Tool fans are famously loyal, and they're willing to shell out a lot of money for concert tickets and elaborate merch, but that doesn't mean that they they're OK with being ripped off. This past weekend, Tool headlined Live In The Sand, their own all-inclusive destination festival at Hard Rock & Royalton Resorts in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. They put together an all-star bill featuring peers like Mastodon and Primus, and they headlined two nights. But the band promised "two unique sets," and they did not deliver. Some of their fans were royally pissed, and they let the band hear it.
In their second Live In The Sand set, Tool only played nine songs, some of which were also part of their first-night set. Tool did not sell single-night passes for the fest, so these were presumably all the same fans hearing the same songs a second time. With travel and hotel, the weekend cost as much as $10,000, according to some fans on Reddit. One writes, "They only played an hour and mostly repeats from the first night." Another blamed frontman Maynard James Keenan: "I'll aways love the music, but I've never seen someone who hates the fans that made him rich as much as that guy." Many pointed out that Keenan, on the second night, asked fans who hadn't been there for the first set, as if he didn't even realize that single-day passes weren't available.
It's hard to gauge a crowd reaction based on a blurry eight-second video taken from one part of a crowd, but based on this eight-second video, Tool fans were not happy with the band and dozens of them are reportedly planning a class action lawsuit.
Video of Boos and FU’s Saturday Night in Dominican Republic
byu/nathalyscheider inToolBand
Some of the other bands at Live In The Sand debuted new lineups. Mastodon played their first set since lead guitarist and singer Brent Hinds made the shocking announcement that he has left the group. YouTuber Ben Eller filled in for Hinds, though it's not clear if he's a permanent new member. Primus played their first set with new drummer John Hoffman after the departure of longtime member Tim "Herb" Alexander. Fishbone also performed, with the new lineup that took shape after band members Norwood Fisher, Walter Kibby, Mark Phillips, and Aroyn Day all quit last year. Fisher is currently pursuing legal action against his former bandmates.
