Tool – Oklahoma City at the Paycomm Center
Tool brought their Winter Tour 2024 to Oklahoma City this past Saturday night, and I can’t think of a better way of officially kicking off my 2024 concert activities than with a honest to God, “rock concert”. There was an air of excitement surrounding this show that I haven’t felt or seen in several years. In fact, I’d liken it to back in my old middle and high school days and somebody like Van Halen, or Ozzy would roll into town and everyone was talking about it, and it simply wasn’t a show to be missed. Same thing here, and OKC actually showed up! I don’t think this show was quite a sell-out, but it was certainly one of the best audiences I’ve seen show up for a heavy rock and roll show in several years.
Tool is a four piece, comprised of guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor and Maynard James Keenan on vocals. Heavy on power chords, complex time signatures and raw emotional lyrical content, the band completes the package with stunning visual effects that amplify and complement the music each and every night. With a very minimalist stage, the video screen backdrop really commands your attention as it sets the tone for the remarkable soundtrack these gentlemen create each night. Jones and Chancellor are positioned stage right and left respectfully, with Carey’s drum riser positioned back and center and flanked by two risers manned and surgically paced by Keenan while only back-lit by the video screen. Add a few strategically placed lasers and Tool may have one of the best productions this side of Roger Water’s Wall or Us & Them tours, with out all the excess and overt extravagance.
Though the band has indicated there may be new music on the horizon, I suppose you could say the band is still touring on its most recent release, Fear Inoculum, which released back in 2019. Indeed, the band performed five of that album’s seven songs, opening the evening with the album’s crushing title track, which I kinda of lost track of as I was busy photographing the accompanying photos during the song. “Jambi” and “Rosetta Stoned” from the 2006 release, 10,000 Days followed. “Pneuma” resided four songs in, and the extended jam Jones,Chancellor and Carey explored mid song was my early highlight of the night, only to be equaled by the sheer ferocity the band unleashed a few songs later with an epic version of “The Grudge” from 2001’s Lateralus. “Intolerance” from the band’s 1993 debut Undertow, followed, before the band returned to Fear Inoculum for“Descending” and before taking a short intermission.
The band returned, with Carey’s extended drum solo before being slowly joined by Chancellor, then Jones, and lastly Keenan for “Chocolate Chip Trip.” The band next revisited their debut again for “Flood,” then closed out their attention to their most recent release with “Invincible.” Tool maintain a strictly enforced no photo/video policy at its performances, a decree that made for a surprisingly good evening seeing a show fully immersed without the distractions of hundreds of cell phones. In an effort to reward the audiences adherence to this rule, the band graciously throws caution to the wind, allowing the audience to whip out their phones and film away for the evening’s encore, which on this night happened to be “Stinkfist” from 1996’s Ænema. Special shout out to whoever worked in the night’s exit music once the house lights came up. The raucous sounds of the MC5’s Kick Out the Jams hit extra hard following the passing of Wayne Kramer on Friday.
Opening the evening was the Massachusetts four-piece, Elder. Combining elements of Progressive rock, Doom and Stoner Rock, these guys are a band that have been on my radar for quite a long time now. As this was their very first visit to Oklahoma City, I was legitimately as excited to see Elder as I was to see Tool. The band is made up by, Nick DiSalvo on vocals and guitar, Jack Donovan on bass, Mike Risberg on second guitar and keys, as well as Georg Edert on drums. Elder supporting Tool was just about a perfect match, and the band made the most of it, despite the setlist only showing three songs. Even more so than Tool, Elder really stretches out their songs. The opening “Sanctuary” from the band’s 2017 release, Reflections of a Floating World, clocked in at over 10 minutes, only to be eclipsed by a 15 minute take on “Merged in Dreams-Ne Plus Ultra” from the bands most recent album, Innate Passages which released in 2022. Just for consistency, the set closing “Halcyon”from the 2020 release, Omens also stretched the 10 minute mark. It was also nice to see the OKC audience receptive and respectful to the support band for a change. I was impressed with Elder’s ability to step up on the big stage and hold their own so well, and I really hope we’ll see them return back to OKC on a more regular basis in the future.
Find more information and tour dates here: https://www.toolband.com/home?k=4d58aff6
Elder – Sanctuary, Merged in Dreams-Ne Plus Ultra, Halcyon
Tool – Fear Inoculum, Jambi, Rosetta Stoned, Pneuma, Intolerance, Descending, The Grudge, Chocolate Chip Trip, Flood, Invincible, Stinkfist / Exit music: MC5 – Kick Out the Jams
