November 7, 2023 – PPL Center, Allentown PA
Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry
Tool Unleashes Sonic Mastery at PPL Center, Allentown PA
It was well worth the two-hour drive from Central Jersey to Allentown, PA to experience the four-time Grammy Award winning Tool. Tool has been a band I have wanted to see and review for a long time, much due to the mystery and experience of their shows vs. just being a fan of their music, as a Tool show is never the same twice.
I use the word “experience” & “show” frequently in this review as that is exactly what it was for me and the thousands of fans present this evening. While musically different, the fans are thrown into a masterpiece similar to a Pink Floyd “show”, a Dead “show”, or any “experience” that captivates and mesmerizes you visually and auditorily.
One of the first things you notice (and if you know – you know) there are signs all over and taped to the back of seats informing fans; “NO PHOTOS, NO VIDEOS, NO AUDIO RECORDINGS”. In a world of everyone carrying their own personal video recording devices (aka: their cell phones) as well as social media, I wasn’t sure how the audience would behave to this poignant and very well and strongly enforced request. While there were some rule breakers who were immediately targeted with laser beams and flash lights from security and some even escorted out, those who did follow the rules discovered that the full attention you give to Tools music mastery and visually stimulating set allows yourself to be fully submerged into a sonic odyssey without distraction. The mesmerizing visuals, a mélange of surrealistic, alien like animations, complemented the ethereal yet powerful vocals of Maynard James Keenan as his haunting presence and hypnotic voice weaved through the venue, commanding attention and reverence.
The band’s instrumental prowess was on full display, with Adam Jones’ deft guitar work conjuring otherworldly melodies, accompanied by the rhythmic thunder of Justin Chancellor’s bass and the precise drumming of Danny Carey. Each note, each beat, resonated through the arena, and thundered through my chest, creating an immersive experience that transcended mere music.
Due to the group’s efforts to combine musical experimentation through very long and complex releases as well as through the incorporation of visual arts, the band is generally described as a style-transcending act and part of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and art rock. The relationship between the band and today’s music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by censorship and the band’s insistence on privacy.
That desire for privacy is noticeable in their live shows as Tool incorporates an unorthodox stage setting and video display. Keenan and Carey line up in the back on elevated platforms, while Jones and Chancellor stand in the front, toward the sides of the stage. Keenan often faces the backdrop or the sides of the stage rather than the audience and I found this to not only be a strategy for him to stay in his head while he performs, but I like to also think it’s a nod to the rest of the band, to have them maintain the spotlight. It lends to the mystery and what the band expects from their fans and how they want the fans to experience their show.
The band employs an amazing laser light experience and extensive backlighting to direct the focus away from the band members and toward other areas of the arena and to the large screens in the back. The purposeful dark spaces on stage are mostly for Maynard. A lot of the songs are a personal journey for him and I’ve learned he has a hard time with the glare of the lights when he’s trying to reproduce these emotions for the audience. He needs a bit of personal space, and he feels more comfortable in the shadows.
Described as, “the thinking person’s metal band” Tool encompases the full spectrum. Cerebral and visceral, soft and heavy, melodic and abrasive, tender and brutal, familiar and strange, western and eastern, beautiful and ugly, taut yet sprawling and epic, they are a tangle of perfect contradictions. The band puts an emphasis on the sound of their songs and attempts to reduce the effect lyrics can have on the perception of songs which is substantiated by not always releasing song lyrics with their albums.
In an October 2023 interview, bassist Justin Chancellor stated that the band has “many ideas cooking” for their new album, and mentioned tentative plans to enter the studio in 2024 and I can’t wait to see what comes next, as well as to “experience” another Tool “show”!
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1990, the group’s line-up includes vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones and drummer Danny Carey. Justin Chancellor has been the band’s bassist since 1995!
As the final notes echoed into the night, the crowd, awestruck and fulfilled, erupted in a thunderous ovation. Tool had not just performed; they had crafted an otherworldly journey, an experience that lingered long after the last chord had faded.
For more info please visit http://www.toolband.com
Setlist
- Fear Inoculum
- Jami
- The Pot
- Rosetta Stoned
- Pneuma
- Descending
- The Grudge
- Chocolate Chip Trip
- Culling Voices
- Invincible
- Forty Six & 2