TOOL (Live)

The main attraction of the festival this day was the American alternative Rock/Metal band Tool. The anticipation was high and the area in front of the main stage, Enga, was crowded (11,000 tickets were sold). Just about four hours before Tool went on stage, fans were informed that no one was allowed to take pictures during the show. The band’s management had made a deal with five Norwegian newspapers, which allowed them (and them only) to take photos during the show. So therefore we have no pictures from Tools concert to show you.

The band members had a somewhat unusual set-up on stage. In front on the left (from the audience’s viewpoint) was guitarist Adam Jones with his guitar and keyboard. In front to the right was bassist Justin Chancellor. They were located far out on each side of the stage, so that behind them in the middle you could see vocalist Maynard James Keenan with his microphone stand and his keyboard, and to the right of him was drummer Danny Carey‘s huge drum kit.

As Tool entered the stage, people started cheering and a big grin was shown on Justin’s face. Maynard also started cheering and waved his hands in a sort of “mockery” of all the people screaming his name. During the opening riff of “Jambi” (from last year’s release 10,000 Days) the fans started showing the “devil horn” sign with their hands. Maynard showed them the “V” sign (with his index and middle-finger) back. It seems like the “devil horn” sign, which you see at most Metal concerts, doesn’t really fit in at a Tool concert. Their music is somewhat too mystified and artful for that to be applicable. Some would call their music Metal, but it’s so much more. It’s defined by heavy, almost Progressive, intricate riffs, Maynard’s unique voice, Danny’s incredible drumming, and a light and laser show with visual arts on top of it all to help the band put their performance into perfection.

The audience seemed to know the songs from 10,000 Days best and had no problems singing along with Maynard on songs like “Jambi” and “Rosetta Stoned.” The Progressive parts of Tool’s music are at times very intricate, and when the music is played in 7/4, it must be said that the crowd had some problem headbanging to it. Following “Jambi” was a short excerpt from “(-) Ions” (which is the sounds of static and various electronic debris; this track is found at what by many is considered their best album; Ænima from 1996) before they started playing “Stinkfist” (also from Ænima). This seemed to be a familiar song as well, and the audience sang along. They played an extended version of this song with an excellent instrumental part in the middle.

During the whole show, weird videos were shown on four big screens behind the band. During songs like “Stinkfist” and “Schism,” the music videos for the two songs were shown. For those who haven’t seen a Tool music video, they often feature stop motion animation where the band members never participate, and they’re always directed by guitarist Adam Jones. During the other songs, a lot of colorful and artistic videos were shown making the mood obfuscatory and melancholy.

“Forty Six & 2” has proved to be a crowd pleaser and most of the audience seemed to know the songs from Ænima as well. Justin’s bass riffs play a very central role in both this one and the next song “Schism” (the latter song is probably the song that defines Tool’s style most these days). At times, one can only be amazed as to how he manages to come up with bass lines like that. He play’s with such confidence and you could often see him smiling over to Adam while playing.

“Rosetta Stoned” is another song from 10,000 Days and, of course, another song everyone in the crowd could sing. Maynard used a megaphone for the first part of this song. It was almost impossible to hear what he said during this part, just like on the record. That’s also the purpose, and the crowd seemed to like it. Following this song was a bit of a surprise. “Flood” is a song from Tool’s first album Undertow. Though it’s from an old album (and their style has changed a lot since then), the song fit the set, and it’s always great to hear the old stuff as well. Very few among the audience knew the words to this one, though.

The band is really steady and they interact with great confidence, which is amazing with all the odd-metered structured songs and sudden stops in the music. You get real proof of this when Justin plays the same riff for what seemed to be five minutes during an extended drum solo part during “Lateralus” (from 2001’s Lateralus). Justin also had a bass solo towards the end of the song. He used distortion effects so you could easily have mistaken it for a guitar solo. “Lateralus” is a song that starts slow and melancholy. During the song, the mood kept building up and suddenly green lasers filled the stage and set a special mood for the show. The closer for the set was “Vicarious” (also from 10,000 Days). During the last refrain, Maynard held out his microphone stand to let the crowd sing.

Though Maynard doesn’t speak much to the crowd during a concert, he has a certain way of reaching out to the crowd anyway. He actually left his place in the back of the stage only once (during “Rosetta Stoned”) just to walk to the front and look to the left and the right, putting up his right hand to say “hi” to the fans. His crazy knee-bending (his feet were straight and he bent backwards into a 90° angle during some of the instrumental parts) and the way he lets himself drift with the music are proof of his total devotion to the band and the music they make.

The only negative thing about the show was that it only lasted for an hour. On the other hand, that has to be expected, because the set list has to be shorter at festivals. Pity, though, that fans missed songs like “Wings For Marie (Pt 1)” and “10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)” that they played on their North American tour earlier this summer. Tool is one of the most important live bands today, and a Tool concert isn’t just another concert, it’s an experience. Though there are big bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Metallica touring the world and selling out stadiums, no Metal band that broke through after the Metal world was set back during the Grunge period have reached similar heights. However, if any band is to be that band, it has to be Tool. This year it’s fifteen years since they released their first EP (Opiate) and they’re playing in just as big venues like the old Metal dinosaurs.