After years of anticipation, Tool returned to Perth for a night of immersive, mind-bending prog-metal.
The show at RAC Arena on Tuesday night (December 2nd) offered everything fans could hope for. From deep cuts to overwhelming sound and visuals, it felt otherworldly, while a near-religious insistence on presence reminded the crowd to stay fully engaged with the moment.
Tone Deaf was there – here are three takeaways from the spectacular night!
Digging Deep
Rather than rely on obvious hits, Tool’s setlist skipped big alt-metal staples like “Stinkfist” “Ænima”, and “Forty Six & 2” in favour of deeper album cuts and songs not played live for decades, including “Disposition” and “H.”, and even “Crawl Away” which hadn’t been heard on tour in 27 years.
A gift for devoted fans, the setlist offered a rich, comprehensive experience of Tool’s catalogue, unfiltered and unpolished. While it may have felt disappointing for newcomers hoping to hear the hits, it seems that’s largely the point. Tool clearly weren’t interested in catering to casual listeners.
Being Present
Frontman Maynard James Keenan opened the night with a blunt request: “Stay with us. Stay present. Put your fucking phones down.” It followed a warning by a voiceover that made clear anyone filming would face eviction. “If you can’t leave your phone alone, stick it up your arse,” he added.
While a few concertgoers couldn’t help themselves, the overall absence of hundreds of phones provided a breath of fresh air.
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Keenan later loosened the rules, allowing fans to film and snap photos to their heart’s content for closing songs “Invincible” and “Vicarious”, though he couldn’t resist dubbing them “your stupid cellphones”.
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A Sensory Experience
A giant widescreen backdrop sat behind the band, blasting out trippy, custom visuals that constantly shift and warp behind them. Tool aren’t exactly high-energy showmen, so the shifting imagery does most of the heavy lifting, giving the crowd something to latch onto during a two-hour set of mostly motionless musicians.
The visuals complemented an equally overwhelming wall of sound. Precise and punishingly loud, each song washed over the crowd in waves of rhythm, with Danny Carey’s drumming anchoring the chaos while guitars and bass wrapped the arena in layers of distortion and texture.
Tool’s upcoming tour dates can be found here.
