Maynard James Keenan takes aim at Tool fan for using his phone during a show
Maynard #Maynard
(Credit: Markus Felix)
Sun 18 February 2024 11:02, UK
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has reaffirmed the band’s ‘no phones’ policy at a show in Los Angeles, during which he told one fan to stop filming.
Ironically performing the song ‘Intolerance’, the singer took fire at one of the audience members at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Valentine’s Day. Mid-way through the song, Keenan erupts at the audience member, shouting “Put your fucking phone down, dickhead! Seriously!”
Strangely enough, this seems to be a recurring theme with Keenan’s performances. Back in December, he was noted for calling another fan a “dickhead” at a show in Canada. In a video shared to social media, he could be heard yelling “Take the light off dickhead. Take the light off. Don’t be American. Take it off dickhead.”
The band have a long-standing policy against filming at their shows, so it should perhaps come as no surprise that Keenan does not take too kindly to it. Back in 2022, guitarist Adam Jones explained the policy to Metal Hammer, saying, “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.”
Continuing, Jones said, “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.”
Formed in 1990, the alternative metal group Tool are often noted for their staunch principles and expansive exploration of progressive rock and psychedelia. Their live performances are often quite the spectacle, which often tempts fans to take out their camera phones.
Keenan and the band usually allow fans to film the last song of the gig, which is generally ‘Stinkfist’ on this current tour. A quick search of social media will reveal various fan-filmed clips of the track, without the frontman hurling insults at the people behind the cameras.
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