Concert Review: Tool at Moody Center, Austin

Concert Review: Tool at Moody Center, Austin: L.A. prog-metal icons show their enduring power over potent set.

“Be present.” That was the mantra and conditional agreement that Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan requested from the rabid Austin crowd that gathered at Moody Center Wednesday evening marking their first Austin appearance since pre-pandemic 2020.

The crotchety vocalist also demanded that everyone’s phones be holstered until the last song: “If you can’t be without your phone for two hours, you need professional help!”

With that out of the way the alt-metal icons leapt into Fear Innoculum, the labyrinthine title track from their long delayed 2019 album (which, believe it or not, is now over 5 years old).

That album formed a large chunk of the set, and the dense, sprialling compositions kept the crowd in a manic trance, the audience bobbing and weaving to the intricate rhythms of Pneuma, Invincible and Descending.

2001’s Lateralus also got some love, from the lurching, punchy The Pot, underpinned by trippy visuals that looked like top secret UFO footage, and the pummeling The Grudge, featuring Keenan at his most feral and potent, his booming voice showing no signs of age.

The latter featured Austin guitarist Emily Wolfe, who laid down a searing solo while Tool axeman Adam Jones looked on appreciatively.

Jones was no slouch, delivering his patented, clipped syncopated riffs with aplomb, creating a dense soundscape for the listener to get lost in, in lockstep with bassist Justin Chancellor and powerhouse drummer Danny Carey, as Keenan prowled atop his elevated platform.

Keenan was silhouetted throughout the set, his mohawk wig making him easily identifiable amidst the psychedelic backdrop. The band has always had a striking visual aesthetic, using simple yet effective techniques, at one point dousing the audience in glittering confetti.

After a brief intermission, Carey emerged, pummeling a gong and drafting in King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto on the swirling, knotty instrumental Chocolate Chip Trip.

The band also delivered a deep cut off 1993’s Undertow; Flood, which whipped the audience into a frenzy, screaming the chorus in unison with Keenan.

In fact, this could be called a deep cuts set. There were scant few radio hits (Stinkfist, Sober, Prison Sex, Vicarious were all absent), not that the crowd cared, as evidenced by the rapturous response to Rosettta Stoned off 2006’s 10,000 Days.

Everyone raised their phones on set closer, the undulating classic Schism, where the iconic music video played in the background while Keenan screamed into the heavens.

After a brief bow, the band retreated to the unlikely strains of Abba’s Dancing Queen, showcasing their ever playful sense of humor.

Tool scratch a particular itch, part prog, part metal, part alternative, part nostalgia and part contemporary, and the audience filed out of the venue, satisfied and satiated until the next time the band graces Austin with their presence.