Tool
Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
01.11.2022
Tool played a sold out show at the Tacoma Dome on January 11, 2022, along with opener Blonde Redhead. After nearly two years off the road, Seattle was the second stop on their tour after kicking off the night before with a capacity crowd in Eugene, OR.
The energy in the arena reached up to the rafters as the crowd buzzed with anticipation. It was impossible not to stare at what looked like white or grey fine threads hung down in tight strands almost creating a haze which enclosed the space. While attendees seemed split down the middle when it came to adhering to the masking policies, everyone scurried to snap whatever photos or videos they could before the venue staff began enforcing Tool’s strict no phone rule.
When the lights dropped there was a momentary hush in the crowd, and then the whining thrums of Litanie contre la Peur filled the arena, and so did the cheers of the audience. As the chimes of Fear Inoculum ring out, the strands of curtain transform into a shredded projection screen featuring fiery nerve-like patterns. As the onscreen patterns pulse and transform the shape of the band members begins to emerge and the crowd rises in unison to greet the start of Danny Carey’s rhythms.
The audience sways, rocks, and sings along with Maynard as the projections turn into a flaming chasm peering down on the crowd like the Eye of Sauron. Maynard himself is draped in shadow as he prowls along the two raised platforms that surround Carey’s setup. There is a constant, animalistic intensity to his focus which permeates his stage presence. He perches at the end of one platform to drum on the side and crouches to stare down the crowd that is enraptured by his every move.
Maynard pauses to quip, “Hands up if you’re here! …shit I lost count,” just before starting the opening lines of an extended rendition of Opiate. The banter continues after:
“Craaaaazy couple of years we’ve had – some extreme highs and lows…I’ll tell you, I got this electric toothbrush and if I don’t do it right, it frowns at me. I take that fucking personally! And I just want to say, if I was your toothbrush, I’d never be disappointed in you.”
The audience laughs as Tool dives into The Pot. Maynard sways and gestures to summon the crowd and they all follow, singing along, and watching inanimate bodies drift down the projection screen, which still obscures the band, like they’re falling from the sky. Next, Pushit features a backdrop of nondescript, distorted dancers that begin by circling each other and eventually turning into a macabre tug-of-war that like – like one side might be fending off being choked out. As the song fades, now 45 minutes into the show, the curtain rises to reveal the band at long last.
Smoke starts to filter out into the crowd and the purples, pinks, and aqua dim, then as Pneuma begins the audience is bathed in a flash of purple and lasers flit across the ceiling in intricate designs. Maynard continues to lurk unlit on the platforms, looking reminiscent of The Crow with his striking black eye make-up.
White light blazes up and bathes the crowd for just a moment for The Grudge, revealing a packed space full of raised hands and rocking heads. Right in Two, Hooker with a Penis, and Descending follows before intermission. Tool returns to the stage to round out the night with Chocolate Chip Trip, Eon Blue Apocalypse, The Patient, and Invincible.
The set featured both new and the old in a satisfying and unexpected arrangement that temporarily stopped time and fed into the band’s carefully crafted immersive experience.Tool’s US tour continues well into March, before they embark on the overseas leg in the spring.
Photos by Sunita Martini
Review by Mary Albano
