Tool touring this summer...

[Exoskeletal]

I am so pissed at myself for missing the Reno show!!! God damn, they played Ticks, Pushit AND Hooker...fuck my...son of a bitch!

[heart cooks brain]

^^^truefan^^^

[sonnyboy11]

\/\/\/truefan\/\/\/

[MuseRadio]

Woa there, buddy.

The show was pretty fucking awesome, but, come on, better than 2002????

Maybe I wasn't clear. I said SOME of the best shows of their career. Def not as good as 2002 but better than nearly every show I saw in 06-10. I just think its dumb to "long for the glory days" of Tool when they are still kicking such major ass currently.

[locachica73]

I loved the show, we had a great time, it would have been perfect but I had a 7ft guy standing directly in front of me, that kinda sucked.

[obzen]

Then you're not a true fan.

[locachica73]

LOL, I don't know that I can get "true fan" title until I am willing to travel to multiple cities to see a band, which will never really be my thing. I am only a halfway fan at best.

[obzen]

I jest, it's a running joke.

[Mr. Dylanja]

Tucson, AZ 1/17/12

My brother and I got there just in time for this one, we literally got to our seats just as the opening licks of "Hooker With a Penis" started. My seat was in the third row directly between Danny's two bass drums, absolutely perfect.

Taking everything in, I'm still having trouble registering that they're actually playing "Hooker ith a Penis." I look over at my brother and he's already got his eyes closed rocking out, and realize that we're in for a quite show. The song itself sounded great, it always surprises me how clean they sound live.

Not really much to say about "Jambi." It was bad ass, and Adam nailed his talk box solo.

"Ions" starts up, and my usually somewhat reserved brother looks over and goes, "FUCK YES!" I know "Stinkfist" is played out, but it's probably the "hit" I enjoy most live. Specifically the bridge when everything goes green, and the strobe light goes on. Adam does his tension-filled screeching riff, Danny gets tribal on the toms, Justin does his pulsating bass licks, and all the while Maynard's whispering in the background. That shit's always a mindfuck for me.

Danny starts pummeling the beginning of "Ticks and Leeches," and my jaw hits the floor. Holy shit was this incredible live. That intro was everything we discussed and more. Justin was standing right in front of me when he started chugging the bassline. It's crazy how intense he gets, quite the contrast from Adam. Maynard sounded awesome, just as I suspected he would. Danny mistakenly added an extra fill at one point. I probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't directly infront of me. Justin looked back at him, and Danny was just laughing at his fuck up. Also, just sayin'...

My gut feeling is Eulogy or Ticks and Leeches this tour.

After this song, Justin has some trouble with his bass. His tech comes out in a lab coat and they start talking. Maynard, seemingly annoyed leans in and says, "Justin, how long's this going to take?" Justin shrugs. Maynard looks out at the crowd and says, "I see people walking around with bags of popcorn." He turned and walked back and jealously muttered under is his breath, "I fuckin' want one." He then came back around, "GIVE UP THE POPCORN, MOTHERFUCKER." A bag flies up on stage as a consession's worker simultaneously walks on stage and gives Maynard an additional bag. Maynard then takes both bags, holds them over his crotch and says, "How ya like me noooow?"

"Pushit" was incredible. Justin flubbed a chord early on, and that was the only other mistake I noticed all night. The guitar tone, and Maynard's voice really stood out in this song. He did leave out the final stanza a la "Vicarious" (which I'm so glad they dropped btw) but all in all it was still great. Two for two hearing this song in Tucson!

Next, Maynard steps down off the stage and the other three slowly work into a new song/jam. It was probably the slowest build up of any sort that I've heard from them, and I can only suspect that it's going to be part of the "epic" song/two part song on the new album. Not going to lie, the sound kind of reminded me of Mogwai.

"Schism" was next with the double-timed bridge. Pretty standard, they made the stage red for it, which I thought worked well.

"Intension" was another favorite of mine. I really enjoyed Justin's trance-inducing bass riff on it. Kind of liquidy.

I was bummed that they didn't go into "Right in Two," but instead started with "46&2." I do think it works much better later in the set rather than right after "Stinkfist." It definitely gives the crowd an energy surge.

"Lateralus" with the drum-off was typical, although it seemed like it was the first time they had done it with this particular drummer, Dave. It was his birthday, and Maynard fucked with him the whole time. He asked if he preferred Dave to David. Then said, "how 'bout Sally?" He gave him one of his bags of popcorn. This poor dude has Adam peering over his shoulder, while trying to sync up with Danny and there's Maynard's hovering over, continuously taunting him. Maynard sang happy birthday to him during the drum off. Toward the end, Maynard enthusiastically pointed out to the crowd getting Dave to look, and when he did, Maynard snatched his bag of popcorn back. Cool new terminator visuals for the drum off as well.

Intermission, I'm not sure if they used this static-frequency sound/song on their last couple of tours but I definitely remember it from the shows at The Pearl. I think this will end up being the last track on the new album a la "Faaip de Oiad," and "Viginti Tres."

Maynard came back out and said, "Dave isn't the only one with a birthday, or birth year. Adam, did you know that Arizona is a 100 years old?" Meanwhile Adam came over and put this little hula figurine on Maynard's keyboard and started doing a little hula dance. He looked like a poor man's Victor Cruz. I don't think he was even listening to Maynard. Maynard raised his bottle of water toward the crowd and said, "Cheers. Here's to the next centennial."

Then he started "The Pot" which I thought was great. Love the accapella intro.

Closed with "Aenima."

All in all it was a top notch show with a top notch setlist. I can't say it was my favorite, because some other shows were more intense for me personally. That said, they're still at the top of their game and sound phenomenal. And again, the setlist really does appeal to both the diehard and casual fans. At this point, it almost seems like they have the mind set of, "what is the last song people would expect us to play?" And then they go play it. I can't get over how good the rarer songs sound, better than ever, basically. It just makes me wish for more deep cuts. It's really impressive how dynamic they are as just a four piece. Some guy walking out summed it up perfectly, "How do four dudes make that much fucking nosie?"

[Mr. Dylanja]

I also think Dallas night 2 is most likely to get "Triad," or at least some sort of setlist change, those fuckers. I'M TALKING TO YOU, NATHANIEL.

Didn't Tool cancel a show in Dallas on the 10K tour and never make it up, or was that a different city in Texas?

[Bus McRider]

Okay so I promised Kingsblend a review so here goes.

I went into this show with pretty low expectations, due to a lot of you guys on here bashing Tool for recent weak performances, etc. Also, I had never really watched any videos or listened to recordings of previous shows. All in all, this was a very good thing, as it resulted in me being completely blown away.

I was totally unprepared for this show. It was definitely the best performance I've ever witnessed. (Previously would've been Chemical Brothers or Trentemoller at Coachella 2011.) The band was on top of their game, nailing every song and extending many of them. Danny Carey's drumming was absolutely PHENOMENAL.

A few of the songs I wasn't big on previously, such as "Hooker With a Penis" or "Ticks and Leeches", were so ridiculously good live that I now love them. I'll definitely say that the latter half of the concert was the stronger one, with the sequence of Schism -> Intension -> 46 & 2 -> Lateralus -> The Pot -> Aenema being absolutely impeccable. The band was definitely more in their groove at that point as well.

As for the visuals, all I can say to that is WOW. Not what I was expecting at all. I had always heard that Tool had some crazy lighting/visuals/etc. but I had no clue what I was in for. It matched the music perfectly, and the way the stage changed and expanded throughout the show was impressive. I was seated very far in the back, 200s section, but dead center facing the stage. Normally this would be disappointing seating for me, but it actually turned out great because it allowed me a full view of the stage, and when the lasers did their "liquid sky" type effects it landed in the row directly below me, resulting in a crazy view of beams of light that seemed as if they could be walked on all the way to the stage. I'm glad I was unable to obtain the fungi I wanted for this concert because I wouldn't have been ready for what I was about to see. Maybe next time though.

It seemed like some new material was played at points during the concert, which has me really excited for the new album when it drops. Hopefully they weren't bullshitting about that May date. All I know at this point is that any performance between now and the next time I see them has suddenly become so much more insignificant...

My only complaints would be that the guitars were definitely too high in the mix, washing out the drums and vocals at points. Also, Maynard left out verses of a few songs, which would've been more irritating if not for the powerful energy and remarkable technicality of the rest of the band.

Oh, and there were definitely "typical Tool fans" there, but I wasn't really bothered by them, they were super into it and added to the vibe. (Minus the dude behind me constantly yelling, "TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRRRRR! TOOOOOOOOOOOOL!")

All together, this was a perfect performance for me (despite not being "perfect") and they have succeeded in making a lifelong and diehard Tool fan out of me. I can't wait to see them again, and hope that I can meet up with some of you guys next time.

[obzen]

...and hope that I can meet up with some of you guys next time.

Perhaps...













































if you're a true fan.

[Bus McRider]

...they have succeeded in making a lifelong and diehard Tool fan out of me...

Perhaps...

if you're a true fan.

So satisfied with my first Tool show, I've seriously begun considering the idea of an Alex Grey tattoo... The question is, Lateralus or 10,000 Days?...

[Mr. Dylanja]

The evolving stage is pretty amazing. Every time something starts moving I think, "Damn, that's gotta be expensive."

[Bus McRider]

The evolving stage is pretty amazing. Every time something starts moving I think, "Damn, that's gotta be expensive."

Yes, it was really impressive.

Nice review by the way! How many shows have you been to and when/where?

[Wheres the beef?]

Okay so I promised Kingsblend a review so here goes.

I went into this show with pretty low expectations, due to a lot of you guys on here bashing Tool for recent weak performances, etc. Also, I had never really watched any videos or listened to recordings of previous shows. All in all, this was a very good thing, as it resulted in me being completely blown away.

I was totally unprepared for this show. It was definitely the best performance I've ever witnessed. (Previously would've been Chemical Brothers or Trentemoller at Coachella 2011.) The band was on top of their game, nailing every song and extending many of them. Danny Carey's drumming was absolutely PHENOMENAL.

A few of the songs I wasn't big on previously, such as "Hooker With a Penis" or "Ticks and Leeches", were so ridiculously good live that I now love them. I'll definitely say that the latter half of the concert was the stronger one, with the sequence of Schism -> Intension -> 46 & 2 -> Lateralus -> The Pot -> Aenema being absolutely impeccable. The band was definitely more in their groove at that point as well.

As for the visuals, all I can say to that is WOW. Not what I was expecting at all. I had always heard that Tool had some crazy lighting/visuals/etc. but I had no clue what I was in for. It matched the music perfectly, and the way the stage changed and expanded throughout the show was impressive. I was seated very far in the back, 200s section, but dead center facing the stage. Normally this would be disappointing seating for me, but it actually turned out great because it allowed me a full view of the stage, and when the lasers did their "liquid sky" type effects it landed in the row directly below me, resulting in a crazy view of beams of light that seemed as if they could be walked on all the way to the stage. I'm glad I was unable to obtain the fungi I wanted for this concert because I wouldn't have been ready for what I was about to see. Maybe next time though.

It seemed like some new material was played at points during the concert, which has me really excited for the new album when it drops. Hopefully they weren't bullshitting about that May date. All I know at this point is that any performance between now and the next time I see them has suddenly become so much more insignificant...

My only complaints would be that the guitars were definitely too high in the mix, washing out the drums and vocals at points. Also, Maynard left out verses of a few songs, which would've been more irritating if not for the powerful energy and remarkable technicality of the rest of the band.

Oh, and there were definitely "typical Tool fans" there, but I wasn't really bothered by them, they were super into it and added to the vibe. (Minus the dude behind me constantly yelling, "TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRRRRR! TOOOOOOOOOOOOL!")

All together, this was a perfect performance for me (despite not being "perfect") and they have succeeded in making a lifelong and diehard Tool fan out of me. I can't wait to see them again, and hope that I can meet up with some of you guys next time.

This is really great to hear that you had a good time. I know it can be misleading to read all the shit talking that goes on but Tool really does put on a show like no other.

And I know what you mean about the "typical tool fan". It really is unfortunate that they draw out those people. At the Reno show this guy screams, "TOOOOOLLL!! PLAY SOME THING NEW!". Tool plays Ticks and Leeches. At the end of the song, "FUCKING BULLLSHIT!!!"....... #rolleyes

[Mr. Dylanja]

Not the best sound, but this is the new material at the beginning.

[Wheres the beef?]

Not the best sound, but this is the new material at the beginning.

Awesome. Looks like there will be a DVD coming our way.

[disgustipated]

leaving for Dallas for my fix. Things worked out for me and I'm able to attend night two thanks to my friend calling in a favor to the manager of the venue. Apparently we'll be in the orch which is a tiny unseated section up front. Stoked!

[disgustipated]

They just started Ticks then stopped and went into SOBER!

[Mr. Dylanja]

Fucking Dallas, I knew it That's awesome though.

[disgustipated]

Maynard's off,though. Big time.

[theresalwaysone]

Wow what time did the show start???

[suprefan]

Wow what time did the show start???

9 ish. Ummmmmm, time zones?

[disgustipated]

Parabol/parabola

[bucketofpower]

^woah.

[disgustipated]

Aaaaand that was awesome.

[theresalwaysone]

9 ish. Ummmmmm, time zones?

Oops. Oh yeah.

Parabol/parabola

Get the fuck out.

[nathanfairchild]

Fantastic show tonight.

[cutterbutter]

Guess I'm going to see Tool soon. This is the excitement and surprise Ive waited for.