There are few concerts in life that can be described as something akin to a spiritual awakening; but those who attended the first of two Tool shows in Auckland last night would wholeheartedly agree.Tool isn’t just another rock show. Tool is an experience.
Having last graced Spark Arena five years ago, when Tool announced their headline show back in September – something that is almost unheard of nowadays, most bands announcing, sometimes, up to a year in advance – it was no surprise that tickets were snapped up.
A second show was quickly added which too was sold out in mere hours. The speed in which tickets disappeared a testament to their legendary live performances despite having only released five full length albums over their career that spans thirty-five years.
To begin the evening, a trio of Australians from the Gold Coast graced the stage with their outstanding blend of grunge-esque Rock, that at times drifted into slightly heavier shoegaze, much of their sound often being comparable to Nirvana, with almost a touch of Oasis running through the vocal undercurrent.
Headsend featuring brothers Kyuss and Rasmus King, the boys soon recruited their Nan’s neighbour Bon who became their drummer.
Having only formed last year and racking up less than a couple of dozen live performances (which was bolstered by their support slot on the Wunderhorse Australasian tour back in September), to then be handpicked to support Tool is nothing short of the chance of a lifetime.
Against a simple background of red, the trio played a set to be proud of, featuring their current singles …Stove and Chugg. They were both engaging whilst losing none of the raw energy that pulsed from their instruments. A band to watch closely over the next year as guaranteed their following will grow exponentially.
As the lights dropped, plunging the arena into darkness a roar arose from its belly as attendees leaned towards the stage, the anticipation hanging in the air as one by one the members of Tool took up their respective positions.
Maynard James Keenan, a man known to be visually allusive at the best of times soon appeared, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans, gripping his microphone stand and swaying as the opening notes of The Grudge from the 2001 Lateralus album rang out and the giant screen behind him came to life with images that only Tool can accompany musically.
Hi. Sorry about the Covid. Laughter – not a sound you oft expect to hear during a show such as this – rippled through the crowd as Maynard addressed the room.
Known for his quick wit and fierce intellect (this is a man who after all named his vineyards Merkin after the term for pubic wigs because I think I’m funny), Maynard made a simple request. For everyone to be present to connect with the band, to put away their phones and be in the moment for the next couple of hours.
And how refreshing it was to look around the arena, and see darkness, not a screen to be seen, just thousands of people, present, engaged and enjoying the aural and visual smorgasbord before them.
The distinct chimes of the beginning of Fear Inoculum were soon delicately overlaid by the incredible Danny Carey on drums, guitar virtuoso Adam Jones’ notes adding to the intricate layers of the song as Maynard like a high priest crouched and shifted seamlessly between melodic vocals to breathy chanting and finally into full bodied richness. A vocalist second to none, his voice is incredibly powerful and distinctive.
He has lost none of his range nor capacity, Maynard attributing it to the simple philosophy of sleep and water and shut the fuck up, his disciplined nature (who he credits to his father Mike) allowing him to protect one of his most valuable assets. Thirty-five years on it is still just as phenomenal as it always has been.
With lighting by LD Jacobson who has been with Tool for twenty-seven years, the mood shifted as the band launched into Rosetta Stoned from 10,000 Days, Maynards almost maniacal chattering of the lyrics, animalistic, his body coiled, as if ready to pounce, before he would then pace in small, tight circles.
Three tracks in and already thirty minutes had elapsed, but to those there, time was indeed an illusion, so immersive was the experience as giant aliens looked down from the screen as if studying the band members before them.
But Tool were only just warming up, as they hit Auckland with a double header of both Disposition and H, the latter just as intense as it was when it was released twenty-nine years ago.
Maynard once describing the song as like a cartoon character with an angel and a devil on each of his shoulders, one pulling him towards good the other bad, when in reality it is friends imparting advice. But ultimately, as with everything in life, it comes down to you. You must make the decision yourself.
Lasers designed by Scott Wilson of PDI who has been with Tool since they added lasers to their tour visuals in 2006, fanned over the arena, at times sharp and piercing, at others soft and ethereal, the attention to detail of even producing patterns on the hanging speaker stacks testimony to Tool’s and their team’s creative hive mind.
Rolling intricate time signatures provided by Jones and Carey, ushered in Jambi, Justin Chancellors pregnant bass lines, swelling up from underneath as the razor-sharp bite to Maynards vocals kicked in.
Pneuma shifting tone once again into the sacred, Maynard calling upon the child to release the light, the opus that clocks in at almost twelve minutes a journey in itself.
A deep cut that saw many an admirer almost gasp in disbelief was Crawl Away from their debut album Undertow, the visceral composition of both the music and lyrics, like a punch to the gut, Carey absolutely decimating the drum line.
The problem with playing tracks you haven’t played in twenty years, is that you are now twenty years older Maynard wryly lamented. Are you alright? he asked a drenched Carey who just nodded back.
Vicarious came next, continuing the intensity before Tool once again dived back into their debut with Intolerance, many in the audience joining Maynard in the chant of You lie, cheat and steal! All in attendance seemingly moving as one organism as the potency of the song washed over them.
An intermission, with complementary on-screen countdown allowed those to make a mad dash for the facilities while the rest of the crowd amused themselves with a rather impressive Mexican wave.
Chocolate Chip Trip saw Danny Carey in his full Lateralus bodysuit deliver yet another stunning drum solo, before emulating a mad scientist as he stood and twiddled with the electronics behind him.
A surprise Black Sabbath cover of Hand of Doom was embraced wholeheartedly by the audience, Maynard simply stating RIP Ozzy upon its conclusion, the rapturous applause signalling the respect felt by everyone for the icon that was Osbourne.
Alright, you can take out your phones now Maynard announced, but turn off the lights, that’s just rude. If you don’t know how ask one of the young people beside you.
While many phones were indeed raised, it was certainly not the quantity seen at most shows, many choosing to remain present instead. See you tomorrow, bitches! Maynard declared before Tool launched into Invincible from Fear Inoculum.
The song in many ways sums up Tool beautifully, a band that with age have embraced the choices that are most important to them. Warriors struggling to remain consequential, and yet by inoculating themselves against fear itself and continuing down a determined path of artistic creation that is set by them and no others they have remained one of the true juggernauts of the progressive Metal scene, and indeed the music industry itself.
Maynard stepped down and fist bumped his fellow band mates before swiftly leaving the stage, the rest of the members taking a moment or two to gift picks and sticks to the lucky few who managed to catch them.
The warriors had uttered their battle cry, and once again left, triumphant.
Sarah Kidd
Photography by Leonie Moreland
TOOL
Headsend
Set List
The Grudge
Fear Inoculum
Rosetta Stoned
Disposition
H
Jambi
Pneuma
Crawl Away
Vicarious
Chocolate Chip Trip – encore
Hand of Doom – cover Black Sabbath – encore
Invincible – encore
