Tool‘s Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor made a surprise appearance last night (4/20) at the Los Angeles stop of the Sessanta tour, which is anchored by frontman Maynard James Keenan‘s two other bands, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, as well as Primus.
Before the penultimate song of the three-hour extravaganza, Keenan, who turned 60 on Wednesday, told the crowd they were permitted to film because A Perfect Circle had “picked up some strays.” While Jones, Carey and Chancellor walked onstage, the frontman cracked a joke about Carey wondering where the rest of the drum set was as he sat down behind a slightly modified version of Josh Freese’s usual kit. The quartet performed “Ænema” with an assist from Primus’ Les Claypool, who frequently joined the other two bands earlier in the evening while wearing one of two masks.
Sessanta has no opener or headliner, and all three bands are effectively on stage at all times playing their music with different combinations of members. The two-tiered stage design was just as eclectic, complete with three drum kits, two couches, a ping-pong table, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and two neon-lit staircases connecting the levels with comically slow automatic stairlifts.
The Tool members were not the first surprise reveals of the evening, as founding members Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar) and Paz Lenchantin (bass) also joined A Perfect Circle for a rendition of “Judith.” Phones were still banned at this point in the set under the mock-threat of being run through a meat grinder, but some industrious attendees managed to capture the performance, which can be viewed below.
Last night’s show was Freese’s last for the tour before he joins back up on the road with Foo Fighters; he had previously been absent from the band since 2011. Sessanta continues tonight at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, Ca., and wraps May 4 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium just outside Manhattan.
