The look of the show is largely a combined effort of the live-controlled lighting, room spanning lasers and massive video screens which typically display a range of custom visualizations rather than focus on the band members. It is all carefully designed to immerse you, to pull you in close and make you feel like you are a part of the music that surrounds you. It’s something long time Tool fans have come to appreciate, and something new fans can look forward to. While those who have seen the band live in recent years will likely find a lot of consistency in their live performance, Mark explained that there is always a little something new in the set and in the show’s tech. The crew stay experimenting and applying new equipment and lighting positions, always aiming to keep things just fresh enough and to provide the best show for the venue they are in. “We tend to evolve a little as we go along,” he said. Add in the fact that the band is known to shuffle and add surprise cuts in with their most often performed set selections, and you can expect to see a show that is never exactly like the ones before.
Mark counts the joy of traveling to new places as one of his favorite aspects of this line of work. “Sometimes it’s just finding unique things about different cities,” he said. “We don’t always get to see what’s in each city… it has to be a day off.”
Those days on the road include lots of work and dedication to make an arena show such as Tool’s come to life. According to Mark, the crew includes dozens of tour personnel as well as local stagehands who typically start setting up for the evening’s show at 8 AM, or sometimes even the night before. What goes up must come down, as the saying goes, and that work continues long after the show’s crowd has returned to a more physical state of consciousness. Tool and crew’s last visit to Biloxi was in 2002, meaning fans from our area have typically had to travel to nearby cities such as New Orleans or Southaven, or catch the band at festivals like Welcome to Rockville. “Looking at how long it’s been, it’s probably about time to go there again,” Mark quipped. Their long awaited return to the coast is something for fans to celebrate, and carries on the Coliseum’s push in recent years to treat the coast to more high profile concerts.
Tool performs on Saturday, January 27th at Mississippi Coast Coliseum with support from Elder (psychedelic/ progressive rock). While the show sold out quickly, if you do find yourself in the crowd, you’ll be treated to one of rock’s most immersive and enticing live experiences. Follow Tool online for more tour dates.
Get out there and catch a show!
scott@coastobserver.com
Scotti Redd – @scottiredd9
ToolBand.com
MSCoastColiseum.com
Photo Credit: Travis Shinn
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