Progressive, sludge, metal, alternative—labels like these don’t quite stick to Tool. Perhaps that’s because there hasn’t really been another band like these pessimistic LA weirdos… like… ever. They’ve earned Grammys, criss-crossed the globe on international tours and even cracked Billboard’s decidedly pop-centric Hot 100 chart. Tool’s approach to songwriting, rhythm and multimedia performance has remained innovative and stylistically transcendent. Their most recent album, Fear Inoculum, the band’s first release in 13 years, finds Tool continuing to experiment with unusual time signatures, left-field instrumentation, and multi-movement compositions.

Tool
Tue, 6pm, $59+
SAP Center, San Jose

The last time Tool released a record was in 2006. Maybe that’s why the tickets for their upcoming show at the Shark Tank are going for less than $15? Hard to say. If you didn’t shell out for full price tickets but still want to get your “Stinkfist” on, check out StubHub now. Though they have explicitly stated they won’t be putting out any new music this year, there’s still been a good amount of activity from the legendary band. Even if there’s no new release immediately forthcoming, they’ll likely play new songs in San Jose, as the band has been including some new material in recent sets. And with their, uh, “highly” trippy live shows, the SAP Center is set to look like one massive third eye.

Tool
Wed, 6:30pm, $15+
SAP Center, San Jose