Tool Hammers Home a Message
By: JEFF MIERS News Pop Music Critic - Buffalo News
August 25th 2002 7:25am
I guess I shouldn't have watched that 31/2-hour documentary on
the life and art of director Stanley Kubrick on Thursday night. If I knew exactly what I was in for Friday night, I might've
thought twice. After all, the fabled director made a career of dashing audience
expectations, ignoring public fancies and sounding the depths in
search of the dark heart of his art. Near the end of the
documentary, it is suggested by a number of those close to Kubrick
that the man loved people, but truly disliked humankind. He knew
life was hard, man was conflicted, fickle and flawed, and death
imminent. Instead of complaining about it, he made movies that, he
felt, aspired to the best man could be. He used his art in an
attempt to elevate. The same could be said of the Los Angeles progressive metal
quartet Tool. For those used to the arena-metal/rap preening, shucking and
jiving of most rock acts that have emerged over the past decade,
Tool in concert might be an upsetting experience. You'll get none of
that "rock star trip" nonsense here, Junior. Tool's is a show with a
message, and it's a message not unlike Kubrick's: Life is short and
fraught with unspeakable despair and moral compromise. So deal with
it. Friday night, Tool -- vocalist Maynard James Keenan, drummer
Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor --
offered a three-quarters-full HSBC Arena a tour through what, at
first glimpse, seemed a tortured subconscious, but upon further
examination appeared to be an optimistic metaphysics. Indeed, after a two-hour show that blended visceral prog-metal,
spacey segues and often-gorgeous dynamic interplay, Keenan -- an
astounding, virtuosic singer whose note-perfect renderings bordered
on some sort of twisted classical presentation -- addressed the
crowd for the first time. "Thank you for sharing this moment with us," he said. "We hope,
whatever feeling this evening brought forth in you, that in the
coming days, in the coming weeks, in the coming months, in the
coming years, you use it to do something positive with." Surprising, maybe, following a concert wherein Keenan stayed in
the rear on an unlighted platform adjacent to Carey's drum set, with
his back to the crowd for most of the evening. But then, Tool has
always been a band adept at manipulating a blend of high drama,
light and shade. The songs may grind, shimmer and slither through
complex time signatures, reflective middle sections and powerhouse
crescendoes, but at the heart of it all, Keenan's lyrics smack of
turn-of-the-century romanticism and metaphysical poetry. There's nothing else like Tool currently presenting itself as
modern hard rock. The band truly stands alone. Friday night's show centered on song cycles from the band's
Grammy-winning "Lateralus" album, and that was a good thing. That
album set the standard for metal-based rock to follow, and hinted
that the music needn't dabble in rap and hip-hop in order to move
forward in a meaningful way. "Sober," "Grudge," "Stinkfish," "Schism," "Parabol/Parabola,"
"Aenima," "Disposition," "Reflection" and "Lateralus" were
impeccably performed and dramatically presented with the aid of two
large video screens framing the stage and offering mini-movies
created by guitarist Jones. This was high-theater, high-drama, high-decibel high art that
echoed Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and -- dare we say it -- Rush,
blending them all into a singular fluid. It went down strong, but
yeah, it definitely hit the spot. Now, if I could only get those images of Kubrick's gorgeously
twisted films out of my head.
 (C) 2002 Buffalo News. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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