Maynard James Keenan Says Tool’s Involvement in Power Trip Festival Feels “Overwhelming”
Next month, six massive bands will take the stage over three days, creating an event of such gargantuan proportions that it was still crazy big even after Ozzy left the lineup. Taking place in the same space that Coachella does, this brand new bill is being hailed as one of the biggest rock and metal concert events in the U.S. in a long time.
And all that hype can be daunting to the performers, regardless of how successful they may be. Take Tool frontman and vintner Maynard James Keenan — his band will be paired up along with the mighty Metallica on the final day of the festival. And while he’s looking forward to the event, he admitted in a recent interview with Danny Wimmer Presents’ “Power Hour” (as transcribed by Blabbermouth) that it’s a lot to take in.
“It’s overwhelming to be put in the same list with those people. All you can really do is not worry about it — just kind of do what you do and try to do it the best you can so that you don’t look like a clown next to these superstars.”
As someone that’s followed Tool’s trajectory for a long time now, only in this kind of environment can Keenan even begin imagining his band in such a way. I mean, it’s Tool so they’re going to fucking kill it up there, but to open for Metallica in almost any era can be tough. After all, they’re literally the biggest band in the world right now.
The other two days will go as follows: on Friday, October 6, Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden will play, on Saturday, October 7, AC/DC and Judas Priest will hit the stage, and finally on Sunday, October 8, Tool will open for Metallica.
As we mentioned before, Ozzy was originally billed to close out the night with AC/DC, but the “Prince of Darkness” called it off due to ongoing health issues, prompting Judas Priest to replace him.
Power Trip will also be AC/DC’s first time performing back in the states since September 2016 and even then, it will be the first time vocalist Brian Johnson will be with the band in the U.S. in an even longer length of time, since Axl Rose filled in for him last time.
