Many would roll their eyes at their mere thought of listening to Tool (thanks in part, it must be said, to the stereotypical Tool fan) let alone going to see the band live, yet Maynard & co come infrequently enough to these shores that seeing them was a must for this (hopefully unstereotypical!) fan. And it was hard to feel disappointed, despite a less than ideal setlist and the snagging sense that the band truly do look down on people, not helped by Maynard's sole interactions with the crowd being rants about smartphones and mocking comparisons to Birmingham and Liverpool when the audience wasn't as loud as he wanted. Yes, it is annoying to see people watching entire gigs through a phone screen, yet it's definitely less distracting than the blinding lights of ushers showing latecomers to their seats. And if you're going to attempt King Crimson levels of religious devotion towards the live music experience and 'ban' photos and videos during songs, shouldn't you also ask for applause and entrances to be kept to between songs? When Crimson did it, it felt like being invited into an occult ritual, a shared, hallowed experience for the audience - Tool just feel hectoring and mean-spirited in comparison, particularly when this sixty year old man finally 'allowed' the audience to get their phones out for the evening-closing Ænima.

You can't blame Maynard for trying, at least. He did temper his phone boomerisms with a plea to join the band on a musical trip, and the set lived up to that with a heavy emphasis on Fear Inoculum's longer songs taking a more psychedelic tone in live recreation. The title track, Pneuma, Descending, and Invincible all made heavy impacts, even Chocolate Chip Trip tied in with a drum solo and some experimental electronic wittering from Danny Carey. The crowd loved it all and it was hard not to be swept along by the sheer levels of enthusiasm, despite the lack of the band's more catchier fare. There was no Sober, no Schism, Stinkfist, Vicarious, The Pot, Lateralus, Parabola, or Forty Six & Two - nothing that you'd really call a crowdpleaser despite the appearance of Sweat. The Grudge and Jambi are fine songs, and fit their respective places in the set well, yet the sheer dominance of more esoteric, weirder stuff such as Rosetta Stoned and Flood gave the evening a definite bias towards the trippier.

And for those who love the band unashamedly, such as your humble correspondent, this was all fantastic. Tool themselves as musicians are undeniable, the intricate drumkit of Danny Carey close to Peart-dom and the sound of Justin Chancellor and Adam Jones heavy and intoxicating. Maynard kept to the shadows mainly, stalking above and to the side of Carey, intense and focused for the most part, and of course he sounded terrific. Often all you could glimpse of him was highlighted in front of the screen, showing aliens and kaleidoscopic shapes and the strange creatures from the band's music videos twisting in and out. Lasers shot out frequently, strobe lights and even glittery confetti all serving to make the visual aspect of the show as entertaining as possible, and although there was no encore the closing Ænema was enough of a high water mark of intensity to finish things with a flourish. Chatter overheard on the way out was nothing short of adulatory, and the crowd clearly went home happy. And who could argue? Tool carry enough weight to make even a Fear Inoculum-heavy setlist part of an excellent evening. Even the opening instrumental trio Night Verses didn't feel out of place, despite a drum-dominated sound that drowned out some of their more proggier aspirations. A night of pretension? Sure, but not in a bad way, ultimately.