Tool joined by bluegrass phenom Billy Strings during Nashville show at Bridgestone Arena

When the house lights at Bridgestone Arena went down Tuesday night, Tool fans were greeted with a programmed beat, drummer Danny Carey adding his trademark touch to it and the band's signature trippy graphics floating across massive screens.

Singer Maynard James Keenan appeared in the shadows and addressed the crowd with a simple, "Nashville." When the crowd didn't respond loudly enough, he again said "Nashville." Then playfully chastised the full house by saying, "You all sound like Knoxville," which elicited boos from the crowd. He gave them one more chance to make Nashville proud which was followed by a roar that could have been heard all the way in East Tennessee.

What would happen over the next two hours included a solid stream of both familiar and more obscure songs from the Tool catalog, an unparalleled graphics display full of eyeballs and aliens, a special guest guitarist and oddly enough no cell phones capturing it all.

Early on in the show, Keenan encouraged the crowd to take a trip with the band and to "stay connected" — without cell phones.

"Here's the deal," he told the crowd. "We're gonna take a little trip. Stay with us. Stay connected. I want you to put your f*ing cell phones in your pockets and leave them there. If you have to take your phone out for the next two hours, you have a ... problem." But there was light at the end of the tunnel. "If you are good, we will let you film the last song."

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After a short but solid set from openers Elder, which garnered a standing ovation from the crowd, Tool opened with the title track from their latest album "Fear Inoculum" and rolled through "46 & 2" "Rosetta Stoned" "Pneuma" and Descending" before Keenan simply said to the crowd: "This kid. Billy Strings."

Strings, who made an appearance at a Tool show in Salt Lake City last October, calmly walked on stage with an electric guitar and swapped riffs with Tool guitarist Adam Jones on the song "The Grudge." Jones even stepped back and let Strings have the stage where he played his electric with the same skill and precision as the bluegrass acoustic he is known for.

After a short intermission, drummer Carey stood in front of a massive gong he played with drumsticks before pounding it with a mallet and taking a seat behind a drum kit that needs its own zip code. The band then blasted through "Flood" and "Invincible" before Keenan told the crowd they could get their phones out to film the last song, "Schism."

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In typical Tool fashion, Keenan, who is notorious for avoiding the spotlight, never stepped foot on the main stage except to fist bump his bandmates at the end of the show. He instead lurked on risers in the shadows at the back of the stage, letting his voice, the music and the overall Tool experience take center stage.

Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at [email protected], on X @HurtMelonee or Instagram at @MelHurtWrites.

Tool at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena setlist:

"Fear Inoculum"

"46 & 2"

"Rosetta Stoned"

"Pneuma"

"Intolerance"

"Descending"

"The Grudge" (with Billy Strings)

"Chocolate Chip Trip"

"Flood"

"Invincible"

"Schism"

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tool, Billy Strings share Bridgestone Arena stage in Nashville