It is hard to overstate how much a treasure YouTube can be. For all its aggravations and irritations–many of which are very real–it nonetheless makes some things possible which otherwise…well, would not likely happen, at least.
And so I stumbled across this video clip, apparently sponsored by Vic Firth drumsticks, of a closeup capture (several angles) of Danny Carey at the drumkit, on tour with Tool in Boston, playing “Pneuma” from the Fear Inoculum record.
Yeah, even I’ve been surprised at how quickly Carey has vaulted his way into the top tier of my personal pantheon of favorite drummers. (Among other things, how many other 58-year-old drummers do you know that can play like that? Sure, there are some notables, but it’s not a large group.)
What a treat, to be able to see these orchestrations, his unique phrasing and style, as he plays. Actually, this sort of clip reminds me, vividly, of the dawn of the age of music videos and MTV (remember that?); historically, that time was very coincident with my own musical awakening, so I was newly and really paying attention; but, for the life of me, I could not understand what the big deal was about trying to make a bolted-on, dinky little movie for every song. The only “music videos” I found interesting were the ones that featured live performances, and specifically those where you got some chance to see the group playing their instruments. There weren’t many of these on the whole, but on the other hand those such as there were often did show something interesting, usually either overt stage theatrics from a front man or guitar hero, or just plain interesting musicianship. I, of course, was most interested in the latter, and ate up everything I managed to see.
This explains rather neatly, really, why I’ve so come to love YouTube as a resource. When I really think about it, it’s simply astonishing how much is available, and how good some of it can be at highlighting exactly the sort of thing I love to see. This clip of Carey, here, represents exactly the sort of thing I most love to watch; I may have little interest in the “dancing-about-architecture” aesthetic of the archetypal “music video”, but I do love to see how music that is already interesting on its own, is played.
In Danny Carey’s case, this clip shows vividly how much of a monster he really is; his enthusiasm, emotion, and craft are plainly evident, and it’s also clear that he’s entirely in service to the piece and the group. Can’t really ask much more of a craftsman or an artist…
I’d be curious to see how and if he can do improvisation. From what I can tell thus far, Tool is not an improvising group, and while it’d be absurd to expect that all great groups can and should do improv, someone who loves it as much as I do might be forgiven for wondering what might happen, if the copiously creative precision and craft of a group like Tool were to turn its attention to group improv. One can dream…
Craftygrass 