page: 
 title: Finding beauty in the dissonance
author: Rob Shay

Publication Date : July 31, 2002 

Finding beauty in the dissonance 


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Shay
Features Editor

One of the biggest bummers has to be reaching down into 
your pocket after a long, hard-working summer and finding 
no money left.
The most obvious thing that may account for the missing 
funds may be those all-night party binges that we have tried 
to forget about.
But, the other thing that might be the culprit was those 
summer rock shows like the Anger Management Tour or, 
more recently, the Tool show at the Expo Square Pavillion in 
Tulsa.
Last Thursday night, Tool, with opening act Tomahawk, 
brought their angst-ridden, nihilistic blend of ‘pure rock fury’ —
 to steal a line from Clutch.
The Tool concert was considered by some, like Megan Crane, 
HRAD senior, as not as good as their concert last October in 
OKC.
“The Tulsa show was not as impressive, to me, as the 
October concert,” Crane said. “But Maynard was moving 
around and he flipped out a guitar and was playing his guitar 
a few times and it was like ‘damn.’”
Tool has been around since the early ‘90s and their first 
EP, “Opiate,” got them a slot on the tour launched by Perry 
Farrell Lollapalooza, according to a report on Allmusic.com
“So, the band was able to slip into the definition of 
alternative rock during the post-Nirvana era,” said the online 
report. “Landing a slot on the third Lollapalooza tour in 
1993.” 
Tickets for the Tool show cost around $40 and Tulsa resident 
David Harris was hesitant to purchase the ticket, but 
determined to see Tool.
“The ticket prices were pretty outrageous,” Harris said. “It just 
doesn’t feel like Tulsa, or Oklahoma for that matter, is a 
high-priced market, but Tool is worth it.”
The feeling at a rock show, especially when you are seeing a 
band you like is undescribable and Crane, who has seen Tool 
five times, said she gets pumped up every time she sees the 
band.
“It was like a kid in a candy store,” Crane said. “I was so 
giddy and I had a dream about it the night before. The lights 
went out and they (the crowd) freaked out.”
The buzz around Stillwater was that the show had been sold 
out, so there were many inquiries to ticket purchasers 
like, “Have you got an extra ticket?” But Harris said there was 
no need for worry.
“People were worried about the show selling out,” Harris 
said. “But there were tickets available the day of the show.” 
Crane said before Tool took the stage, the crowd was slowly 
turning into a frenzy.
“We walked in when Tomahawk was finishing and everyone 
was just antsy and excited,” Crane said. “We went up top and 
could see people starting pits and they (Tool) hadn’t even 
come on yet.
“And I saw maybe two security guards all night long and that 
was so cool.”
Tool is known for its visually stimulating and sometimes 
stomach-turning MTV music videos. The band’s videos often 
include several types of goth art and eye-catching make-up, 
which often spills into the band’s live performances.
“The visuals were stunning,” Harris said. “And the video 
screens were shooting up all kinds of images from their 
album artwork and videos.”
Dan Gorden, construction management senior, said he has 
seen Tool several times and, for many people, it’s lead 
singer Maynard James Keenan’s stage presence that keeps 
people coming back for more.
“He (Maynard) has a lot of charisma,” Gorden said. “And 
people go to see him and pay a lot of attention to him. He 
was all blue and dancing around the stage like he usually 
does.”
Maynard James Keenan, is a man of few words, aside from 
his lyrics and Crane said the Tulsa show was no exception.
“When they came in October, you could feel this energy,” 
Crane said. “And Maynard was telling everyone to ‘go and 
create something positive with all this energy we’ve got.’
That was about all he said in October and at this show he 
said ‘Tulsa’ a couple of times and that made everyone 
scream like a bunch of girls.”
Tool released three studio records, “Opiate” — an EP 
release,“Untertow” — their first studio album, and “Aenima.” 
After the release of their third record, Maynard began a side 
band — A Perfect Circle — which started a rumor that the 
band was breaking up.
“A Perfect Circle’s 2000 debut, Mer de Noms, was a surprise 
hit,” said the Allmusic.com report. “With Tool break-up 
rumors swirling, the band put the speculation to rest by re-
entering the recording studio and issuing the stop-gap B-
sides/DVD set “Salival.”
Rage Against the Machine is understood as a chaotic, 
anarchist themed band, as U2 is known for their romantic, 
passionate rock. Crane said Tool is more hard-edged music 
that is about the things their fans have in common like 
dealing with drug abuse or just coping with life.
“There is a lot of passion in Tool’s music,” Crane said. “But A 
Perfect Circle’s music is more romantic than Tool. Tool is a 
little more hardcore and sings about the people you deal with 
in your day-to-day activities. 
“You know what they are talking about and you’ve been 
through that sh**. Crazy people are some of the most 
passionate people you will meet because they are crazy.”
Tool’s set Thursday night consisted of several tunes that were 
blended together, to make one long tune that fused into 
another.
“It’s like they are beating these tunes into you head,” 
Gorden said. “They play the hell out of the opening riffs to a 
song and the crowd just goes nuts because they are excited 
to hear the song.
“The would start with a normal part of the song and go off on 
a tangent and then they blew right back into the song.”
Tool is one of those bands that will stand the test of time. 
One — because they play their instruments. And two — 
because they strike a nerve that settles uneasy with the 
mainstream.
“With their dark, angry lyrics and numbing guitar drilling, they 
appealed both to metalheads and alternative rock fans,” said 
Allmusic.com. 
“When they landed an opening spot on Lollapalooza, their 
audience grew by leaps and bounds; the increased exposure 
helped their debut album, Undertow, go gold.”
The Tool show brought out people of all walks of life, young 
and old and, Crane said, also brought a few of the more 
interesting folks out. 
“I saw a skullet there,” Crane said. “You know what that is, 
he was there with his ‘old lady’ and said it was ‘glorious.’”
More information can be found about Tool and their current 
tour at www.toolband.com. Tool bio’s and discography can 
also be found at www.allmusic.com, keyword, Tool.

Posted to t.d.n: 07/21/03 11:09:01