TOOL Sells Out The Staples Center for a 2nd Night in a Row!!!

Los Angeles, California | Monday, October 21, 2019

Frontman Maynard James Keenan of Tool performs at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Monday, October 21, 2019. Photo credit: Maurice Nunez.

REVIEW BY MISAEL RUIZ AND PHOTOS BY MAURICE NUNEZ | Go Venue Magazine

Without a doubt, TOOL is one of the biggest bands on the planet. No matter where they go, they sell out venues and draw huge audiences when playing festivals. Up until recently, TOOL only had four album releases with the most recent one being 10,000 Days which was released in 2006. After waiting what felt like…10,000 days…TOOL finally released their long-awaited fifth album Fear Inoculum on August 30, 2019. TOOL announced a tour with post-punk band Killing Joke that kicked off at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California. TOOL made two stops at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and to no surprise, both shows sold out in minutes. Even before doors opened, dedicated fans were anxiously waiting outside. Upon arriving to the venue, you’d notice signs at every door warning fans that TOOL has prohibited the use of cell phones as well as any and all recording devices. Any fans caught using their phones during the performance would be evicted from the venue.

Killing Joke got things started with the song “Butcher”.  These guys have been around since the late 70’s and have a lot of history with the punk and gothic rock communities. I had never had the opportunity to see them live until tonight so I made sure I was there early to catch their set. Killing Joke played classics like “Complications”, “Eighties”, “Total Invasion”, and finished their show with “Pandemonium”.  What an excellent way to get the evening started!

Just as TOOL was set to go on stage, you could see how the venue was packed to capacity with fans yelling and screaming as they impatiently waited for the arrival of TOOL. The lights went out and the sold-out Staples Center erupted in excitement. The stage was covered by a string curtain as the members of TOOL made their way to the stage. Naturally, the last member to make the stage was vocalist, Maynard James Keenan. The opening song was the title track from the new album, “Fear Inoculum”.  TOOL is known for their long songs so it’s no surprise to see “Fear Inoculum” came at ten minutes and twenty seconds. Accompanying the song was an array of projected visuals that were both beautiful and confusing to look at. They blended perfectly with TOOL’s music. The string curtain further improved the visuals giving them an almost 3D look. The next couple of songs were the classics “Ænima” and “The Pot”. Slowing things down, TOOL played “Parabol” and it’s continuation, “Parabola”.  After that song, the string curtain was pulled back so the band was fully visible to the audience.  They played some more fan-favorites like “Schism”, “Vicarious”, and “Jambi,” and “Forty Six & 2”.  The fans were seen singing along and head banging to the music the entire time.

From there the band left the stage and set a 12-minute intermission. Once the intermission ended, drummer Danny Carey came back out to mesmerize the audience with a drum solo instrumental track from the new album titled, “Chocolate Chip Trip”. The rest of TOOL came back out for some encores. Just before the show came to an end, Keenan let the audience know for this last song, he would allow the fans to take out their “stupid fucking phones” to take pictures and record. To end their beautiful show, TOOL played “Stinkfist”. The show came to an end and the members left the stage. Fans were extremely satisfied with the performance and surely look forward to seeing them again. See photos and setlist below.

TOOL tour dates: https://toolband.com/events

TOOL’s Setlist – Monday, October 21, 2019:
Fear Inoculum | Ænima | The Pot | Parabol | Parabola | Pneuma | Schism | Jambi | Vicarious| Part of Me | Forty Six & 2  
[Intermission]
Chocolate Chip Trip | Invincible | (-) Ions | Stinkfist

TOOL


Killing Joke

All images © Maurice Nunez
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