The prog-metal behemoths returned to San Diego after four years with a mind-melting show on Jan. 10, in support of their 2019 No. 1 album "Fear Inoculum."
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Chart-topping Los Angeles-based prog-metal group Tool opened their 2020 U.S. tour at Viejas Arena on Friday, Jan. 10. The band played two nights in San Diego with an encore on Sunday, Jan. 12. (Frontman Maynard James Keenan pictured)
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The band is currently on tour supporting their newest album "Fear Inoculum," their first record in 13 years. (Drummer Danny Carey pictured)
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The band utilizes projection, lasers, and an elaborate stage setup in their concerts with visionary video art by artists like Alex Grey and Chet Zar. (Guitarist Adam Jones pictured, left)
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A huge sold-out crowd of Tool faithful gathered on a chilly Friday evening to see their first San Diego show in four years.
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"Fear Inoculum" debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, the band's third album in a row to do so — selling more than 270,000 copies in its first week.
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We actually spotted guitarist Adam Jones at San Diego Comic Con 2019 roaming the vast halls of the Convention Center and checking out the latest and greatest comics (see the photo gallery here).
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Drummer Danny Carey and the band paid tribute to fallen Rush drummer Neil Peart with a brief rendition of Rush's "A Passage To Bangkok," as well as a projected image of Carey and Peart while Carey played his "Chocolate Chip Trip" drum solo.
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Frontman Maynard James Keenan notoriously often performs in silhouette near the rear of Tool's expansive stage. His many other musical projects include bands like Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, as well as his own wine company Caduceus Cellars.
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Bassist Justin Chancellor joined Tool full-time in 1995 to replace Paul D'Amour, who departed after the band's first full-length album "Undertow."
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Carey's setup is a drummer's fantasy and nothing short of extraordinary —with tons of drums and cymbals, as well as a xylophone-type trigger pad, synthesizers, and a huge Paiste gong.
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Two songs from band's most recent album have recently received Grammy nominations, including the first single "Fear Inoculum," which the band used to open its San Diego show.
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Keenan did not speak to the crowd much at the show, but did call out San Diego's proximity to Los Angeles before the band's ode to LA destruction, "Ænema," first eliciting boos — and then loud cheers from the San Diego crowd.
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Carey was featured heavily throughout Tool's performance, with a tabla-esque solo leading into the "10,000 Days" single "Jambi."
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The band's Jan. 10 set list consisted of "Fear Inoculum," "Ænema," "Parabol," "Parabola," "Pneuma," "Schism," "A Passage to Bangkok" (Rush cover), "Jambi," "Vicarious," "Descending," and "Forty Six & 2."
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The group's encore consisted of "Chocolate Chip Trip" (with picture of Neil Peart), "Invincible," "(-)Ions," and show closer "Stinkfist."
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Tool's tour will see them continue throughout the Southwest and Southern U.S. and onto Australia in 2020.
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Let's certainly hope we don't have to wait 13 more years for another studio album from this incredible group of musicians.
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And here's hoping the band comes back to visit San Diego sometime soon — what a killer show!
