’s set.
Ironically, another fan filmed the moment (as seen below), as Keenan ripped into the offending concertgoer while performing the song “Intolerance.” The frontman screamed, “Put your fucking phone down, dickhead! Seriously!”
It’s not the first time a fan incited the rage of Keenan by filming or photographing a Tool show. Back in December, the singer called another audience member a “dickhead” for using a flash at a show in Canada, yelling, “Take the light off dickhead. Take the light off. Don’t be American. Take it off dickhead.”
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In 2022, guitarist Adam Jones told Metal Hammer of the band’s no-filming policy, “For us, we’ve actually seen it changing and more and more big acts are asking their fans respectfully to enjoy the show, rather than looking at their camera the whole time. I think one of the problems is you get a lot of lights because people don’t know how to use their cameras correctly, which makes it very blinding onstage. It’s just … it’s that connection. You lose something without that connection, and you just want people to be in their own world rather than getting the whole show on their phone and then never looking at it again.”
He added, “It’s a big distraction. Have you ever been to a concert and you can’t see the show because the person in front of you is holding their phone up in front of the stage? It’s just kind of obnoxious. Just keep your phone in your pocket, enjoy the show and we’ll see you after and you can get back on it! (laughs) People need a break. I feel like [phones have] become an appendage, like part of our anatomy.”
Maynard and the company usually allow fans to film the last song of the night, which on this current tour has been “Stinkfist.” A search on YouTube will find several fan-filmed clips of that song.
Tool’s current US tour wraps up with shows on Saturday (February 17th) in Ontario, California, and Sunday (February 18th) in Las Vegas. The band will hit the UK and Europe for more dates beginning in late May, with tickets available here.
Between the two Tool legs, you can catch Keenan on tour with his bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer as they tour the US with Primus this spring in celebration of the singer’s 60th birthday. Tickets for the “Sessanta” tour can be purchased here.
Watch Maynard James Keenan rip into a concertgoer at the band’s Los Angeles show during “Intolerance,” and see a fan-filmed clip of “Stinkfist” in Atlanta, below, followed by our photo gallery of Tool’s recent Madison Square Garden gig.
Don’t mess with Maynard!!! Black belt
Tool Night 1 in LA at the https://t.co/gvoxHMWLG2 Arena
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.©️Tool #rock #mjkeenan #maynard #Tool #Army #opiate #undertow #Ænima #Lateralus #Salival #10000days #FearInoculum #viral #adamjones #justinchancellor #dannycarey pic.twitter.com/QEz9O7XzmP
— Tool band Mx (@ToolbandMx) February 15, 2024
Photo Gallery: Tool and Elder play Madison Square Garden in New York City (click to expand and scroll through):
