Tool Live In Charlotte: My Quest For Musical Enlightenment

Band Takes Fans On a Musical and Visual Odyssey at Spectrum Center

“Exorcise the spectacle

Exorcise the malady

Exorcise the disparate

Poison for eternity

Purge me and evacuate

The venom and the fear that binds me…”

In 2019, Tool released their first new album in 13 years, Fear Inoculum, and the Tool Army went wild. Since then the band has been reestablishing its dominance in the live music scene, selling out concerts everywhere and taking fans on a musical journey of a lifetime.

You can call Tool metal, art-rock, alternative-metal, or any number of specific genres, but the truth is Tool is simply Tool. No other bands do it quite like Tool. One could say Tool is a bit out of the box but make no mistake about it, Maynard and company don’t just think out of the box. For Tool, there is no box as they defy the norms of musical expectations, constantly reinventing themselves, and doing what most would think undoable. For one night only, the sold-out Spectrum Center in Charlotte was transformed into Tool’s musical and visual playground.

Opening the show was the rock band Elder and although I didn’t know it yet, they would prove to be the perfect group to open for Tool. I was completely unfamiliar with the band so I went into this with zero expectations and by the mid-way point of the first song, I was sold. Elder is, much like Tool, difficult to define. They have all the heavy riffs and gloom and doom vibe of early Black Sabbath sprinkled through with lots of psychedelic soundscapes reminiscent of classic Jefferson Airplane and touches of progressive bands like Jethro Tull and Dream Theater.

What was impressive about Elder was their raw talent and musicianship. To come into an arena jampacked full of Tool fans and hold their attention is no easy feat. Vocalist and guitarist Nicholas DiSalvo was mind-blowing, to say the least. If you’re heading out to a Tool show, be sure and get to your seats early enough to enjoy all that Elder has to offer.

After a short intermission, it was the moment everyone was waiting for. The venue lights went dark and all attention was focused on the stage. A huge LED screen at the rear of the stage was emblazoned with stunning visuals as drummer Danny Carey made his way out to his drumkit situated atop a huge riser at the rear of the stage. Dressed in a Charlotte Hornets jersey, Carey held his sticks high in the air in a salute to the crowd before taking a seat. Joining him was guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor who took their respective spots on the stage as we awaited the appearance of the musical mastermind and Tool lead vocalist Maynard James Keenan.

A dark silhouetted figure appeared on top of a riser at the back corner of the stage, situated on stage left as Maynard led us into the deep, discovery of “Fear Inoculum.” He was dressed in black pants and a white button-down shirt with a black vest. A blonde mohawk and black face paint completed his look. Some say Maynard is a poet, perhaps the Jim Morrison of today, and his lyrics are intentional in every way. In fact, everything that Maynard and Tool do is full of purposeful intent. Each word of a song is chosen for its specificity, matching the complexity of each musical note, and here in the live setting, each movement, each visual image flashing before us is done to complete the experience. It is one and we are one with it all.

After the first song concludes, Maynard makes an announcement to the crowd to put their phones away and keep them put away to join them in the moment for the rest of the night. “If you can’t do that for the next two hours, then you have a serious problem and you need help.”

Unlike most rock stars, the band members are laid back on stage, with Maynard sticking to the shadows as much as he can, keeping himself centered and in the moment. Jones and Chancellor trade licks but are fairly stationary as they simply let the music flow through them and outward into the audience as we are entranced by a bevy of lasers and lights.

There is a brief intermission, giving the audience time to stretch their legs, refresh their beverages, and check their phones. The second half of the show begins with an incredible drum solo from Carey. Sticks are flying and feet are moving in intricate patterns as he leads into “Chocolate Chip Trip.”

The setlist was geared heavily toward the newest album Fear Inoculum and we missed out on some of the older tunes, most notably “Forty Six & 2,” but the band did grace us with an epic closer with “Schism.” With the length of an average Tool song, it would be next to impossible to include all the fan favorites along with the newer music so some concessions naturally must be made. We exited the arena to the strains of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” as discussions loomed all around me about what we all just experienced.

If you had asked me before the show, what my thoughts were on Tool, I would have been a “meh” at best. If you asked me the same question, two hours later, my answer would have been very different. To really understand Tool, you simply must experience them live at least once. They made a believer out of me.

See the Full Gallery of the Evening Here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.