It’s a new experience for most of us. Concert venues and public spaces are now restricted such that gatherings of 250 or more people are banned. Toilet paper has become the new currency while fear and uncertainty dominate the minds and hearts of the world as a whole. That feeling of dread, however, was nowhere to be found at Portland’s Moda Center when Tool came to town. Ironic that Tool is out in support of an album titled Fear Inoculum.
Playing to a sold out Moda Center, Tool opened with the title track from their latest release “Fear Inoculum”. The stage was simplistic in its design, clearly centered around Danny Carey’s massive drum/percussion array. A “string curtain” bowed outward around the front of the stage and stayed in place for several of the songs acting as a veil obscuring the band as well as creating a surface to reflect the awesome laser display projected from the sound booth area and from above the stage.
Before playing their eighth song in the set, “Forty Six & 2”, Maynard addressed the packed arena. “Thanks for coming out tonight. Stay safe out there”, he said. “I don’t get understand the toilet paper hoarding thing. It’s not like it’s bitcoin”, he continued. Chuckling, he said, “butt-coin.” “Sorry, dad joke”, he laughed. At the conclusion of the song, each band member froze in place while the spotlights and stage lights faded. A 15:00 countdown appeared, projected against the curtain as the stage lights were brought back up. Many puzzled concert-goers began to file out of the arena. When the timer expired, however, it was Danny back on the stage, standing at a gong with a pair of drumsticks. He began tapping out beats and rhythms on the gong as he took us on on a “Chocolate Chip Trip”.
The last song for the night would be “Stinkfist”. Although there was clear communication before, and during the event that photos and video were explicitly prohibited, Maynard told security to “stand down” and allow people to do their thing. And the phones came out in droves. It was at that moment that I realized how enjoyable the show was when everyone was there to be in the moment.
Tool’s tour dates are on hold for the time being. But, that might be a good thing. We should all be out there hunting for toilet paper.
