Nothing to ‘Fear’ but TOOL itself You’re gonna need a bigger book
You wouldn’t describe TOOL as the most prolific recording band in rock. Why, their latest album, “Fear Inoculum,” which came out earlier this fall, took longer to record than the combined efforts to map the human genome.
“What can I say? We’re kooks,” remarked vocalist Maynard James Keenan.
Actually, Keenan didn’t say that — to me, anyway — but they ARE sorta nutty and intense. The point is, “Fear Inocumum” is a massive work of much greatness — certainly one of the best recordings of 2019 — and don’t ask me to describe it any more than you’d ask a bee to analyze how and why honey is created.
But wait! In 2012, I did attempt to describe TOOL’s sound in a review of their appearance at the Mohegan Sun Arena. That show was one of the most intense musical experiences I’ve ever seen and heard, and I feebly wrote, “(TOOL) songs are extended cerebral pieces that are the proggy art-metal equivalent of an enraged mathematical genius who shrieks, in an odd time signature, an ongoing succession of prime numbers that never ends.
“But it’s the visual component, thanks to the band’s individual and collective obsession with the possibilities of music video, performance art, neon laser/vari-lite fractals and futuristic cinema, that moves everything to a new experiential level.”
TOOL, 7:30 tonight, Mohegan Sun Arena; with Killing Joke; $79-$150; 1-800-745-3000.
“Fear Inoculum” is a very different TOOL album than any before, and why shouldn’t it be? Guaranteed: TOOL’s concert tonight at Mohegan Sun will be one of the finest rock performances you’ll ever see. I just hope you bring your head back safely.
Are you frightened of sharks — and, if not, what the hell is wrong with you?
Here’s something for you to consider: What do you figure sharks think of us humans? For, while sharks typically kill four humans a year, humans kill about 100 million sharks a year. You think any shark caves under any sea in the world has a big Peter Benchley poster tacked to the wall? I think not. If this interests you on any level — and it should — consider meeting author William McKeever. He wrote “Emperors of the Deep: Sharks — the Ocean’s Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians,” and he’ll be at Westerly’s Savoy Bookshop & Cafe tonight as part of the shop’s always-fun “Holiday Gift Guide Reading & Signing” series. Admission is one shark. Just kidding. Do NOT kill any sharks! Read “Emperors of the Deep” and you’ll never be
William McKeever, 7 tonight, Savoy Bookshop & Cafe, 10 Canal St., Westerly; (401) 213-3901.
scared to go in the water again. Probably.