Seeing a sea of phones filming a Maynard James Keenan performance is a rare sight, as he bans them from his shows with Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. A Perfect Circle kicked off their fall 2018 tour in West Valley, Utah over the weekend, and Keenan allowed fans to film with their phones for the final song as a ‘present from Grandpa.’
jerrysdesigns wrote on Instagram, “What an experience this was. Cell phones weren’t allowed until the last performance and it felt great that everyone was engaged in just the music. Such an amazing show. #aperfectcircle #eattheelephant.”
vimarie.artandthings wrote on Instagram, “We weren’t allowed cell phones in the venue until the very last song. It was such a magical experience to NOT SEE ONE SINGLE CELL PHONE SCREEN until Maynard’s announcement. A Perfect Circle was flawless. An INCREDIBLE show. Holy moly. I am beyond elated from the experience. SO SO SO SO GOOD.”
A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel discussed the band’s no phone policy in a 2017 Montreal Gazette interview.
“We have a no-phone policy at our show,” Howerdel says. They mean it, too — more than 60 people were ejected from a show this month in Reading, Pa., for breaking it. “First of all, it’s just rude. Putting up a phone in front of someone’s face so they get to watch the show through it? Getting a memento of the show — sure, I’ve done it myself. But then you ask, ‘What am I gonna do with this?’
“But the other point is, people talking about the show is so much more powerful. We’re inundated with videos and images, and getting back to a campfire conversation, letting people express how they felt in the experience — it says something more.
“And it speaks to, what does the music mean to you, and how do you want to tether it to your experiences in your life?”
He later said, “I do a VIP tour every day for 15 people on the stage. It’s a ticket you buy that gives you early access and a few extras, and a 30-minute tour with me on the stage.”
