Maynard James Keenan mostly stuck to his Tool lyrics at the Broadmoor World Arena.
On the rare instance when he jawed at the audience, he made it count.
“Colorado Springs … You should have heard what shit Denver was talking last night. It was hurtful and unnecessary,” he said before urging the crowd to do its thing during the show.
Then Keenan and Tool proceeded to do their thing, The concert arrangement for the Broadmoor runs about 10,000, or half the arena size that Tool plays (in summer they play football stadiums and headline festivals like Bonnaroo). As popular has Tool has become, this is about the smallest venue where anyone could hope to see them anymore.
Yet three weeks before the January 28 show, Denver had sold out, and the Springs had not. I bought a nosebleed seat, which was maybe 100 feet from the entry gate thanks to the arena’s setup. But even in this corner of the arena, I had full view of the stage. That alone makes the Broadmoor arena worth recommending.
Like Tool, opening act Blond Redhead was equally llight on banter and heavy on atmosphere. A seemingly odd choice for a Tool opener, Keenan reportedly picked them since it was his turn to choose (I like that a long-running band would rotate which members picks the opener)and he wanted a diverse act on the bill.
Blonde Redhead provided an interesting counterbalance to Tool, as their music is also heavy on mood and ambience, although definitely not anywhere near the realm of heavy metal. Still, they felt like a good fit as an opener, not an up-and-coming band, but someone Tool felt should have the opener spotlight.
“I hear this next band is pretty good .. so stick around, “ singer/keyboardists Kazu Makino quipped late in their set.
Tool didn’t keep the crowd waiting long. Every show on this started with Litanie contre la Peur and Fear Innoculum from Tool’s latest record, better know as an album that I forgot came out and hadn't heard until three weeks before the show.
The visuals dazzled, with 3D imagery akin to Tool album art. Maybe this was why Tool draws a fanatical crowd – the music coupled with the trippy art and visual effects sometimes felt like a religious revival. Muscled torsos covered in eyeballs rotated around the band.Lava dripped. Laser lights blasted through the bed of smoke that clung to the arena ceiling.
Guitarist Adam James and bassist Justin Chancellor stood at the front of the stage under almost constant spotlights, while Keenan alternated singing from platforms on either side of Danny Carey’s drum riser.
I expected the set to lean on Fear Innoculum tracks since the album arrived in late 2019 and the typical touring regiment Tool would deliver fell victim to the pandemic. After opening with the title track, Tool turned into several Fear Innoculum tracks exceeding 10 minutes – Pneuma, Culling Voices and Invincible. They all worked wonders.
A few songs in, we journeyed back to 1993 as Maynard slipped into the understated vocal of Sober. His voice has not aged at all, and the disturbing, primitive Claymation of the Sober music video played behind the band.
Other tracks stirred up the crowd even faster. The arena grew even louder at the frantic a capella vocals that open The Pot. The number of vocals picked up by the audience was somewhat surprising given Tool’s lyrics, but people signing along were a factor, with Keenan sometimes letting the crowd take the lead momentarily.
Hearing Lateralus opener The Grudge wedged against the slow-burning Right in Two from 10,000 Days sounded unintentionally perfect.
I could have handled more tracks from Lateralus, my favorite and the pinnacle of Tool’s music progression. The twin power of Parabol and Parabola might be my favorite moment in the band's catalog.
Still, I won’t argue with what the band presented. Few bands can get away with lengthy, multi-movement songs and fire up an arena quite like Tool.
[No pictures were taken that night since I chose to obey the band's request for no photos or recording. It's better to not have Maynard James Keenan mad at you. ]
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