Though it had only been two years since Tool’s last Australian visit, persistent speculation about their as yet un-announced new album (and first since 2006’s 10,000 Days) drew a sold out crowd to Rod Laver Arena. Constant brouhaha’s about whether they’d be playing new material filled the ranks of people passing through the turnstiles.
Entering the venue, what sounded like the walloping low-end of Flume was bellowing from the stage, as a stationary DJ performed for a stationary crowd. It was an eerie sight, hearing such maximalist beats being spun through such a gargantuan sound system – to a completely motionless audience.
Some people started to shift their feet as Aphex Twin’s ‘Windowlicker’ slithered from the speakers, but were let down when the song was abruptly stopped and the unknown DJ promptly shuffled from the stage.
Shortly thereafter an array of technicians scattered across the stage, all donning white lab coats (because, you know, Tool are weird).
This sense of weirdness could be seen in singer Maynard James Keenan, who quietly entered from, and remained, at the back of the stage, shrouded in darkness and sporting sunglasses (inside?!?).
Danny Carey, in one of his trademark basketball guernseys (tonight he was a Lakers fan) took his spot behind his enormous, double-bass-drum-and-gong-inclusive drumkit.
Keenan’s vocals were being delivered through a loudspeaker at his hip as they launched into opener ‘Hooker With A Penis’. Though the distortion of the megaphone was an appropriate tone for Keenan’s voice, his vocals were sitting far too low in the mix. This didn’t matter during the chorus though, with the crowd making up for what the vocals lacked as they commandeered the commanding line “so you can point that fucking finger up your ass.”
However, Keenan’s vocals again became a problem in ‘Vicarious’, with his booming tenor missing during an entire verse.
Though, with 20 or so different screens in all areas behind, in front, and onstage, the Adam Jones/Alex Grey-helmed visuals for the song provided an engrossing distraction.
The most notable Tool singles followed, with ‘Sober’ pulling people from their seats, and ‘Schism’ bringing the first whispered “fucking hell Danny Carey’s an amazing drummer.” People coming to a Tool concert are likely already converted, but seeing Carey patrol across his drums with such presence and intensity – leaving many faces aghast – suggests you’d swear they’d never heard drums being played before.
The token ‘deep album cut’ of the night came in the form of 10,000 Days’ textural track ‘Intension’. Bassist Justin Chancellor took a break from his low-end intricacies to create waves of differing tones, while guitarist Adam Jones and Carey took turns adding the nuances. All the while Keenan remained in the shadows, menacingly swaying from side to side.
Rising out of the show’s dynamic drop came ‘Lateralus’, which highlighted Tool’s strength at melding different rhythms, time signatures, tones and ideas into a complex, but concise whole.
After a 15 minute interval, Carey returned to the stage alone for a brief but impressive drum solo, before the band launched into ‘Jambi’. Ending the night, Tool launched into a one-two Ænima punch with ‘Forty-Six & 2’ and ‘Ænima’. Then Keenan made his first real address to the crowd, with a simple “see you tomorrow” before the band’s final song, ‘Stinkfist’.
Finishing with three songs from their 1996 album seemed an odd choice to complete the set. Especially when it meant that Lateralus and Undertow received a poultry three offerings between them. Though there’s no denying the power of ‘Ænima’, or that there’s any doubt ‘Stinkfist’ was the highlight of the night; it would have been nice to hear ‘Parabola’ or ‘Prison Sex’ at some stage.
But regardless of song choice, Tool put on a wholly engrossing show. Putting aside their lasers and entertaining visual spectacle, it’s hard to find a band able to throttle an audience so hard for two hours and leave them wanting more. All you can hope for is that Tool release another album so we can be manhandled again sooner.
