Much to the chagrin of a vocal portion of their fans, progressive alternative metal stars Tool have long enforced a strict no filming policy at their headlining shows. Those who have dared to flout the rules and pulled out their smart phone during the band’s set have often seen themselves warned, if not ejected by security. A select few have even personally been scolded from the stage by the band’s vocalist Maynard James Keenan.
Back in 2022, guitarist Adam Jones weighed in on the matter, citing the sea of lights in the audience as being distracting — if not at times blinding — to not only the band, but also other fans attending the show. Keenan however has been a bit more prickly on the matter, stating back in 2024:
“It’s rude. Not to us, I mean, I just did a whole photoshoot. I’m not afraid of cameras and I’m not afraid of phones. I’ve got mine right here. It’s a very useful tool.
There’s no way you can actually capture what’s happening in that live moment on a phone. You’re missing the opportunity of actually absorbing in real time what’s happening. The art of storytelling. Being able to actually recount what you saw without having to record it.
Training your brain to live in the moment and see the thing, but more importantly, stop annoying the person behind you. It’s annoying, it’s distracting and it’s distracting for us, too. So put it the fuck away, grow the fuck up. It’s only two hours. And at the end of the show, we usually let you film a song, so you get your souvenir.”
He later went on to add:
“…You do it in a theater, you do it at a play, you do it at an orchestral performance, you get removed. You don’t get to do it. Do it at an opera, you’re leaving. It’s rude. You’re here to experience a thing. You paid all that money to be here to witness what we do, not what you do.”
As such, fan-filmed footage of complete Tool live performances has become an increasingly rare commodity over the years, generally only emerging from the band’s select festival appearances. Given the circumstances laid out above, the prospect of a professionally-filmed live Tool show might as well be considered a delicacy at this point, given the relative scarcity in recent years.
And yet exactly that was served up during yesterday’s (March 22nd) date of the annual ‘Lollapalooza Argentina‘ festival in San Isidro, Argentina. Tool‘s entire 9-song set was filmed and livestreamed via Argentine television and internet company Flow and has since been uploaded online via YouTube below. However, don’t expect to see any close-ups of the band themselves, with the filming generally taking place from an *ahem* good safe distance.
That performance took place at the Hipódromo de San Isidro and is part of Tool‘s first-ever Latin American headlining tour that has been taking place this month. In case you were wondering, despite the setlist controversy the band have faced on this tour, last night’s performance stuck to the status quo, offering up the following songs:
“Stinkfist”
“The Pot”
“Fear Inoculum”
“Rosetta Stoned”
“Pneuma”
“The Grudge”
“Jambi”
“Invincible”
“Vicarious”
Three more festival stops remain on Tool‘s virgin run across South America. The upcoming months that follow are expected to find them working on new material for their already long-awaited follow-up to their 2019 hit comeback album “Fear Inoculum“.
Tool live:
03/23 Santiago, CHL – Lollapalooza Chile
03/28 Bogotá, COL – Festival Estereo Picnic
03/30 São Paulo, BRA – Lollapalooza Brasil
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
