Agreed. All the choices they make about their live "shows" really gives the impression they hate their fans. They are so far up their own asses its really quite remarkable.

I've seen Tool live twice and it was epic both times. Definitely unpopular opinion

the just want you watching the video and enjoying the light show stuff, not paying attention to them. it's a choice.

Their concerts emphasize their music. Did you want choreographed dance numbers?

i like a perfect circle a lot

i like progressive metal (btbam is my favorite of all time!)

i can appreciate the band members as talented musicians

but i think the true unpopular opinion here is

tool sucks live

i have the whole discography but i am heckin quick to hit skip on that whiny bullshit once it catches my attention in a playlist

He doesn't like being the center of attention. It is pretty well known that he performs from the back of the stage.

The guitarist and bassist were asked why they didn't move around much while performing, they replied they were busy counting which is no surprise when you listen to the polyrhythms that Danny Carey is drumming out.

When a set is a constant change in time signatures for multiple 10 to 15 minute songs I can't imagine how difficult it would be to keep it going for hours, much less trying to also dance around.

Define sucks a little more precisely?

See, I would assume you mean that their musicianship is lacking live. Which is entirely possible, I'm not quibbling on that as I'm not into the band enough to have watched a ton it their live stuff to form a useful opinion at all.

But the way you described how they suck is about one member not being up front and visible. Again, I've never seen them live in person, nor watched a ton.

But I'm not sure that the lack of stage presence = suck. It sure can contribute to sucking live, but it isn't what I'd say is the determining factor.

It's like when someone big name in pop does a complicated and intense dance routine that's impossible to sing through. Is that a good live performance or a sucky one? I err on the side of it being a good show if it isn't all they do. The inverse is also true, that if all they do is sit on a stool and absolutely nail the music, it's a good show.

It puts me in mind of Iron Maiden too. Even when they're having a rough go of it musically, they can make up for it with giant Eddie and awesome lights and pyro and you still walk out happy enough even though Bruce was almost croaking (fear of the dark tour was exactly like that when I went lol). But when they're on point and the flashy stuff is there, it's a fucking spiritual experience.

My impression of tool is that they err on the side of musicianship first, and anything else is secondary. Was that maybe what you experienced?

I saw them in '06 and he was doing it back then too. He had the decency to materialize for the encore at least.

Oh man that's the opposite of the show I saw way back right around when 10,000 Days came out. They had a massive, really stunning visualizer light show going for the whole set, so no one was even looking at the band, and the quality of their performance was amazing. It was really something to hear Maynard do that long scream from 46 and 2 live.

Sorry to hear the performance you saw wasn't very exciting; that really sucks. :(

I saw tool in 1994 and it was the best performance I’ve seen from them. Every time I’ve seen them since I thought it was good but wasn’t blown away