Tool carried their immense 2019 energy into the new year with a powerful kickoff show on January 10th in San Diego that saw the prog-metal behemoths rev up the second leg of their North American tour in support of last year’s long-awaited album Fear Inoculum.
Spanning the breadth of their celebrated career while incorporating newer songs into the set, the group also played a partial Rush cover of “Passage to Bankok” into the mix to pay tribute to the group’s late drummer Neil Peart, whose death was confirmed earlier that day after an extended struggle with brain cancer. Tool’s own kit master Danny Carey sat solo onstage and delivered his version of a classic Peart solo — traversing the drums with inspired ease surely gleamed from studying The Professor’s unmatched skill. See video below.
Opening the show was one-man industrial powerhouse Author & Punisher (a.k.a. Tristan Shone), who will continue on with the group through February 1st when the tour wraps up in New Orleans. Shone said of his invitation to join the band on this run, “This is a huge honor I don’t take lightly. I don’t always get to take the full arsenal of drone machines due to their weight and pain but certainly on this run, everything is in play.”
Following the North American dates, Tool will head to Australia and New Zealand for a full month of shows before returning to play their only other scheduled performance of 2020 so far, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in June. See below for a full setlist and some clips from the San Diego kickoff.
Tool setlist, San Diego, January 10th
Fear Inoculum
Ænema
Parabol
Parabola
Pneuma
Schism
Passage to Bankok (partial Rush cover)
Jambi
Vicarious
Descending
Forty Six & 2
Encore:
Chocolate Chip Trip
Invincible
Stinkfist
