Tool’s Adam Jones prefers club gigs, says “only a certain amount of people” can enjoy stadium shows

Tool guitarist Adam Jones has said that “only a certain amount of people” can enjoy stadium shows when discussing why the band has turned down offers for stadium tours.

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Jones told Metal Hammer in a recent interview that he preferred more intimate club gigs, saying, “[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… 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.”

Describing a gig the band had played in a smaller venue in Oslo, Norway with a unique setup that saw Tool performing in the middle of the room, Jones explained, “There is something to be said for playing a club — that intimacy — and we’ve talked about doing that Rolling Stones thing where they did a club tour and had a higher ticket price, and that seems like something that could be good.”

Jones did not share further plans for a club tour, but did emphasise that Tool is considering all fans who attend their concerts as they have been “designed so that the worst nosebleed seat is great,” with Jones even going on declare them as “almost the best seats in the house” as those attendees will be able to see every detail of Tool’s stage performance.

Tool is still in the midst of a three-month-long US and European tour, which will conclude this 24 May at the HU SportAréna in Budapest.

The band recently stoked some controversy among fans over an $810 signed vinyl of the band’s 2019 record Fear Inoculum being offered on the tour. Currently only available at live shows, with a wider release planned for later in the spring, the Fear Inoculum Ultra Deluxe LP release consists of five 180g disks, etched on one side with audio, on the other with artwork. It also comes with a large full-colour artbook.

Unfortunately, fans have not received the vinyl positively, with one particular user in Tool’s fan subreddit writing, “Music unavailable on streaming for a decade. No vinyl releases worth a damn since Aenima. Tool Army [fanclub] $50 annually. $500 VIP. Regular tickets $100+ in most cases. Overpriced t-shirts and posters. Ignored scalping. And now, a $810 autographed [Fear Inoculum] vinyl kicking off the wider release.”