Tool bookended its tour with another sit-in on Monday in Toronto, calling up Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson to join in on “Jambi”. The guest appearance at the penultimate show of Tool’s North American tour follows a surprise spot by Billy Strings on the same song at the tour opener in Salt Lake City last month.
Before getting into the 10,000 Days track, Lifeson tacks on a brief snippet of Rush’s “A Passage To Bangkok”. Following the “Jambi” midpoint breakdown, Lifeson is granted full autonomy with a guitar solo lasting a solid few minutes as the rest of the band chugs along. After three minutes of playing the supporting role, Tool guitarist Adam Jones steps up and trades licks with the man whose intricate progressive rock guitar style no doubt left a lasting impression on Jones and his band as a whole.
“Thank you, Alex. What a Rush!” Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan quips following the sit-in.
Lifeson didn’t stop there. Backstage, he gifted Jones one of his signature Epiphone Les Paul Axcess guitars and expressed his love for Jones’ playing and Tool in an Instagram post, saying “His playing is inspirational and speaks to my soul like no other guitarist.”
“What an honour and delight it was playing with one of my favourite bands last night,” Lifeson wrote. “I’ve loved Tool since the first time I listened to them. They are such a great band and I am lucky to call them friends.”
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Lifeson and his Rush bandmate Geddy Lee previously shared the stage with Tool drummer Danny Carey at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in L.A. last year, where they performed Rush’s “YYZ”. Last year also saw Alex and Geddy reunite for a surprise appearance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the South Park 25th Anniversary Concerts, performing “Closer To The Heart” with Primus and show creator Matt Stone. Rush drummer Neal Peart passed away in 2020, effectively marking the end of the original trio, however in a recent interview Geddy left the door open to the possibility of once again touring with Alex and performing the band’s songs.
“It had been a taboo subject, and playing those songs again with a third person was the elephant in the room, and that kind of disappeared,” Lee told The Washington Post earlier this month. “It was nice to know that if we decide to go out, Alex and I, whether we went out as part of a new thing, or whether we just wanted to go out and play Rush as Rush, we could do that now.”
Watch Tool perform “Jambi” with Alex Lifeson in Toronto. Tool’s fall tour wraps tonight, November 21st, with a second show in Toronto. For tickets and a full list of tour dates head here.
Tool, Alex Lifeson – “Jambi” – 11/20/23
[Video: First Church of Assholes]
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