REVIEW & PHOTOS: Tool is art in motion at Wells Fargo Arena

By Luke Matthews

Metal royalty was in the house at Wells Fargo Arena Friday night.

Grammy winners Tool were back in Central Iowa for the first time since their “Inside the Outside” tour in 2002 when they played Hilton Coliseum in Ames, two years prior to Wells Fargo Arena’s completion.

“One of my favorite states,” declared singer Maynard James Keenan. “Because sometimes I wanna be lazy… and not use consonants. ‘I-wuh.’ It’s easy.”

The band brought with them their biggest hits and for the first time in more than a decade, new music. The band will release a new album on August 30. It will be their first since “10,000 Days,” released in 2006.

The concert experience you’ll have at a Tool show is uniquely Tool. Diehard fans know that you shouldn’t expect to see much of frontman Keenan. Maynard kept stage right of drummer Danny Carey all evening, mostly in shadow. It didn’t mean he would stay stationary as he moved and grooved all night to the band’s 13 offerings. Guitarist Adam Jones considered one of rock’s best guitarists, along with bassist Justin Chancellor spent the most time in the spotlight throughout the evening.

Prior to the show beginning, fans were told that they would not be permitted to take photographs during the show (LAZER 103.3 was given special permission to photograph the performance). While inconvenient for many who are used to watching concerts through their phone screens, it proved to be a powerful statement by the band to keep the audience in the moment all throughout the show.

Tool puts on an extremely visual show. The music, lights, fog, and big screen visuals all work together to create art in motion. Watching the show is peak visual stimulation. By the time you’re a few songs in, you appreciate that your neighbor doesn’t have their bright screen device taking your eyes away from what’s happening on stage.

The biggest reactions of the night came from the band’s biggest hits. From show opener “Ænema” to the mid-set appearance of “Schism” and the main set-closing number, “Forty-Six & 2,” the fans were clearly excited to hear the songs they love. They may have been most excited for the night’s final number, the encore-closing “Stinkfist” for several reasons.

“You’ve been good,” Keenan announced. “You can pull your stupid phones out and film.”

With that verbal permission slip, the audience lit up with screens and flashes as the show officially became public for the last number of the night. The crowd roared their approval and couldn’t get their devices out fast enough, like a smoker who’s been trapped on a bus for 90 minutes. However, while many people did take the opportunity to capture the same video that thousands of others were getting, many kept their eyes on the show and chose to simply take in the final moments of a show that’s been 17 years in the making.

Tool’s appearance in Des Moines along with the release of their new album in August should satisfy fans for a while, but you can bet that most people hope there aren’t as many years between an appearance by and new music from one of the baddest metal bands in the land.