Tool Mesmerize the Faithful at Madison Square Garden: Concert Review
variety.comTool are one of the world’s biggest cult bands, inspiring a level of fandom and devotion that many artists would envy. And those fans packed two nights at Madison Square Garden last weekend, where the foursome, as is their wont, eschewed most if not all traditional “rock show” expectations and conventions.
To wit: The group did not perform some of their most-popular songs —such as their career-defining ‘90s singles “Sober” and “Stinkfist” — and frontman Maynard James Keenan was more of a back-man, performing from two raised platforms at the rear of the stage, rarely spotlighted and never even setting foot on the main stage.
He also has long since abandoned the wildly provocative stage costumes of past years, opting instead for businesslike dress pants, vest and crisp white shirt that contrast jarringly with his mohawkesque hairstyle.
Instead, he ceded center stage to the band’s mind-melting visuals — broadcast on a gigantic video screen, veering between psychedelic and grotesque — and superhuman drummer Danny Carey, whose powerful and inventive musicianship make him the band’s de facto frontman. (If Rush ever tour again, he should be the only drummer even considered to cover for the late Neil Peart — sorry, Dave Grohl.) The group also keeps a tight lid on photography of their concerts, presumably wanting to keep the experience in the room.
Read more on variety.com