TOOL and Author and Punisher
Words by Matt Stubbs
The opportunities to see bands that you idolized as a kid, and still as an adult are…. well, becoming a bit rare. Tonight, Dustin and I got to witness the oracle of hard rock music. And this deity is named Tool. I’m just going to get to the meat and potatoes because anyone that reads this has probably seen Tool live. And if you haven’t seen Tool, well your loss.
Tool started the show behind a veil that made the visuals and band almost appear in 3-D. Wait, it was in 3-D because it was in real life. They started the show with the title track on their new album, Fear Inoculum. Quickly, they dived into their older stuff. The songs from earlier albums were held honest by original visual footage. It’s like each song took you back to 1993, 1996, 2001, and 2006. With even the smell of old bats and dugouts that haven’t been cleaned in months. Come on, man. Always have a pipe cleaner and rubbing alcohol around. It takes that nasty stale resin smell right out!
Tool utilized all of the AAC’s sound system. They used high fidelity surround sound to help you understand the imagery they projected in each song. Adam Jones sneaky pinch harmonics peppered through the set was like little magical spells all night. Danny Carey’s extra special drum intro to Chocolate Chip Trip was so awesome that it reminded me of some weird gatekeeper at that fully insane Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, California. Sorry, it just did. His drum solos are inter-dimensional to the listener. Carey also wore a Luka jersey for the whole show. Giving Dallas his nod of approval for our city’s favorite current athlete. Maynard was in perfect form and sounded great in every song. His stage presence might be the best in the business. His voice hasn’t changed a bit. Strong, heartfelt, emotionally charged, and always pitch-perfect is what Maynard has always done, and this night was no different.
I really like the new Tool songs. They are really good tunes. But I really love the old ones. And Tool remembered that at the AAC on Wednesday night. I got chills when they played songs like 46 & 2 and Stinkfist. There were two really good sets played on this night. One by Author and Punisher, and the other by Tool. This was a Varsity Hard Rock show. Tool is always tight, but tonight Tool was extra tight and in good spirits. So that made this a perfect evening of music.
