TOOL is back on the road after a two-year hiatus due to the events of the pandemic cancelling shows and festivals worldwide. The Grammy award-winning progressive rock band will be spending the first three months of the new year criss-crossing all over the United States.
In regards to the announcement of the rescheduled tour dates, Danny Carey commented earlier last fall:
It is with great pleasure I get to announce our return to the road. These past eighteen months have been trying to say the least, but from great trials, come great lessons and great rewards. We are genuinely looking forward to sharing them with you.
~ Danny Carey
Last Saturday, January 15th, the group took to Sacramento’s Golden1 Center, just a couple of blocks away from California’s Capitol building. In it, they started the year off strong with an intensely provocative experience.
Blonde Redhead was hand-picked for the first part of the tour by vocalist Maynard James Keenan. In this, he hoped to offer a unique offering from the sound that’s most typically heard from his audience, all while maintaining and building on the experience as a whole. On Instagram, he announced the opener choice before the tour began:
The approach or criteria I usually take when it’s my turn to choose an opener, is diversity. No point in choosing something similar to us. Most are only here for the headliner anyway.
But for those with open hearts and minds, I choose something I feel is compelling in its own way. @blonderedheadofficial is my pick for this upcoming run. Incredible melodies, complex & subtle rhythms, and non-traditional arrangements. But nothing like @Toolmusic. And not meant to be. Obviously.
If it’s not your thing, don’t worry. What you came to hear will soon follow. But if any of what you hear resonates, @blonderedheadofficial have a deep catalog for you to get lost in for years to come. Thank you in advance for welcoming Blonde Redhead into your ear holes. Looking forward to playing for all of you very soon.
~ Maynard James Keenan
And the performance of Blonde Redhead was well-matched. Showcasing the three-piece grouped closely together, rhythmic instruments progressed and built as vocals danced in-between the ears and roped the audience in to listening intently on their every word.
And not much later, Tool joined the stage. Covered in front of them was a string curtain, decorated with an array of visuals that intensified the performance all the more. Front and center, drummer Danny Carey revealed an impressive collection that glowed proudly in the low light. Each movement was executed with practiced intention. Guitarist Adam Jones swayed to the beat as his fingers danced, effortlessly performing each chord. And in celebration of their bassist, Justin Chancellor’s birthday; they played a unique melody as the crowd wished him a happy birthday. Throughout the performance, he seemed to merge with his instrument in a spectacular display of his talents. Vocalist, Maynard James Keenan, took the back of the stage, hidden, elevated in the shadow. As each of his band members performed their instrumental solos, he left the stage.
Few phones were visible in sight according to the wishes of the band. Everyone at all angle in the audience were given a unique experience with deliberately planned lighting and visuals. You were in the experience and out of the world with them all as they took you down the rabbit hole and you crossed through time and space. Guitar distortions reverberated through your bones and the lasers poured light through the horizon of the crowds, sucking them in to the world with them.
Just after a short intermission over an hour into the set, confetti rained down upon the crowd as the band all stepped forward and played one of their more stripped-back tracks. The crowd sat, quietly waiting as you could hear the confetti flicker in the wind.
The one thing that was said during the performance was just before the last song.
Maiden voyage on that one. Should we have smashed a champagne bottle on that one. Well that was great. Pleasure as always, Sac-tow. This last song… you can pull out your stupid things and take photos and s**t. I know you want to. You f***ing crackheads.
~ Maynard James Keenan
No matter if it was your first or your fiftieth time watching the band, it is no matter. No matter which tour and which leg you hit, you’re sure to get a new experience every time. Catch them on their tour at this link, and stay tuned for more updates about Tool!
View the complete photo gallery of the event here!
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