Tool — Moda Center, Portland

Tool—the metal quartet of Justin Chancellor, Danny Carey, Adam Jones, and Maynard James Keenan—returned to Portland, Oregon and the Moda Center this past Thursday for the first time since COVID-19 interrupted their 2020 tour immediately after playing a show in Portland.

Steel Beans played a short slot to open the night before Tool kicked off their set with an epic performance (in both sound and length) of Fear Inoculum, the lead and title track of their latest album. An impressive visual display backlit the band as Chancellor and Jones roamed the stage while Keenan spent most of his time perching on a couple of risers that flanked both sides of Carey’s drum kit. 

The setlist leaned heavily on tracks from Fear Inoculum like Pneuma, Descending, Chocolate Chip Trip, and Invincible, but the band also dipped into earlier fan favorites like The Grudge before closing the show with an electrifying performance of Ænema. 

All photos by Tom Pacyk (sunshineburn.com)