To celebrate life and to check an item off of my bucket list, myself and a friend decided to head to Des Moines, Iowa to see Tool with special guests All Souls live at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. This was the second to last show on this bill to roadtest their upcoming August 30th release in which the fans are catching a major buzz like a 15 year old trying smokeless tobacco for the first time kind of buzz. All Souls was set to warm up the night.
I do not have any photos or video footage of this concert because I did not want the temptation of recording from my phone at the wrong time and being kicked out of this once in a lifetime event. There were pretty consistent reminders towards the 15,000 plus audience about not recording or shooting from our phones of this memorable night. All Souls took the stage.
Out of Los Angeles, California, All Souls ripped through a few songs to warm up the crowd. They got a lukewarm reception, although I dug the band. I liked the desert rock feel that they had in their music and their drummer absolutely stood out to me as he was pounding the skins like a continuous game of whack-a-mole at the local arcade. The thing that I wish was that they would share with the audience an album that they have coming out or something to allow me to get to know All Souls better. But, since I know how to use the Internet, I suppose I can look it up using the Google Machine. After moments of anxious anticipation, Tool finally took the stage!
Heavy breathing and that memorable guitar riff to “Aenima” kicked off the night as Maynard James Keenan vocalized his intense displeasure for all things Hollywood in this song. From a musicianship standpoint, this was one of the tightest bands I have ever heard live. Tool sounded completely flawless from beginning to end. It was so good seeing Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey, and Justin Chancellor just being so patient with the progression in their music, which kept the audience on the edge of their seat the entire night. I was in Section 316 and I was disappointed that no one stood for Tool, but then again we were quite a ways up.
Leave it to Maynard James Keenan to not have the spotlight on him and to be singing behind a screen the entire night. Not sure if that’s his persona or if he doesn’t like being the center of attention, but yet it adds to the mystique that Tool is. The visual effects and the light show added to the performance and allowed Tool to tell the story through songs such as “The Pot”, “Parabola”, “Schism”, and “Forty Six & Two”.
There was a 15 minute intermission and I was expecting a second set from Tool. We basically got a great drum solo by Danny Carey, a new song from the upcoming August 30th release and the set closer “Stinkfist”. During “Stinkfist”, the audience was allowed to get out their phones and take pictures and record video.
When it comes to the cell phone policy, I do not blame Tool one bit for their stance on this. We spend too much time staring blankly into our phones and not enough time experience what this short life has to offer. It allowed me to enjoy the concert so much more. I may not have been rocking out, but they had me watching intently with every note that they played and every word that they sung, plus the visual effects and light show made all my senses totally engaged. They are a bucket list band for every one to check off of their list.
Setlist:
Aenima
The Pot
Parabol
Parabola
Descending
Schism
Invisible
Intolerance
Jambi
Forty Six & 2
CCTrip
Vicarious
Stinkfist
And there you have it! Tool has some European dates coming up. Check out the dates below:
Sun. 6/2- Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany
Tue. 6/4- O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic
Wed. 6/5- Wiener Stadthalle Halle D in Wien, Austria
Fri. 6/7- Nurburgring Grand Prix Track in Nurburg, Germany
Sun. 6/9- Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg, Germany
Tue. 6/11- Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland
Thu. 6/13- Visarno Arena in Florence, Italy
Sun. 6/16- Donington Park Circuit in Derby, United Kingdom
Tue. 6/18- Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thu. 6/20- Refshaleoens Snedkeri in Kobenhavn, Denmark
Sun. 6/23- Rue de Champ Louet in Saint-hilaire-de-clisson, France
Tue. 6/25- Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland
Fri. 6/28- Festivalpark Werchter in Werchter, Belgium
Sun. 6/30- Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain
Tue. 7/2- Altice Arena in Lisboa, Portugal
For tickets and further information, click here.
Fans can find TOOL at the following locations:
