Tool's Fear Inoculum European tour launches in the UK this week beginning tonight (Monday, May 2nd) in Manchester and guitarist Adam Jones tells Metal Hammer that he stands by the band's no photo policy during live shows. He said, “I just think, once you pull your phone out, you’re not connecting, you're not at the show, you’re more about capturing it from your phone, watching it from your phone. Okay, then just go on YouTube. Why bother? . . .”
Jones added, “We spend a lot of money on the show, we spend a lot of money on getting the best people on the video and the laser show. We have this three-dimensional curtain effect, which is incredible . . . You’ve paid the money to immerse yourself in this, we’re taking you by the hand and trying to take you on a little journey and do our magic for you. Which is something that requires your attention and your eye contact. It’s a different world, it’s a request and it’s respectful, and I think our fans seem absolutely fine with it.”
Tool is playing arenas these days, and that's about as large a venue as they're interested in playing. Jones explained, “We’ve been offered stadiums and we’ve turned them down, because we think that at that size there are only a certain amount of people that can actually enjoy that show. It’s not about you anymore. Seeing the Rolling Stones and you’re all the way back in the stadium and you’re basically watching a jumbotron, you know? I’m not into it, we’d rather do two nights in a smaller place than one night in a huge place . . .”