Tool Begins Current Tour Run with Mind Bending Performance in Virginia

Maynard James Keenan and Tool – Eagle Bank Arena – Fairfax, VA

As it stands today Los Angeles, California rockers Tool may never release another record. It’s been over a decade since the band’s last full length LP, 2006’s 10,000 Days dropped and despite rumors and even somewhat cryptic confirmations by band members that new music is on the horizon, the long wait continues.

Tool hasn’t exactly been a touring juggernaut the last ten or so years either, however, based on the fact anytime the band does choose to go out on one of their sporadic, albeit usually brief, live performance runs, their fans still come out in droves.

The Eagle Bank Arena, situated on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia recently served as the jumping off point for Tool’s latest mini trek across North America.

Front man Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, bass player Justin Chancellor and drummer pioneer Danny Carey would go on to deliver a 14-song set list comprised primarily of the many of the same tracks Tool has been playing live for the last four or five years.

One might think based on this fact that Tool’s live shows may have become repetitive, or gasp boring, but that sentiment actually couldn’t be further from the truth.

Tool’s music is intricate enough in its recorded form but the bells and whistles the band adds to their songs in a live setting, combined with the stunning visuals that accompany their stage production, always manage to keep things more than interesting.

Take for instance the band’s performance of a more recently resurrected track from the band’s back catalogue, “Opiate,” from Tool’s debut EP of the same name.

At approximately the two-minute mark of the song Kennan took a short reprieve from the stage while three remaining band members engaged in this trippy, almost African inspired break down that washed over the audience as if they were being taken on this cosmic musical journey through both space and time.

Kennan soon reemerged to give fans a dose of his trade mark off beat humor stating, “now granted having shit on your hands isn’t necessarily life threatening, unless of course you put it in your mouth, but I suggested one thing that was a lie and you all put your hands up to your face right away, it was that easy.”

This was a continuation of a ruse the lead singer had played on the audience earlier in the set when he announced that it had come to his attention someone was speeding around the venue and rubbing human feces on people’s hands.

Kennan then asked the audience to check their hands with many following his instructions. This was punctuated by the singer further commenting, “fear is the mind killer.” Oh that Kennan, ever the merry prankster.

Another example of Tool expanding the scope of their recorded music came in their performance of “Schism,” one of the stand out tracks off 2001’s Lateralus.

As brilliant purples and pinks cascaded throughout the venue to the backdrop of more of Jones’ mind bending visuals, Tool launched into an up tempo improvisation that built up to a furious crescendo before Kennan would once again reemerge to close out the song.

The almost orchestral “Third Eye” from the band’s 1996 release Aenima served as another highlight from the evening’s performance. The track, which closed the main portion of the night’s set, contains numerous rises and falls, proving it was birthed specifically to be played live as it’s yet another song that takes fans on an exalted musically inspired magic carpet ride.

Following a ten-minute intermission Carey would emerge from the shadows to deliver a lengthy drum solo. The percussion interlude pitched and swayed in tempo as galactic inspired visuals meshed with the drummer’s familiar geometric and Enochian symbols in the background before the solo seamlessly transitioned into the band’s performance of “Vicarious.”

Many in the audience were likely hoping Tool would at least close with one track off their first full length record, 1993’s Undertow, which spawned hits such as “Prison Sex” and “Sober.”

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Hard core Tool fans, however, likely know the band has rarely played any of those tracks these past ten years but it’s safe to assume nearly all in attendance were more than okay with the totality of the band’s performance.

As the final act of the evening began to come to fruition Kennan once again provided some levity as before the band performed “Sweat” he commented, “Remember before you scratch your eyes, make sure you check for shit,” which of course elicited more than a few laughs from the audience.

This was followed by show closer and fan favorite, “Stinkfist,” which prior to launching into the song the lead singer thanked the crowd and quipped, “We’re going to finish with a song about a guy who had a fist up his ass.”

Tool has been able to maintain such a fervent and loyal fan base because not only does their music connect with people in an ethereal way, their live shows go well beyond what songs they may or may not perform on any given night.

There simply is no genre of music Tool can easily placed into because they are their own genre. Thus whether the band puts out another record, ten more or if they choose to never release another note of recorded music is almost irrelevant.

The bonds Tool has forged with their fans, in large part due to their sublime live shows, will be forever etched in stone. Tool’s performance at the Eagle Bank Arena recently proved to be, if anything, just another carving into that enchanted musical bedrock.