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10/21/2023

Tool with Steel Beans at Moda Center on 10/19/23 -Photos and opinion

By BRENT ANGELO //  Tool brings their 2023 North American Fall Tour to Portland. 

Concert Aspect and Opinion

As Tool fans entered the arena, they were met by notices stating cell phones were not permitted for photos, recording video or texting. Inside there was also an official audio announcement stating those very rules before the show started. This was serious stuff inside the arena too and security were under scrutiny instructed to eject fans if they still tried after being warned.

How can you seriously police something like this? Security already must manage the large crowd, keep the band safe and overall help the event run smoothly. Every fan in that building has a cell phone and honestly what is truly the harm? Truthfully, the warning didn't stop fans, some were not happy with the policy some even arguing with security staff putting them at risk of getting kicked out.

Cell phones truthfully have become part of the concert experience for most. You Tube videos are already easily available to watch. Concert fans, who first off have paid good money to see and hear the band play are not truly doing anything wrong here. They just want to capture a moment for themselves to be able to relive later. I will say there is also a fine line too.

People who use cell phones during the show must respect the people around them. Things like flash should never be used as that interferes with the show for example. Back in the day, I get why artists and the music business didn’t like the bootlegger types who snuck in recording equipment, got good live recordings of the show, and would later sell them. It wasn’t their product to sell.

Some bands would later on get smart and start professionally recording their shows so fans wouldn’t have to record anything. There would now be an official way to get a good quality release of their show. Great. Awesome even. A win win for both the bands and the hardcore fans wanting more. These options are sadly few and in between so it leaves music fans most of the time left to their own devices literally.

So, why do some bands like Tool make so much of an issue with cell phones? Most fans just want a few good pictures for themselves or maybe to share online, get a video clip or two for memory’s sake and that’s all. To the bands like Tool I just say, let the fans have their moments. The money the fans spent for your concert ticket (and its not cheap anymore) supports your profession. Without the paying fans…..well…there is no show.

On a personal note, I have been a concert goer for many years. I have seen so many great things and have had so many incredible concert memories of my own. When I was younger, there were no cell phones that could record HD video or get high quality images. You basically had things like cheap disposable cameras.

If you were able to sneak it in and not get caught, you would be awarded these low-quality images, but it was still something to hold on to. Time is a crazy thing. After the years pass, those memories start to fade, some of the artists sadly pass on, and the very history of those concert moments almost vanish in time. The real value of those videos and photos will come later in life. I wish I could relive some of my memorable concert moments, but I simply can’t. I so wish I could pull up a video or see some good photos to relive those moments how I experienced them.

When you stand at the feet of someone like Eddie Van Halen, see just how much awe-inspiring talent there was in that one person, those are the times I just don’t want to ever forget, but those fine details are sadly fading over time. Now he is gone. What I would give to go back to that front row view I had if I could. So, there is awesome potential in cell phones. Respect and appreciate what they can do. Cell phones have the power to be time machines later on.    

Tool
Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
October 19, 2023
North American Fall Tour 2023

Setlist
Fear Inoculum
Jambi
The Pot
Rosetta Stoned
Pneuma
Descending
Swamp Song
The Grudge

Intermission
Chocolate Chip Trip
Culling Voices
Invincible
Ænema

Tool

Steel Beans (what a GREAT opener. Awesome talent and fun opening performance!)

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