dabouleyboo

Great show . . . . . too bad I missed a significant portion of it thanks to the band and their lame ass, no class, meathead mentality security dipshits! The band apparently still has a holy and sacred complex about their image (i.e. absolutely no pictures of the band may be taken at anytime during the show). So to all you tens of thousands of fans out there who have taken live shots of the band: Fuck you! They do not like you!

Did anyone else notice the six-foot sign staring you in the face as you entered the arena with the rules . . . one of which clearly stated that there are to be no cameras with lenses larger than 3 1/2", which is consistent with the Staples Center website which says no professional photography or flash photography:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/photodab/IMG_0369.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/photodab/IMG_0374.jpg

I had just told my buddy, "Dude, I might need to go back to the car. I don't know if they're going to let cameras in here." Then I saw the sign and thought, "Sweet! My little Canon Powershot w/ the flash off is fine." No such luck. About midway through the show, some jerk-off grabs hold of me and asks me to go with him. He then ushered me past the side of the stage (which was pretty cool) and told me that I could either give him my battery, my memory card, or leave the show. When I said, "Bud, you have signs right at the front entrance that says my camera is fine", he and someone else then ushered me into some side room with some other guy. They all pretty much told me that the sign I'm talking about didn't exist. Turns out, it's because they work for the band and not the Staples Center, so they don't know the fucking rules or Staples Center's posted policy. The guy then has me pull out my ticket and shows me where it says, 'no cameras, audio/video devices' in fine print. I'm sorry - I really am, but when I have to pay $450 to some broker for two tickets, I'm simply looking for the seat number and the fact that it says 'TOOL' on it. I don't study a fucking concert ticket. When I put my wallet, cell phone, and CAMERA into the little bowl as I passed through the metal detector, I would think someone would have informed me that it was a problem to take the camera in.

Anyways, I was cool and calm and offered to comply by giving them my battery. The new guy then says, "No. The battery AND the memory card." Then I'm like, "Hell no! That has pictures of me and my wife on vacation. I'll delete the fucking Tool pictures, but you're not getting my personal shit!" So then the fat-ass says I have to leave, and before I know it there's about a dozen security guys there to escort me out. So now I loose my cool and I say that, "I need to speak to someone's manager NOW! This is complete bullshit!" The supervisor of Staples Center security then shows up and starts to talk with me. He was cool as hell, courteous, polite, and understanding. He listened to what I had to say about the confusion and then asked me to answer one question, "Were you aggressive with the bands security at all?" I said, "Absolutely not. It wasn't until I realized that I was being strong-armed out on to the sidewalk that I got pissed off." I simply tried to talk with them, get them to understand the conflicting information, and offered to reasonbly comply.

The supervisor then allowed me to check in my camera (which I was later able to retrieve), and apologised for any inconvenience. He then (himself) escorted me back to my seat on the floor because 'Fat-Ass' had taken my ticket. He also said the band's security was supposed to check in with him before anyone is ejected. He could tell I didn't mean to cause any trouble and he was well aware of Staples Center policy. He said that usually it's fine and that concerts usually allow cameras nowadays, but that a few bands still do not. Hey TOOL: There's cell phones now w/ 3.0 megapixel cameras. You gonna ban phones too??? What's the big fuckin' deal? It's your right and I understand that, and I tried to respect that when I found out it was your wishes. But for YOUR employees to have that kind of attitude with YOUR fans is fucking ridiculous! It should be YOUR responsibility to make sure the venue doesn't give conflicting information. I've got fuckin' Ape Boy dancing like Maynard next to me and some guy in front blowin' smoke in my face all night, and I get kicked out for my little camera. Don't get me wrong - Maynard is awesome to watch, but you don't want to be standing next to him while trying to watch a show, . . . unless it's really him.

After all that, I did get back in time to see the debut of Wings/10,000 Days, thank God. It was awesome! I would have been so pissed if I had missed that. So glad they all decided to do it despite how difficult it must be for one of their members. It was touching to say the least . . .

I would love to see them tonight, but I think I've still got a bitter taste in my mouth about the whole thing. Oh yeah, . . . after the show on the way out, an usher pointed out to where the band's people had taped newspaper size print of their rules on the window:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/photodab/IMG_0373.jpg).

Don't know how I missed that!

Sorry, but I had to vent.