Tool at Kemper Arena / Sept. 15
Tool makes defiantly difficult music. They’ve released only four studio albums since their debut in 1993. Their videos are too disturbing for regular television programming and radio shuns their deliberately uncommercial sound.
So how is it that Tool attracted approximately 15,000 fans to Kemper Arena Friday night only four months after selling out Memorial Hall?
The quartet’s thunderous performance helped explain the enigma of their colossal popularity. Tool’s apocalyptic progressive metal easily enveloped the cavernous arena. The expansive floor was packed with rapturous moshers and crowd surfers. Even fans with seats stood throughout most of Tool’s 105-minute performance.
With his mohawk, tinted glasses and menacing demeanor, vocalist Maynard James Keenan was a dead ringer for Travis Bickle, the psychotic character played by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. Shirtless much of the night, Keenan wasn’t talkative but his manic antics were engaging. He paced like a caged animal, mimicked a bull rider, and spent much of the show admiring drummer Danny Carey.
Carey, clad in his usual KU basketball jersey, validated his reputation as one of the world’s top drummers. Even though Tool’s music is characterized by intricate time signatures and willful complexity, neither Carey nor his band mates engaged in superfluous soloing. Guitarist Adam Jones demonstrated boundless imagination and creativity in his work. Bassist Justin Chancellor’s obvious delight in the audience’s enthusiasm never translated into gratuitous theatrics.
Tool aren't without excess. Their extended improvisational mood pieces tend to meander a few minutes beyond the point their explorations warrant. At their worst, Tool resembles a jazz fusion band that’s crossed over to the dark side.
Perhaps that’s why the audience was clearly enchanted by Tool’s elaborate light, video and laser show. Yet Tool doesn’t really need those gimmicks. Their spectacular musicianship and undeniable charisma renders such displays superfluous.
The set closer "Aenema" served as proof. The audience’s furious, communal chant of "learn to swim" was sharper than any laser beam.
Isis, a Los Angeles collective that has recorded for Kansas City-based record label Second Nature, is Tool’s current touring companion. Their vivid cacophony was well-received by rabid fans hungry for Tool. Not unlike fellow noise experimentalists Mogwai, Sonic Youth and Helmet, they specialize in grinding drones splintered by explosive crescendos.
Set List: Stinkfist, The Pot, Forty Six & 2, Jambi, Schism, Lost Keys (Blame Hofman), Rosetta Stoned, Wings For Marie, Pt. 1, 10,000 Days (Wings, Pt. 2), Lateralis, Vicarious, AEnema
| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
Recent Comments