Review: TOOL concert
The lights dim as a heartbeat rings throughout Thompson-Boling arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. A giant roar rises from the crowd brimming with excitement. This continues for a few seconds before the first synthesizer note of “Fear Inoculum” shrieks out. The note repeats as three of the four band members come on stage. Guitarist Adam Jones kicks into long guitar notes, followed by drummer Danny Carey and finally bassist Justin Chancelor, who sets the song in motion with a cool bass groove. Two minutes later, frontman Maynard James Keenan starts singing his eerie lyrics as a psychedelic red background pulsates behind him. This is TOOL.
Performing live since 1992, the band still sounds like they aren’t middle-aged. The noise felt screechy at the beginning of the concert, with the guitar and bass both cranked to the max. As the show went on and people began to lose their hearing, the sound started to get better.
In the mix, Carey’s drumming was on full display, much louder than the recorded songs. Each bass drum hit sent rumbles through the audience’s bones. This volume made the drum feature in the song “Chocolate Chip Trip” extremely immersive.
During fan favorite “The Grudge,” Jones broke a string on his guitar and continued playing without any problems, making the song even cooler to fans who noticed. A stagehand replaced it while he kept playing the song.
In terms of the setlist, the band mostly featured songs from their newest and least loved album, “Fear Inoculum.” The songs were slower and longer than older songs, but the exquisite performance made up for it. For example the song “Invincible” goes on for almost 13 minutes.
Throughout the concert, the band enforced a strict no phone policy. Flashlights were used during the performance to track down people recording, and if they were, they were escorted away. The lack of blue light helped make the experience more in the moment. For their last song, “Ænima,” the band allowed recording, but only under the condition that people on the floor didn’t use the flash. The song was noticeably less satisfying to watch because of all the phones.
Behind the stunning musical performance was an insane light show and different backgrounds. The backgrounds were made by Jones, a talented VFX artist. Before dedicating all his time to the band, Jones worked on some popular films such as “Jurassic Park,” “Terminator II” and “Judgement Day.” The backgrounds featured disturbing images, such as lanky figures with popping spines or kaleidoscoping fractals.
The show was an enjoyable audio and visual experience. The energy was high and the band’s performance was amazing, making up for a lackluster setlist.
5/5
