Tool has the art of blowing minds down to a science. They know what they’re doing, and at this point they have enough funds to put on one hell of a show. I attended their concert at Key Arena in Seattle, which has never been my favorite venue, but they turned the whole place into a psychedelic wonderland of swirling images and lasers. It was gorgeous!
The Key Arena is, well, just an arena. There’s nothing too special about it. The one thing that sets the place apart from other concert venues is their security team. Those people are super serious. For example, at a past show, a friend of mine was using a couple of safety pins to hold up the hem of his pants, but he couldn’t make it past security without handing over the pins. I mean, the things even have the word “safety” in their name, people! Come on. Anyway, they were predictably strict this time as well — especially when it came to cameras. It’s my understanding that orders came down from the band that no cameras — even cell phone cameras — were to be allowed in the venue. People were allowed to bring their phones in, but if they were spotted using it to take a picture or video, they were tackled and either ejected from the show or their phone was confiscated. It was a little nuts.
Four other photographers and I were given access to shoot the show, but we were only allowed to shoot during the first song and were placed at the back of the arena floor, behind the audience. I’m a short little gal, so, unfortunately, the pictures I took were mostly of the back of people’s heads. Other photographers had better luck than I did, including the lovely Kam Martin, who allowed Verbicide to use her photos along with this review.
Tim Leary’s voice was the first sound we heard come out of the speakers, during the intro to “Third Eye.” A yellow CGI image of Leary’s face wavered and warped on the big screen spanning the stage as he urged everyone to “Think for yourself, question authority.” When the music started playing, the sound quality was amazing. I was itching to go back up to my seat and watch the show. I’m a fan of the band, and I had purchased tickets months ago the day they went on sale (two tickets for the low low price of $163.97). The tickets sold out in less than an hour and I was lucky to have gotten them. Screw this photographer crap, I thought to myself, I just want to go lose myself in the music. When the song was almost over, the photographers were led to the side door, and we had to go find a place to stow our cameras — we weren’t allowed to bring them back into the arena.
I rushed to get my camera stowed away, and pondered why it was that I was having to do so. Why does Tool dislike the idea of having their picture taken during their performance? They have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of — the stage setup was beautiful, and we all already know what they look like. I’m sure their fans who didn’t get the chance to attend would love to see a photo or two, and the ones who did attend probably wanted to send TwitPics out to their followers. Is it the flashes? I can certainly understand how it would be distracting to have flashbulbs going off in your face while on stage. Perhaps one too many photographers ignored Tool’s strict no-flash policy in the past, leading the band to distrust all photographers.
Maybe it’s something different, though, something deeper than that. Though it’s a rock show, and the arena was filled with over 16,000 people, the performance had an intensely intimate feel. Tool displays sacred symbols onstage and they discuss deep, esoteric topics in their lyrics. Perhaps, in the tradition of sacred ceremonies, the band wants the performance recorded in the minds of those present, rather than having a soulless, crappy cell phone photograph be the way that the experience is documented. I imagined attending an ayahuasca ritual in the Amazonian jungle and snapping photos of the shaman as he prepares the drink. It just seems wrong; it seems inappropriate. Some things are better left a mystery. Perhaps the lack of an ability to take photos caused individuals to pay more attention during the show — although, plenty of people thought for themselves, questioned authority, and broke the rules by taking pictures and videos. I did a search on YouTube for “Tool Key Arena July 10” and found plenty of examples of these rule breakers’ efforts.
By the time I made my way back to my seat, “Third Eye” was over and “Jambi” had begun. Maynard James Keenan’s voice sounded beautiful as always, and he stood on a platform next to Danny Carey’s drum set. On the platform underneath Danny’s drums were LCD panels projecting images that matched those on the large screens above and at the back of the stage. On the platform underneath Maynard’s feet there was no screen, just a flat, dark platform. This caused him to be silhouetted for most of the show, a dark, shadowy man with a cowboy hat on, holding a megaphone. Justin Chancellor and Adam Jones stood closer to the crowd on opposite corners of the stage.
After “Jambi” they moved into “Stinkfist” and their creepy video for the song was played on the screens. When they launched into “Vicarious,” that’s when the real spectacle began. There were at least six bright beautiful screens that lit up, and multicolored lasers that shot out from the center of the stage, moving in time with the music. Some of the screens were on hydraulic, robot-like arms and moved around to different positions in between songs. I assure you, it was nothing short of epic. I eyed my water bottle suspiciously, wondering if I had been dosed — the colors seemed impossibly brilliant.
The next song they played, “The Patient,” is a song that has a lot of long notes in it, and Maynard held all of them just as long as he does on the record. The show was close to the end of their tour, and I would’ve understood if he had been a bit froggy. As he sang, “I certainly would’ve walked away, by nooooooow,” it was clear that he was quite frog-free that evening. His voice was clear as a bell.
Maynard didn’t use his voice for much other than to sing. He’s not much for on-stage banter. At one point he addressed the crowd as “Oompa Loompas,” and prior to their performance of “Intolerance” off of Undertow he asked for a show of hands, wanting to see how many people in the audience were under 21. Lights shined on the audience and many peoples’ hands were in the air. He instructed them to keep their hands up, and asked everyone 25 or under to raise their hands as well. Maynard then stated that all of the people with their hands raised were either five years old or not yet born when “Intolerance” was written. “Just to give you some perspective,” he said.
They played “Schism” and “46 & 2,” and then there was a long wait prior to the band’s performance of “Lateralus,” which featured the trippiest visuals of the evening. The drummer from the opening band Rajas came onstage and had a drum battle with Danny Carey during the song.
The final song of their performance was “Ænima.” As the lasers danced and the many screens projected beautiful, high definition images, I didn’t miss the irony as he sang the lyric, “One great big festering neon distraction.” “Ænima” was by far the most intense moment of the show. Towards the end of the song, the music got a bit quieter, and as he sang, “I’m praying for rain/I’m praying for tidal waves/I want to see the ground give way/I want to watch it all go down,” almost everyone in the arena — including myself — were singing along passionately. The roar seemed to shake the building and colors exploded from the stage. Our minds had been blown.
There was no encore, which at first disappointed me, but I understand why it wasn’t necessary. A commenter on setlist.fm said it best, “Tool never plays an encore. Their show is a fully choreographed show and there aren’t too many improv moments. It is meant to be an art piece in itself with a beginning, middle, and end. An encore would just be a letdown after the climax.” Indeed. I’m not sure how they could’ve topped their performance of “Ænima,” and I’m pretty sure the audience would have begged for more even if the show went on all night! It was a fantastic show, though, well worth the spendy ticket, the ridiculous post-show traffic jam, and the rubdown from the female security guard. I’d jump at the chance to see them play again.