Just steps away from Miami’s FTX Arena is the Perez Art Museum, a collection of modern masterpieces. This was appropriate Thursday night, February 10th, as Tool brought their own version of a modern, contemporary masterpiece to downtown Miami in the form of the long-delayed Fear Inoculum tour. For the first time since 1996, Tool was in town supporting a new album, at last.
The Fear Inoculum tour was initially scheduled to have kicked off in 2020 following the release of the album the year before. COVID-19 but a stop to that, and all touring up until now. The return to Miami was a triumphant one for Tool, as they ran through a setlist that was almost fifty percent Fear Inoculum with the rest coming from previous albums. This was not a greatest hits nostalgia tour. There are no great Tool hits, only deeply personal tales and lessons from the mind of Maynard James Keenan.
In keeping with tradition, the stage was dark and hung with a curtain behind which the band played for most of the show, shrouded behind a barely transparent curtain in an attempt to thwart photos and video from being captured. Also, as any Tool fan knows, Keenan spent the entire evening on a riser at the back of the stage, almost completely in the dark. A massive video screen at the rear of the stage not once featured the band but instead consisted of an ever-changing gallery of artistic imagery. Lasers also played a huge part in the show as they were timed by hand to coincide with various musical or visual cues.
The setlist was a mix of tracks from the latest album as well as a notable rarity. The 13 song show opened with “Fear Inoculum” which led to a lengthened “Opiate” from the band’s first album, of the same name. Up next was “The Pot” and a seldom heard live “Pushit” from Aenima. Also from Aenima was the final song of the main set, “Hooker With A Penis”.
The evening wrapped up with a three-song encore of “Chocolate Chip Trip”, “Culling Voices”, and “Invincible”. The evening was a massive success, marking Tool’s long-awaited return to Miami.
Fear Inoculum Tour Setlist:
Fear Inoculum
Opiate
The Pot
Pushit
Pneuma
The Grudge
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Descending
Hooker With A Penis
Chocolate Chip Trip
Culling Voices
Invincible
