Central Iowa music fans once again proved why few big-time concerts bother stopping. Tool came to town, but only about 8,000 fans showed, filling just the floor and parquet with only sprinkles in the upper deck.

Just minutes into Tool’s opening song, “Sober,” it also became apparent that a Tool show is a whole different experience than most rock shows.

For one thing, it really isn’t a rock ‘n’ roll show – it’s more of a slide show accompanied by some guys playing music. Singer and band icon Maynard James Keenan stood on a platform at the back of the stage beside the drummer for the entire set. And to top things off, a majority of the time he didn’t even face the crowd.

Bassist Justin Chancellor and guitarist Adam Jones also failed to add any excitement to the mix. The farthest either moved was to step on one of their various effect boxes.

But this didn’t seem to matter to a majority of the group’s fans, as the crowd followed every move (or lack thereof) and note of the band with an intense energy. Some fans like Pat Errington of Cedar Rapids and Ben White of Urbandale enjoyed the way the band operated its live show.

“They were awesome – their stage presence was terrific,” White said. “I didn’t think there would be so many stage props.”

“They keep getting better and better every time I see them,” said Errington, who has seen the band four times.

“They are more artists, I think, so they try to focus the attention more on their art than themselves – the intensity makes up for their lack of movement.”

Other die-hard Tool fans, like Amy Edwards of Des Moines, enjoyed the concert but were somewhat disappointed with the stage show.

“Even as a very, very big Tool fan, I was a little disappointed,” Edwards said. “They just stand there and don’t work the crowd as much as other bands.”

It was almost as if Tool had decided before the tour whether it wanted to put on a good rock show or sound good. It was obvious that it decided to sound good and it sure didn’t fail.

The band was flawless through its endless set of hits, which included “Parabola,” “Aenema” and more.

Maynard showed that he has one of the best sets of pipes in hard rock and drummer Danny Carey was absolutely solid while buried behind his gigantic drum kit. Carey also provided the only humor of the night from the band by performing in a Kansas basketball jersey.

Tool relied heavily on eye candy to keep fans interested and it seemed to be a successful tactic. A huge projection screen hung on each side of the stage, showing numerous images and sometimes the song’s accompanying video. The backdrop that Maynard, staring away from the crowd, seemed to be interested in was also a collage of Tool graphics, as well as various banners that dropped from the rafters.

Opener Tomahawk did manage to bring some of that rock ‘n’ roll attitude to Ames. The group, led by former Faith No More front man Mike Patton, rolled through its half-hour set quickly, not taking much time between songs, except once when Patton informed the crowd that Tool would not play unless the crowd liked Tomahawk.

Patton was a madman on stage – when he wasn’t busy playing keyboards, he was thrashing around the stage.

At various times during the band’s set, roadies had to come out and pick up drum microphones that Patton repeatedly knocked over, and once he even fell, slamming himself into a Marshall stack.

Unfortunately, the sound for Tomahawk’s set was terrible, and hardly anything Patton said could be understood by the crowd. But it didn’t stop him from unleashing his boundless energy.

Some hard-core Tool fans enjoyed just seeing the band stand in place and play.

“I think it was one of the best shows I have seen because they sounded great and played for the fans,” Edwards said.

But if you are just curious about what a Tool show is like, you might be better off to buy the DVD that features the band’s videos, pop it in and turn the lights out in your room.