What do TOOL fans know? NOTHING, apparently.

[lenron]

"TOOL TOURS WITH KING CRIMSON OPENING (2001)

Heaviosity. Maximum heaviosity. The heaviest heaviosity.

OK, so Woody Allen's rock 'n' roll critic coinage was supposed to be a joke.

But somehow, it fit Friday's pleasing show at the Berkeley Community Theater by "nuovo metal" rockers Tool and King Crimson -- three hours of throbbing electric music at its darkest, thickest and yes, heaviest.

This was the kind of bill that shaped the great early years of rock, when Bill Graham would team up a veteran, such as Muddy Waters with an upstart like Jimi Hendrix.

Big rock promoters, now largely owned by multinational corporations, don't take many chances like this, limiting everything to certain demographics and fearing, sometimes correctly, that anyone over 30 doesn't spend much time listening to young bands, and those under 30 don't care much for music from the 1960s.

This sold-out show put on by a smaller promoter from Los Angeles, Goldenvoice Concerts, proved otherwise.

In an audience that was dominated mostly by Tool fans, many hadn't heard of King Crimson, yet they gave the 31-year-old band a standing ovation after its hourlong set.

And Crimson fans, who may not have spent time with the aggressive but very musical Southern California band, which started in 1990, couldn't help but be pleased hearing influences from the old progressive rock masters.

"King Crimson is pretty much who we ripped off over the years," Tool's singer, Maynard James Keenan, said toward the end of his two-hour set. "Don't tell anyone, especially them."

There were those who had no patience for Crimson's well-crafted, edgy, opening set, particularly with dispassionate band leader Robert Fripp sitting in a chair facing his musicians (Trey Gunn on bass, Adrian Belew on guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums) for the entire performance. Some yelled for Tool during Crimson's quieter moments.

And, surprisingly, there were quieter moments. This was more melodic than some Crimson shows. Two new songs, "Level 5" and "Dangerous Curves," seemed like throwbacks to early 1970s elegiac Crimson. They were like what Black Sabbath might sound like if covered by Miles Davis -- dark, sensual, passionate, soft.

Tool fans probably would have been more comfortable with 1995's throbbing, anti-melody Crimson, songs like "Thrak." They did get some edge with "Red" and "Lark's Tongue in Aspic."

"I appreciated their talent," said Patty Marks, 29, of Sacramento, who had never heard of King Crimson before the show. "No, I wouldn't buy their albums or see them again, but they were good."

In any case, there was never any doubt who was headlining. The audience was on its feet throughout Tool's sci-fi tinged show.

Keenan proved himself as much an odd bird as Fripp. The singer had his own little stage in front of a video screen, where he performed mostly in darkness, like a character in the videos that accompanied the entire set.

First, he wore a skeletonlike bodysuit, like a junior Michelin Man, which fit in with the clone-like characters in the videos that brought to mind Aldous Huxley's novel "Brave New World."

Later he played practically naked, wearing only a small pair of Lycra shorts.

To a first time Tool listener, this music might sound like Black Sabbath covered by a mix of Cirque de Soleil and Nine Inch Nails. It's dark and brooding, but it pulses with angry life and mystical, literate imagery. Adam Jones on guitar, Justin Chancellor on bass and Danny Carey on drums built a wall of sound from which Keenan's screams leaped into the netherlands.

They mixed strong songs from the latest album, "Lateralus," including opener "The Grudge," "Schism" and a brilliant trilogy: "Disposition," "Reflection" and "Triad." They also covered "Eulogy" and "Sober," the kind of unlikely radio hits that restore some hope in radio.

Fripp joined Tool during a quiet part of the trilogy, and the elder master's "soundscape" gave background to Jones's pulsing guitar notes. It was the kind of cross-pollination you'd want to see more of. Maybe the two bands could really break out: Tool could try "21st Century Schizoid Man" while Crimson tackles "Schism."

Even without that, this tour is already showing fans that there is more to music than the demographic boxes the industry tries to lock it in."

2001"

My 2 cents: Most young rock fans are so, so very misguided. Its a crying shame. Man I'm glad AM exists!

[zvinki]

Hi Lenron.

I am not sure what your beef is. Is it that Tool fans prefer Tool over King Crimson? Makes sense doesn't it. If that is the case then I fall into that category. I saw Tool on the second part of this tour and was very disappointed that King Crimson did not tour with them to Montreal. Instead, I was assaulted by Meshuggah (sp?). Luckily I showed up only to hear the last 5 minutes of Meshuggah and was treated to one of the best concerts that I have seen in my lifetime (I am 44 years old now). Tool did everything right that night. The sound was amazing, the band was tight, the show was multi-media, Maynard was theatrical, and no demeaning encores where we are forced to beg for a petty offering from the band.

Going back to the concert review, don't forget that to most fans this was the first time that they had heard King Crimson. You must admit that complex music like theirs is difficult to digest on the first hearing.

[lenron]

Perhaps my post was a touch rabid. But perhaps no one knows the context from which I am coming from; and that is my mistake.

I've had many a discussion with TOOL fans about this tour. All of which resulted in the same thing:

TOOL rules / Why the hell did they get that old band to open / Who the hell are they anyway / What a waste of time / Maynard is God.

All of which annoy me personally as a rampant KC fanatic. One TOOL fan was actually shocked and disppointed that they were influenced by KC in any way.

I get upset that kids these days (you obviously are not a kid) seem to dismiss the original, older bands that, to me, deserve recognition, nay, admiration for what they accomplished, and who they influenced. Rather than ignore them, or try to boo them off stage.

[zvinki]

I agree with you for the most part but, being a father of 2 young boys, I have learned to be more tolerant of them. It takes a while to develope sophisticated musical tastes. My kids started out liking Aqua and the Spice Girls, then moved on to Blink 182 and Linkin Park, and are currently into the "punk" scene with Green Day and Sum 41. Only in the past year have they begun to appreciate the more accessible prog bands like Spock's Beard and Dream Theater. They call AM crap but then again I am old.

My kids are probably younger than the group that you are referring but I think that the same mechanisms are at work there. You have to realize that TOOL is to them what King Crimson was to us: music for the few enlightened ones.

[Rick and Roll]

I cannot improve upon what Zvinki has said - I couldn't agree more. I can only chime in with my personal experience.

Saw Tool about two years ago.....I wish it was a smaller venue. there are not many arena shows I see anymore. Not because I'm "older" (40), but because I can see shows in very intimate venues.

Tool is NOT a band that messes around. There is some banter in-between songs, but it's all about the music. No light show, no stupidity...there was just a constant strange video for each song. I really wish I would have seen them in a small place. Then again, my nerves may not have been able to handle it.

When I was in my late teens in college, I had never heard of most prog. In the early 80's there was not a real good music scene. King Crimson was the crossover. But now I really am bored with their stuff.

The only thing I can say lenron is that my son listens to what I did at 16. The only thing he's missing is bands like Tull and artists like Elton John, that were big in my "day". The kids will come around, lenron. It matters little to me who likes what.

I played Tool two weeks ago - and check out the hard rock show I will spin soon and see how these seemingly disparate "cultures" can co-exist.