In 2020 Tool was supposed to play in Colorado Springs, Co but cancelled that show along with the rest of their 2020 tour due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic. Though at the time I didn’t have tickets I planned on getting them for that show before it was cancelled. So in 2021 when they announced they were going on tour in 2022, I didn’t wait and bought presale tickets through the Tool Army to ensure I got the tickets since Tool usually sells out within minutes. I ended up getting really good seats. We were on the left side of the stage about 20 rows back in the 100 level.
The day of the concert we had a snow storm come through Colorado and it created some white out conditions on the main Freeway I-25. These conditions caused a semi to get jackknifed which created a massive car pile up which then closed down the freeway going in both directions. Seeing how this was the route we were going to take we had to look for an alternative way to get there. Thankfully there was a way around the closure but it added an extra half hour on our travel time. Which was ok because we left in plenty of time.
Once we got to the Ball Arena there were a lot of cars already in the parking lot and a lot more coming in along with us. After we got parked we started walking towards the venue and I was surprised that there really was no line to get inside. The last time I had been to the Ball Arena was to see Twenty-One Pilots and the lines were the longest I had ever seen because they were checking Covid cards and negative test results which they were also doing at Tool. However this time we walked right up and had our Covid stuff checked and were in line for the security checking within a minute. The line to get through security and inside only took about 10 minutes if even that.
After we got inside we went to the merch booth as I wanted to buy some shirts. The line was long and I figured we were going to be in that line for 45 minutes, easily. I was surprised to see that line also moved very quickly and we got through it within about 15 minutes. From there we went to find our seats and like I mentioned they were really close to the stage with a great view.
Just as we sat in our seats the opening band Blonde Redhead came out. They were messing with their instruments because there was some issue they were trying to fix. I had never heard of this band before so honestly I thought they were playing their set when they were messing with everything. I just assumed they were some really out there type of band and that was their music. I was glad to find out that wasn’t their music. They managed to get things fixed after only a few minutes and they apologized to the crowd and started their set. As I mentioned I had never heard of this band before but watching them live they were entertaining. They probably aren’t a band I would listen to again but I thought they did a good job. Tool likes to have these no name bands open for them which is cool but honestly I would love to see Tool just once with an opener that I know their music. I think the band played for just about half an hour then there was a half hour break before Tool was supposed to hit the stage at 8:45.
Tool hit the stage and the place lit up! The crowd, myself included, we were screaming at the tops of our lungs. They opened with Fear Inoculum then played 3 of their older songs including Pushit which is a song I’ve never heard them play live. All and all, they played a lot more of their new songs which makes sense because they are touring in support of that Album “Fear Inoculum”. However, just before they did their intermission they also played Hooker With A Penis which is another song I’ve never heard live so that was really cool! After their intermission they came back out and played 3 more songs off the new album. I have seen Tool countless times and I feel like every time I have seen them they closed with Stinkfist, so it was kind of weird seeing them not close with that song. All and all, it was a great show and it was only the first of 2 nights I was going to get to see them. The following night they played in Colorado Springs which I also went to but I will talk about that show separately.
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