Plastic Rhino Recall Tool

Atara: I’ve been really lucky in growing up with musical parents who loved taking us to concerts. The first show I ever saw I was 2 years old and it was The Bangles at the Greek Theatre L.A. Of course I have no recollection of this show. So, it’s hard for me to pick just one.

But if I must, I would say the show that shook me to my core was Tool at Coachella 2006. They were soon to be releasing 10,000 Days, and this was their first show in 4 years. Coachella then was one weekend and two days. It was my first Coachella. It was 102 that day. I was clad in a bikini top, shorts, baseball hat, and sneakers. There was no dressing cute or trendy back then. You dressed to survive the weather, and the very dirty music festival.

The day had been something I had never experienced before in my life. Jumping from stage to stage seeing bands I knew and bands I didn’t. Trying to stay hydrated, covered in dust. Coachella was not the boujie festival it is now. It was a dirty rock & roll festival that served pizza and beer. There was only one place to get hard liquor on the field. There were no showers. There weren’t enough Porta potties. Massive Attack performed before Tool, and as good as they were, half the audience was eagerly awaiting Tool, and sitting on the ground bored. Massive Attack ended, and the whole crowd jumped forward. My group got caught up in the pushing forward, and it became very claustrophobic. Everyone was piled on one another, in an uncomfortable and hard to breath situation. It was my first time thinking I would get crushed to death in a crowd. Luckily I had 3 big men around me creating a bit of a circle of protection so I could catch my breath. But I was in the pit close to the stage, and there was no turning back now.

The band began to play, starting with “Stinkfist”. I was mesmerized. I knew their music, but I didn’t know the band that well. That was the moment I became a Tool fan. They played 3 new songs off the 10,000 Days record ahead of release, and the crowd created a human wave going side to side. Mostly men. Moshing, screaming, stomping that field to death. The air had cooled a bit, our feet ached, we were drained. That show sucked the life out of me and put it back in me changed. I witnessed the power of music that night. The next time I would be shaken to my core like that was a mere few months later seeing Daft Punk’s Pyramid Tour at LA’s sports Arena in 2007.

I learned never to miss a band I love when they come through town. You never know what show will change your life.

Plastic Rhino Recall Tool: Plastic Rhino’s single “King” is out now. The Terminus album is out soon.