If you’ve ever been stuck watching a concert through someone else’s phone screen, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan says you’re exactly the reason his band enforces a strict no-phone policy at shows.
The longtime rule limits photos and videos to a few approved moments, and according to Keenan, it’s less about controlling fans and more about basic courtesy — and protecting the shared live music experience.
“It’s not about us; it’s about the person behind you, because they’re having to look at the show,” Keenan explained on the “Steve-O’s Wild Ride!” podcast.
“This person paid, like, 70 bucks for a ticket, and now [they ’re] back here trying to see the show through your phone. That’s just rude to people. That’s why we pick a couple songs and go, ‘You can film these,’ but don’t ruin somebody else’s experience for the rest of the show. It’s just selfish, and you’re unaware of your behavior.”
The rock legend clarified that his stance has less to do with technology and more to do with consideration for others.
“There are a few things, when you’re a kid, that your grandma or your mom taught you. Like, there are the danger ones, and then there are the courtesy ones, right? The danger ones are like, ‘Look both ways before you cross the street,’ right? There’s a short list of five things: don’t put your hand on the stove; don’t run with scissors. And then there are the courtesy ones: please, thank you, yes or no, sir, yes, ma’am, no, ma’am. Don’t point — pointing is rude.”
To make his point clear, Keenan pulled out his phone during the interview and aimed it directly at host Steve-O, adding, “You point and shoot.”
The same phone-free rule applies to Keenan’s other bands, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle — so if you’re heading to Puscifer’s spring North American tour for Normal Isn’t, expect to put your phone away.
Tool isn’t alone in pushing back against constant phone use at live shows. Artists including Bob Dylan, Jack White, Guns N' Roses, Alicia Keys and Childish Gambino have also required fans to limit or fully lock away their phones during concerts.
In many venues, devices are placed in secured pouches handled by staff, allowing access only in designated areas or after the show ends.
White has previously explained that limiting phone use directly affects how he performs onstage.
"I don't have a setlist. I really react to the crowd, just like a stand-up comedian would. If I finish a song and it’s 'tah-dah!' and it's crickets. I don't know what to do now," the rock artist said in a 2018 interview with Apple Music.
"What I don't like, is that how they really feel or are they just not even paying attention because they are doing this, they are texting? When you go to a movie theatre, a symphony, church, there are all these moments in life when people put them away and engage."
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