2006/05/20 - New York, NY - City Center

[kabir]

SETLIST --

Stinkfist
Forty Six & 2
Jambi
Schism
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Sober
Lateralus
Vicarious
Ænema


*DO NOT POST IF YOU WERE NOT AT THE SHOW!

[HolyReality]

amazing. i'm too stoned to remember the exact setlist right now but they mixed it up a little from the past few nights and played stinkfist first, and later brought back eon blue apocalypse/the patient which was great...would've liked to have heard the pot, though...but incredible stuff all around. I was expecting the sound to suck after hearing the comments about last night but aside from the vocals in the first couple of songs it sounded great to me. the visuals were phenomenal and maynard was hilarious.

and to anyone involved in the seating confusion in the rear gallery, row j....i'm still 9.

[zendog]

To Tool - THANK YOU!

the setlist as I remember it:

Stinkfist
Forty-Six & 2
Jambi
Schism
Eon Blue Apocalypse / The Patient
Lost Keys / Rosetta Stoned
Sober
Lateralus
Vicarious
Aenema

I was in last row "Front Gallery" section - the sound was much better than I expected after reading posts from Friday night show - I've heard better, but I didn't think it was too bad for where I was. For me the "fun" part of being up in the Gallery was feeling the whole thing "bounce" during Stinkfist and Sober from everybody moving in time!!

Great show.

[rockon83]

i do believe you are correct with the setlist. all i have to say is WOW! that was fucking intense!

[dloozer]

Holy Fucking Shit!!! This show was absolutely amazing. There aren't words in the english language to describe how great this show was. It was so much better than Friday night's show. I ended up waiting online to get tickets before the show started and ended up with Orch. row L. Totally fucking worth it. The set list was phenomenal. The curtain going up and seeing the whole band on stage...AHH it was AMZING. I loved the fact that they opened with Stinkfist, and then went back to play Lost keys/Rosetta stoned. And then the Patient too!! This night could not have been any better. The band as a whole sounded so much tighter than friday night, and the sound was also so much better. I can not wait for another opportunity to see them.

[smokesum]

my 4th Tool show.. on the grand tier.. excellent show.. they were all in fine form..
vocals were a lil low for some songs.. i was a little pissed they werent gonna play rosettastoned.. but.. BAM out of nowhere i hear Lost Keys.. all the songs were great.. but my highlights were Jambi, Patient, Rosettastoned, and Lateralus

cant wait for the fall..

[godhenry]

UNBELIEVABLE! LK/RS were amazing. LK/RS's epic was really played out in all its glory by the band tonite. The Patient was just as powerful as I heard it in Oakland 5 years ago, and I broke down into tears. And I'm still feeling the chills from Schism.

The NYC TOOL crowd was awesome. Everybody was totally into it and gave a very positive and very powerful vibe to the band and the venue. The whole experience well worthed the bucks for me to fly out from Oakland, CA. To all the NYC Tool fans, I salute you!

EDIT: BTW, this was my 6th TOOL show.

[NJsancho]

amazing. i'm too stoned to remember the exact setlist right now but they mixed it up a little from the past few nights and played stinkfist first, and later brought back eon blue apocalypse/the patient which was great...would've liked to have heard the pot, though...but incredible stuff all around. I was expecting the sound to suck after hearing the comments about last night but aside from the vocals in the first couple of songs it sounded great to me. the visuals were phenomenal and maynard was hilarious.

and to anyone involved in the seating confusion in the rear gallery, row j....i'm still 9.


DUDE!! I was right fuckin' there! My bro and I were in seats 1 - 3 at the end. I dont know what all the confusion was about. Three different people came and checked my ticket, and everyone that was sitting there seemed to be right where they were supposed to be.

[marshmeli]

tonight blew last night out of the water IMO... i love how they mixed the set up, but wish they played The Pot... i forgot to bring my camera with me though did take some pics with my camera and will post them tomorrow..

i do have a story to tell though here goes:
i almost shit my pants tonight. i went to the same bar and burrito place with one of my friends as i did last night, and then another friend meet us (3 other friends drove in and were on 55th near the venue), after a bunch of jaeger shots and beer in 1 hour we walked from 44th to 55th and i got a pretzel on the way. it was about 5 to 10 and i am rushing my 2 other friends along so we dont miss the show. we finally get there at 10, i go into my pocket to get 6 tickets out and THEY ARE NOT THERE!!! i almost crap my pants and walk in a demand to speak to a manager to tell them i lost my tickets... i give them my cc and addy and shit and she confirms that i ordered 4 tix (when they released them lastg friday) in the ORCH.... i am happy, but them i remeber i lost 6 tickets... i tell my other 2 friends that i may not be able to get them in a shit, then i remember when the tix went onsale at first i had 2 singles seats for sat's show, so i got back in to see the manager at that point she is coming out to see me and tell me that i had 6 not 4 tix and gives me another reciept, i am happy we all get in... then a bunch of us go to the bathroom expecting to see the other 2 guys after show since they are not in the ORCH, but the manager wrote the wrong location down so 4 of us are put in row M seats 30 and 32, so all 6 of us got to be in the ORCH and the security was great with people not in seats but standing in the aisle (thank god)... though they were bad with phones and cameras, and even my rewetting drop for my contacts (i have dry eyes), the guy didnt believe it was contact drops and forced me to put some in my eye (saying it could be liquid acid) so i put like 5 drops and squitered it on him (he was dick)... all and all better show than last night, cant wait for the full tour when they back from in the fall... and luckily my tix situation worked out, maybe it is karma for selling 2 sets for face value once the re-release happened and also trading seats with some on thise board (fri pair for a sat pair)...

[Aggroculture]

This was my sixth Tool show too.
It was much better than Friday, it was mostly decent-to-good. Maybe being down in the Orchestra helped. They're still 'hella' rusty, and Maynard asking twice whether we'd had enough did nothing but show how little he wanted to be there - I got that vibe from the whole band a bit. Still no The Pot. It's obviously going to take a long time for them to get back up to the level of tightness they were at before, if that's even what they're going for. And there's way too much comedy posing for my tastes, but maybe that's just their new schtick.
Anyway I had a pretty good time. And thanks a bunch to the girl who traded her ticket with my friend's, whoever she is.

Funny to see the cast from OZ there, and Alex Grey was there too.

[NJsancho]

Tonight's show definitely came off better than friday's. Last night, i was stuck in the mezzanine and was shocked as hell when the band came on and THERE WERE EMPTY SEATS all around me (unless people coming in just went right up to the rail instead of their seats). And the energy of the crowd seemed to be lacking. Everyone just seemed to bob along with the songs...it all felt really tame to me. TOnight....1 MILLION TIMES BETTER. TOOL didn't throw in anything new or special for this show, but they shuffled the setlist around. For this show I was up in the gallery, which to me was way better than being in the mezz. In the mezz I had to deal with the gallery roof hanging over me and the sound/view wasn't all that great. From upstairs, though, it was all clear. Awesome view, and the sound was much better than on friday, though i still had trouble understanding maynard's chit chat. All i heard was *garble-garble-garble* New York! *garble-garble-garble* Saturday!!
The crowd tonight was much fuckin' better too. Lots of people jumping around and pumping their fists and showing some fuckin' enthusiasm. All around, tonight was much, much more enjoyable.

[bradpeterson]

When I was walking a few blocks away I happened to run into Adam Jones. Didnt want to approach him, as it seemed he was with his young daughter (?). Cool anyways.

[elusive_]

great show. good to see them back doin their thing. maynard was much more entertaining this time then in 2002, and the rest fo the boys were also quite good. Sound was passable, venue was OK, set list OK, lighting and set not ok. looking forward to arena tour, TA better provide this time.

[soreal]

alright 2 in a row and it was bad ass.

they played sll of lost keys with maynard whispering creepy shit through the bull horn.

again like last night the new schism bridge is fucking insane.

the sound was better then last night but still not the best i have heard, maynards voice was the only thing that had problems.

lateralus was on point again, i cant get enough of that song, truely amazing live.

i went to the stage entrance again tonight and waited for the band. about 12:30 or so alex and allison grey walked out, there were about 30 people there and i was like the only one that recognized him it seemed. out of the 30 people there he only signed 1 autograph and it was my copy of 10Kdays on the net of being picture. i was in fucking AWE!!!! i couldnt belive it, then adam came out and was very kind and signed everyones stuff including his picture in the 10Kdays booklet, then justin came out and he did the same. and then danny emerged, the fucking machine himself, he is the nicest man, talked for a while then jetted with his women.

these past 2 days have been incredible, i couldnt have asked for anything more. thank you new york.

thanks also to Alex who i met at the irish pub, way to show a west coast bro some love.

on a funny note, while waiting for the band the guy that is the lead role on law and order came from backstage. i was like what the fuck. pretty funny.

[moneyisevil]

its fucken 2:40 am, just got home and i'm beat up..physically and emotionally,...MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING!@!!

1. totally blown away/surprised they opened with stinkfist
2. totally thought we werent gonna get LK/Rosetta, then BAM we got it and it tore the roof off the place
3. Lateralus, I almost lost my body/mind just before they sing "with my feet"
4. Visuals were sick, sound was AMAZING (FUCK ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE DANNY CAREY HITS THOSE DRUMS SO FUCKEN HARD THEY MOVE YOU)
5. I GOT TO MEET ALEX/ALLISON GREY after the show and they signed my ticket which was a plus and had a short conversation with Alex it was awsome :) (the guy next to me got the setlist and had Alex sign it i was so jelous)

So yeah the show was absoloutley amazing, i cant believe we were so close (orchestra row o) and the crowd was wayyyyy into it. Reefer madness everywhere! The venue itself was gorgeous. And the sound was perfect. Maynards vocals were low for maybe 2-3 minutes out of the whole show, other than that it was amazing. I almost shit myself when i walked into the theatre and saw how close we were.

When we arrived at the venue it was approximatley 9:30, and there was a huge ass line outside the venue. I was like "what the fuck is this shit?" So we stood in line and people were yelling fucken funny things like "Maynard was sent down from Heaven to sing to US!!!!" and "Maynard makes me cum on myself!"...fucken funny shit...and people were actually smoking bowls while waiting in line which i found quite amusing as my friend took part in a session. Everyone was yelling and making tons of noise when they finally opened the doors around 9:45...and at this point i was like damn "Tool isnt gonna take the stage until 10:30 with the looks of things!" Security was sloppy, as they werent prepared to get people through security checkpoints at a good pace. Lines were ridiculous and long, and it was just dissapointing.

So we get into the venue at about 9:55-10:00, and we immediatley head to the merch stand where I picked up an awsome black shirt with the Net of Being on the front and back with the tour dates. I purchased a poster after the show :)

So we're at the merch stand and people start yelling "They're coming on quick go to your seats!!!" So we run and open the door to the theatre, and my jaw just dropped. So amazing how small and intimate it was. By the time we got to our seats the lights went out and the adrenaline started pumping. The curtain raised and we heard the long extended note before stinkfist starts....and all i could think was "where's lost keys?" Then BAM!!!! Stinkfist in all its rocken glory! Great Opener in my opinion. The extended version was sick, and i still can't believe people fall for it still!!! Then right into 46 & 2. The 46 & 2 Drum solo shook the entire place, and left my speechless with my jaw hanging. I don't know how he does it Danny Carey is a drum God! God i tell you! No one can come close to his intensity AND his perfection! and his beats! If I could have my live drums sound 1/10 like his...wow

So the whole time I was like, "are we gonna get a different show cuz of no LK/Rosetta?" Jambi was amazing, loved the visuals, and Adam nailed the talkbox solo perfectly. It was awsome to watch him play it flawlessly (and better than the album imo). I never really watched Adam at all the whole, I was mostly fixated on Danny and Maynard and Justin (who gained tons of respect from the crowd/me, i seriously think this guy is so underrated)

Other highlights include hearing Eon Blue and I;'m like "oh shit we're gonna hear The Patient"...and bam The Patient started with i think an ***extended intro****...and i almost broke down....it was played so beautifully...some of the visuals during some of the songs made me wanna cry to. Words can not express what I saw tonight. It feels like a perfect dream!!!! Lateralus was purley beautiful. Every single song was amazing, and i loved how MJK put strong emphasis and shouted the lyrics "STUPID SHIT.....STUPID SHIT....SILLY SHIT!!!!" of Aenema like he was really fucken pissed. I'm almost positive mjk sand "fuck l. ron hubbard" tonight instead of rupert murdoch. I'll end now and post more tomorrow. I am still in awe.

Like MJK said tonight "Those that are in the know, know....those that don't...need to get with it"

oh yeah, kudos to the drum solo in 46 & 2.....fucken insane!!! and the extended stinkfist...hi-hat madness!!!

THANK YOU TOOL!

[awaking]

amazing seats. row b top center mezz in a 2500 opera house. perfect seats. maynard was right there. the people in front of sat most of time. everyone was pretty much standing. really tho we were like 20 feet from the stage and 35 feet up or something.. aaaaaa!h! long night went to Benihanas before.. also ate 2 brownies 40 mins before they started/ REEFER BROWNIES. amazing time.. it ruled . it wasnt a long set but was worth the money. so intimate. i wasn't sure i was going until picked up my tickets

My friend who doesnt post here wants to say they should of played thepot an other songs. they did some jamming and it was cool i liked it, whatever. they sat on the stage at one point and listened to everyone go crazy for them and stuff. they started kinda late like 1020.

I was pissed about not RS .. I was yelling Rosetta stoned and Stoned.... and then bam LK, Tool PwNs

[crosstrain]

i was up on the top and the sound sounded pretty bad i could hardly hear maynard and the double bass kick wasnt there at all.... anyone agree?? amazing show either way though!

[fibonacci]

Fucking amazing show. I was near-center in the Front Gallery and I was wearing a grey/red sweatshirt and standing on my seat dancing/moving/whatever you wanna call it. I almost fell off a couple times but I skateboard so I kept my balance OK :P. Anyway, the sound was good, the energy was great, everything was excellent. VERY glad I went.

[GeorgeinNY]

This one I had Orchestra right side, under the overhang, and its was bass overload all night long. And since the sound man is sitting under the overhang himself they probably couldnt figure out a way to fix the problem, I guess maybe LOWERING the bass just a little never entered their minds.

(much better sound in Gallery previous night, and btw thanks for reminding me, the gallery did move a LOT the previous night, it made me real fucking nervous that we were gonna wind up breaking news on CNN).

Danny was wearing his LA Lakers uniform,(as opposed to the Clippers kit night before) wtf thats just not right, thats like wearing Arsenal one night, Tottenham next...

I think this was Maynard best performance to date on this minitour, as far as vocals and moving around on stage. here I have to go back again to what someone wrote last night, MJK is Tool and there is no Tool without him, PERIOD.

Adam broke a string on his guitar during Sober, however other than that pretty clean performance, probably his best on the tour so far(that I heard)(and btw I hate the Peter Frampton/Bon Jovi guitar talk box, wish he never used it...)

Lost Keys/Rosetta works much better as an opener than the way it was placed tonight in the middle/ late part of the show.

This will be my last show of 4 Ive seen on this minitour. Soundwise, Coachella was the best, this one was the worst(definitely depends on where you were sitting, though).
Overall performance from band I would say Chicago was the best, and Coachella was the worst. Wished they mixed up their set list more, playing the same songs night after night makes them sound stale especially if youre going to see them on multiple nights.

They are letting the staging stifle them as a band IMHO(I kind of think NOW I know what those old geezers meant when they said mid 70s Floyd was all right but you shoud have seen them in the 60s, Tool seems to have followed same progression).
Please, when you come back in the fall, at least for the encores, fuck the little pedestals, fuck the screens, pull out your old dance songs and tear the house down.

[halosix]

I sat in rear mezz near the guy with the mask! the seat sucked! The over hang was so low. Too many heads in the way. hardly saw Adam and Justin. The sound was ok compared to orchestra last night. They should've had a stack of speakers pointed into the Mezz I couldnt even make out the bass riff in sober when justin first started playing it. And second thought, most of the show for that matter. It cant really compare to fridays show cause i had much much better seats. But Eon Blue Apocalypse/The Patient was awesome. Lateralus was Awesome. The sing along for Anema was a nice ending. The crowd was loud. Left out Right in Two. Wanted to hear the drumming on that again. Danny is from outerspace! Amazing! Would love to see him again do his drum clinic tour with some of the 10,000 Days songs.

btw the 2 ladies, i use the term very loosely, having the fucking loud catfight by row P rear mezz aisle SHUT THE FUCK UP....dumbfounded dipshits! Learn to swim!

[optimistic-pessimist]

(the guy next to me got the setlist and had Alex sign it i was so jelous)


Yep that was me. ;) Managed to get Danny's setlist... hehe... one more for the collection.

I've got to pack to catch my flight home, but just a couple of short comments about my 26th show first...

1) Maynard seems to be over whatever illness was bothering him. He came through and hit some notes that he had held back on at previous shows. I think that the return of The Patient is evidence of that. I've heard that it's one of the hardest songs for him.. more wear and tear on his vocal cords, that is. That might have been part of the reason for the change in setlist back in Chicago. The Patient and The Pot have got to be two of the hardest songs for him to sing.

2) Maynard changed "Woke up in Wonderland" to "Woke up in Neverland" in Rosetta Stoned... minor, but interesting...

3) I was sitting near the back of the Orchestra (as opposed to front gallery last night) and thought that the sound was much better tonight. I don't know if that's just due to seat location, or if they made a change to the levels. Either way, I was glad for the improvement.

4) Alex Grey himself only managed a 4th row ticket, way out on the side in front of the PAs. Kinda funny, but kinda messed up too.

5) I liked the changed setlist... though it still feels like it was one song too short. But putting LK/RS in the middle was very nice. Plus they did play a longer version of LK, and Maynard was offstage for the whole thing, whispering undiscernable things into his megaphone.

Well, my brain is shutting down from lack of sleep and an overdose of TOOL. Maybe I'll come back and add more when I get home. For now, it's off to the airport. This was a good show to end my own personal "mini-tour" on. Looking forward to the Fall!

Edit: 6) I'm home now, and I remembered on my flight that they actually changed the extended portion of Stinkfist a little bit. It was the same length and the same "format" I guess you'd say, but instead of basically featuring Adam's riff for the whole thing, Justin actually got the spotlight for a little bit and added his own flair to that portion of the song (which they've been playing in one form or another since '97.)

[carnage039]

WOW LIKE LOL ROTFLMAO OMG HUGZ 1LUV BFF4EVA!

Seriously, this show was mediocre : alright at best. For my 6th or 7th Tool show, highlights of the night included Rosetta Stoned (placed in the middle of the show is a better move if you ask me), Stinkfist (if a bit shaky for an opener), an improv (GASP) or intro to Vicarious - depending on how one looks at it -, The Patient (just because great googly, they changed something!) and Lateralus. MVP as always is Mr. Carey. Maynard's been doing some really fucking epicene and downright ridiculously questionable movements on stage too...which is FYI...I guess. W/R/T the Others: Adam is still a robot and Justin is still Justin or...still vibrating like a coin-operated horse in front of a supermarket.

The problem with these/this show/s is/are that:

1) We're basically getting gipped - the band are using the phrase 'warm-up' tour as a crutch -, stagnant 'greatest hits/casual and pedestrian Tool-fan' set-lists, limited to no improvisation, and for the money we're being charged there's no reason the band couldn't start an hour earlier with an intermission, plus throw in more varied songs from ALL ALBUMS, EVEN IF THEY'RE UNREHEARSED! Part of the joy of seeing musicians live is seeing these guys fuck up IMO - just look at Robert Fripp's similar thoughts...that's where the quality of the musician comes through, seeing how they deal with imperfection. But, I divagate too much...$66.66 really cute guys...I'm not saying the band should improvise like revered jazz legends, but at least either slow things down/let things breathe, try a different key, and/or remember the Aenima days of experimentation and 'being weird' from a differentiating between the Live and Studio world perspective...Merkaba and Pushit quickly come to mind.

2) The visuals are probably the worst I've seen yet. A couple of my colleagues are in agreement that our Windows Media players offer more daedal and edifying accompaniment. Also makes me wonder if Chet Zar's work has become copyrighted or some other egregiously diaphanous litigious term? Who knows.

3) The band are RUSHING through most of the material in light of their new album, which I think (they're under the impression at least) should kick people's collective asses, rather than bring them through a range of volatile emotions. This M.O. comes e.g. in Schism's 'new' interlude section...what purpose does this Dream Theater-esque moment serve other than a prescient wink-wink faux homage to 10KD's current raison dêtre? In other words...the band is ONE-SIDEDLY kicking the shit out of material that in the long run was dynamic, effusive, and NOW more in favor of their new method of 'playing.'

4) Tool are not trying to figure out what they want to present to us as an experiential or theatrical or fatidic band and are not making the cut, nor seem to be even qualifying to give a shit.

5) These fans (fraternity and soriety dudebros and dudettes, and/or 'futants' or not) NEEED to stop singing along...and talking too, that would be nice. I come to hear Maynard sing, not you. These fans also need to know that applause when a song starts is ok, applause when a song ends is ok, applause when the band goes into a delineated/expected section i.e. a verse, chorus, and/or break is NOT ok; song = not finished; peoples = must attentively listen; act of applauding while in said circumstances = not actively listening. Please note: solos (on the rare occasion that they happen) DO count. Who am I to be an authority (or if you'd prefer, 'who am I to wave my MIGHTY finger?') on such matters? I'm not; this is MY review, not yours.

6) The mix is pretty muddy on the low-end side. Justin's tone is pretty indistinct and terribly terrible - yes I know I'm being redundant, intentional. Danny's kit in particular needs to be revamped - electronics, toms, bass-drums all should be up, equal to the level of cymbals and that precious high-hat.

In closing, I hate to shit on the guys I really, really do...but man oh man, this show/tour/and even album has been QUITE the disappointment.

P.S. I <3 You Guys Either Way!

P.P.S. Spiral Out Man!

[minusblindfold]

good show. I was there for both shows (friday and saturday). for the most part i feel they performed well. i was a little disapointed that on both nights they only played their singles and a few songs from 10k days, except for playing the patient tonight. the other thing that upset me a little was that they had basically the same set as the previous night, just in a different order. the only thing different was that tonight they substituted Right in 2 for The Patient. but the thing i have to say most dissapointed me tonight was the fact that they played the exact same encore as they did on friday (Vicarious followed by aenema). Plus they did the same thing of sitting on the stage waiting for the applause to get loud enough for them to play the 2 songs. Tool did play well though and i did enjoy the shows. I just feel that playing back to back shows in the same venue they should have mixed it up a little more. i do understand to that this is a warm up tour, and hopefully they will have a few new tricks for the full tour in the fall.

[cynikal]

welp, my first tool concert ever, and i am hoooooooked.. i will be seeing them in fall, that's for sure, mark my words..

my main thoughts tonight were how much my seats sucked (row Q rear mezz), well they would have sucked less if these two kids in row j would have been a little more open minded (i wanted to sit next to my friends and offered them like $100 bucks each to trade for a few rows back but they pussied out). on the other hand, these other two older dudes from CT were really nice and moved over for us and were nice company before the show began. forgot to say take care and hope you get back home to CT safe!

as far as the concert, i was really not feeling it the first few songs when i was still stressing the lousy seats we had (i wouldn't care otherwise but i almost made a deal with two scalpers outside to get better seats, one for a pair in orch row N and one for a pair in orch row B!! row B!!!!!!.. at the time i thought they were asking for a bit much, but now i think i'd have paid anything to get out of those lame seats), the guy ahead of us when we were going inside the theater ended up having bought counterfeit tickets.. that's wack.. that row B coulda been it..

from where we ended up, the sound was decent, but barely decent.. at least the first song and a half, then they flipped the 'crap sound' switch off afterwards and it was a bit better (i could actually hear maynard, still couldn't understand most of what he was saying while not singing).. maynard entertained the crowd a bit saying "ok you've had enough, now get out of here" or something to that effect.. later he said "thanks for letting us borrow your city" hehe, anytime dude, anytime!

i thought it was pretty cool starting with stinkfirst, everyone just started jamming and singing along (though that kinda sucked, i didn't come to see everyone else sing, but what can ya do really, i can't blame them).. wish maynard would be a little less shy and let us actually see his face, what was w/ the cowboy hat? this ain't texas and we already got a naked cowboy.. also i thought the mezz might have ripped off the wall when everyone started jumping during stinkfist =)

but i was REALLY happy to hear the patient, i was moved by the song since it speaks to me having a particularly deep meaning =\ plus when i heard it, i figure we'll hear the pot too, but NOPE! no such luck.. i was thinking a couple of moments how friggen sweet it would be to hear ticks and leeches.. i just may have to shit myself if that had been the case! no dice. it was nice seeing them chill and sitting before the vicarious/aenima finale too.. lateralus was probably my fav though, always loved that song.. lk was a good intermission song (i got to go piss and beat the evreryone-leaving bathroom lines), and rs was a neat song (i've liked it since the begining when people didn't, i thought it was a nice story line and kinda continues the whole triad conspiracy from the last album)..

sorry for writing so much, but to wrap it up, sound was OK (not great), venue was quaint, security didn't bother me [other than turning me away initially cuz i had a camera that was "too professional"], and lastly, HATED my seats!! but hey at least i got to go, and next time i'll KNOW to get closer seats! no matter what it takes..

tool
R
O
C
K
S
!!!

[LOA53]

The show was awesome... I thought last night was better, however, i was stoned out of my tits last night... tonight, not so much.
They changed the setlist up tonight.... pretty awesome.

[hbynoe]

20-05-06

After last night show, I came home passed out and got up with a bout of anxiety, another tool day, after calling my friend from Brooklyn and three friends in NJ I told them that I was working frantically to get tickets for the show so they can experience tool with me. I left home at around 12 and took two hours to get into the city. I get to city center and they told me they had five tickets for sale, three rear mezz together and two, so I buy them. After all I don’t care where I sit. Well I did but after last night I know that having a front row tool ticket is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was someone else’s night to have what I had. Me and my friend went to get lunch and we get back to the venue about 5 30. We get in line, causee there is a line word got out that a lot of tickets were released the day before, so I stand in line with dloozer and a couple other guys that I saw from Friday. The line was SLOW and unforgiving, I swear I stood it it till at least 7 30 or so, but it was totally worth it, I got tickets in the orchestra row L. I went out after and sold two tickets below face value to two guys who were looking for four with their friends. Least I could do. I had another ticket for the rear gallery because I did a trade on Friday that would ensure me being there if tickets weren’t released. I met this guy called aaron and I just gave him the ticket cause he is a hard core tool fan and it was his first time. I didn’t want any money for it, it was about passing on tool for me in hope that the next time I see them again it would just be amazing. The energy pre, during and post show was awesome. I have come to the conclusion that tool fans are only assholes online. Not in real life…well not the ones that I meet :). So I was feeling very optimistic about the whole day. I met a great girl in the line who was surprising her husband by getting him tickets and she got one and he had a great time.
I wait for my friends from jersey and we head in, I was pushed into bliss I swear, so much better for me than last night, the energy was more vibrant and lucid to me, they sounded really good, clear and fucking Adam on the talk box. Shivers I maintained constant shivers for the entirety of the show, putting Rosetta in the mix further down was brilliant, my fave tonight again was lateralus. Something about that song and the sentiment is so special so full of hope to this day for me, it will always be one of those crowning memories to regurgitate and bring back up. All of them just gave it so much, I didn’t have the chance to look at much since I was just in my tool zone but they moved me completely. I was very sad because I am leaving the US for a long time going back home to the Caribbean and I don’t think that ill be seeing them again for a while. So I said my goodbyes and it completely broke my heart. I know that I have enough of that in me to carry me through but goodbyes are hard, periods are harder. It was so beautiful the moment where I just completely felt utter sadness mixed with euphoria. Sensory overload in the process, best tool show I have been to ever, mixed with the emotions it totally catapulted the music into another atmosphere.
I don’t know what time we came out but I loitered around and looked for my friends the NJers weren’t going to COSM so I told them goodbye and hooked up with a toolarmy buddy (whoracle p.s the man ) , his friend and my friend and we went looking for a place downtown to eat, midway across the block we decide to look for the tour bus and wait for the band. We got to where they were and saw the trucks being loaded I found a seat and smoked and just took everything in. from about 12 to 130 or 2 am
I decided to say fuck it and tell them I am starving and we should go eat. I stand up and who walks out the door….Adam. I couldn’t believe it, firstly he is the only member of tool that I have ever had the interest of meeting and lo and behold he actually faced the crowd. He was so fucking nice, he signed a lot of everything and even my ticket, I took a picture with him. My hero, now I have no one on my list. It is totally surreal to even think that that happened tonight, it did. It is burned in me. Forever. A total inspirational moment that I have filed away, something about the reality gave me strength and closure to my tool journey in the US. I have loved them and will love them for my entire life, you know it is just one of those things that you know.
Me and my friends went downtown after and talked, ate and just spent hours soaking this experience up. It is going to be hard to top this ever, but I know if one band can, it would be my tool ☺

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v607/hbynoe/Photo_052106_0050.jpg

i thought they were all beautiful really but my god in person...stunning...

One of the best nights of my life.
It is 5 22 I am tired.
I am going to drift away now.
Peace

Holly

[vicarious462]

I Love NY!!!

What a difference a day makes.

I would like to start this off by saying....anyone that did not sit in the orchestra, or the very first rows of the Grand Tier----never went to these concerts!!!!.......I sat in the front mezzanine the night before and it was like that was the opening act for the real tool that showed up Saturday---it was like night and day...no comparison...... If I could make a perfect analogy sight wise---sitting in the mezz or gallery is like sitting in the cheap seats at a hockey game behind the net where you can barely see the goal....you are constantly leaning forward to see everything....that is what i felt like Fri.---Sat, i sat in the Orchestra--there was no comparison. And, the sound was 1 million times better from the Orchestra!!!!! I would also like to say that this was the best tool concert i have ever been to. (as stated yesterday---I seen them at least 10 times now.....I was one of the very, very, few people to ever hear ticks and leeches live too--so this says a lot.) The band came out very late, and when they did --you could tell they meant business!! I think they made a great play by coming out all together and cranking into stinkfist,,,,,it was way better than the night before when they opened with lost keys and rosetta stoned. I do not think I am going out on any limb by saying we seen the best version of Rosetta stoned on the tour. It was great. And, i finally figured out why the sound sounds muffled on that song......Maynard sings through a megaphone for half that song. To cut right to the crash....Rosetta stoned sounded 10000 times better than the night before. Then, I must have been hallucinating, because i thought i heard a "wasted years" riff by Iron Maiden in the middle of "schism"??? Was I High or can someone tell me if that was true.
The band was so powerful and on.....I hope this does not sound weird, but, it is like an orgasmic feeling you get when these guys are into it (although , to tell you the truth, I don't think any of my girls have made me feel that good, so let me take that back : ) Maynard was hilarious as usual....way funnier than the night before....."Get Out".....Oh it's sat. it's not a school night. " " I've heard farts louder"....he is sooo funny......if he did not sing like a god.....he could do stand up comedy......he is a riot.
I truly believe that these guys are the 4 very best in the business right now..they have the best singer without question, hands down , the best drummer ever, the best bassist going right now---(well, I take that back---Les claypool from Primus, is better) .......and i am not old enough to appreciate Jimi Hendrix, or Stevie Ray Vaughn, which legend has it, were the two very best, But, this Adam Jones plays a guitar like i never heard and I think that he may be the best guitarist going too....this may also be debatable (I like the edge too) , but to me....there is no debate. To have these 4 great maestros all in the same band is incredible. Like another thing I said yesterday.........it is like seeing living legends like Tiger Woods at their craft........thank Christ I was around to see it.
The trip from Florida was worth it...it was one of the greatest weekends of my life!!!! Any money that people spent to see this.....i spent 2000 total ---was worth it. And, ANYONE who complains about the sound of Saturday, was not sitting in the right spot. I had to ask the guy next to me if i was actually seeing and hearing everything that was going on.....he assured me I was alive, so i was.

In my message yesterday......I just wanted to hear a different setlist---i wanted "right in two" replaced by "the patient" and " the pot" ....almost got my wish---no complaints whatsoever!!!!!!! I was with my lifetime best friend , who did a lot to score some green which we had to find a spot to enjoy it.....we did---right around the corner in NYC.......and can't put into words how i felt...WELL OFF TO FLORIDA---although my sister lives in Boston?????? maybe their will be a delay to my flight.........Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you ---Tool!!!!!!

ps....Learn to swim..........also, how many times do you think someone has lit up a spleef in that theater during "gone with the wind" or some other play???? The security seemed a little freaked.

[dloozer]

All i can say is, that anyone that didn't like this show...unplug your ears, and stop covering your eyes. That show was amazing, i could not find a single flaw with it. I love maynard's stage presence, danny carey is just a freaking beast, Adam is Adam..and Justin...well he's British, and they sure know how to fucking rock the house. Holly, i could not agree wiyh you more. Tool fans can be a little dickish online, but when show night comes around, we are all in the same mindset.

[toolism]

Last night was phenomenal!!!!! Started off at cosm for the tour, then to the show which kicked even more ass then friday night...but to top it all off i went to the party at cosm after the show and got to meet danny carey and fuckin adam jones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant believe it i thought i would never ever get to meet any of them...i gave adam jones a huge hug and told him how much he has meant to me...it was so unbelievable, i will never forget this...of course maynard didnt show up (i dont think) but i guess thats a good thing because i wouldve fuckin shit my pants...
THANK YOU TOOL
p.s. alex grey is the man!!!!!!

[waking believing running]

i will have to post something more in depth later, but i think some cool things happened this past weekend that i won't forget --- some wierd, some fucking SCARY!!!! me and some other fans, some from here or toolarmy, got stuck in an elevator for 20 minutes right before the show, in Comedy Central of all places!!! thank god i was high or i'd be traumatized right now. i still can't believe it was real. oh man....i'm gonna have to leave it all for later when i get home because i really want to share one of those moment by moment kind of recaps....

[T00LFOOL]

The sound on this show was heads and tails above the awful quality of Friday's show. Maybe the band was smart and hired a new mixer for Saturday. I had tickets in the Mezzanine again, and I was impressed that I could actually hear most of Maynard's singing (as well as his editorial comments). The bass was still a bit overpowering, and Danny's electronics had no punch at all, but hearing Maynard screech and howl made it all worth while.

I don't know why I held out hope for a real change-up to the set list. Even remembering the Lateralus tour, I should have known better: they barely changed the setlist for each show at MSG - so why would they change the setlist around on a "warm up" tour? I would rather have heard The Pot or (as long as I am making futile wishes) anything from Opiate or Undertow instead of the Patient. It also felt like a shorter show than Fridays.

I have one fear - that Tool is starting to become like every other successful rock band that evolves into a corporate machine, where a tour is put together to promote a new album,, not for giving fans a chance to almost touch the music they love. The set lists for this tour have no breathing room - they seem to consist of "airplay hits/best of" and "new album" for the most part. Most long-time fans I know would kill to hear them play Opiate or Bottom or Hush or H. Tool has written so many great songs in their history that its a shame to only play the ones that either make it to radio, or are off the new album. Besides, anyone who saw the last tour has already seen those same songs played live. Its just formulaic.

My bitching and griping aside, it was a great show for what it was, with the band certainly giving their all. And being able to hear it was a plus. Once again I laughed my ass off when they hit that suprise bridge in Stinkfist and the whole crowd sings "I'll... Keep.... hey, where did the music go?" And although I usually watch Danny's every move, Maynard kept stealing my eye - some of his strutting around cracked me up. I think they are pretty well warmed up.

So, does anyone think the setlist is going to change much by the fall?

[Fadilles]

Well... def a better view than friday nite, where I sat up in the rear Mezz... Last nite was Orch Row Q on Justin's side. I was quite pleased w/ the StinkFist opener, b/c it gave me slight hope for something slightly different than Friday. I still thought the sound was muddy at best. I mean the bass was unbelievably heavy, the whole place around us was shaking. Which basically drowned out a lot of Maynard's vocals. Being under the overhead again just sucked. My buddies sat frong mezz row F and they prob had much better sound quality.

They replaced Right in Two w/ the Patient, but other than that same set... i wouldnt say rearranging the order of the songs is condusive to calling it a different setlist... The Patient was a def highlight.... the songs kicked a lot more ass than i recalled from their 01/02 shows...Lateralus again stole the show though... they just need to close w/ that song all the time... the theme, the lyrics, the images, everthing just reeks of the perfect closer.

I don't get that whole sitting on stage thing...b/w Lateralus and Vicarious... just weird as if they're just sulking in the adoration which is kinda strange. I wonder what they say to each other up there? Also find it weird that Maynard basically exists stage left and the rest of the band stand there and clap and signal to the crowd w/out him...

anyway... better than Friday, still relatively short overall and again only 10 songs and no Pot...

[Dev911]

Hi all, first post, been seeing Tool live since '94, seen them about 14 times and saw them in NYC last night. I wrote a little review about it on another board and here's what I wrote.



Saw Tool last night in NYC, sat 10th row in a very intimate theatre so whatever they played sounded incredibly tight and loud, kind of felt like they were performing privately in someones living room. Maynards voice was perfect all the way through his ranges. Danny on drums that close up is his own show, just so fucking talented. The errie Tool guitar sounds where in full force and they put you in a comfortable place. The crowd was very refined I guess, everyone there knew this was going to be a special venue and respected the theatre and each other. The key to that was they didnt allow food or drinks at your seats, so everyone kinda focused on the music more, at least I did. Although some people were smoking weed in there, no beers at your seats.
They played only 3 new songs off 10,000 days which kind of suprised me and opting to play songs like Schism, Sober, Stinkfist, Aenima, all huge radio play hits, wasn't the best playlist they could've come up with in my opinion. I'd love to have heard alot more of 10,000 days.
Off of 10,000 days they played, Jambi, Vicarious and a dead on Rosetta Stoned, which all three were the highlight of the night. They also threw in 46&2, the Patient and Lateralus, which was amazing.

Maynard, unlit and standing next to the drum kit was donning his mohawk and often putting on his cowboy hat with sunglasses. He was sans a shirt and wearing jeans with a huge Texas like beltbuckle and his new look, cowboy boots which he gave a few Elvis straight kicks with. Not too much movement from him, probably more than last tour though. Just a awesome dislpay of power through music.

My .02 on what was one of unforgetable Tool shows. Cant wait to see the arena tour.

[dutchbstrd]

I was there in the LAST row of the place, actually standing behind where my seats actually were to see better. The show was amazing, although I couldn't see Justin or Adam because stupid heads were in my way. Some funny parts though: The girl next to me was texting someone on her PDA for like 20 minutes of the show, but she was way into it for the rest of the time, just a funny note. Also there was a 12 year old kid about two rows in front of me with his dad. Who brings there 12 year old to a Tool concert? Better yet what 12 year old listens to Tool?

Did anyone else see the guy walking around outside with the "I need a ticket" sign? I thought it was quite funny. I hope he lucked out.

edit: Also anyone see the dude with the 10,000 days eye image tattooed onto his shoulder? He apparently got it that night before the show. He and his friends told me, that since it was my first Tool show I should have brought a change of underwear. Luckily I didn't need it.


But this was my first Tool show, and all I can say is I cannot fucking wait till the fall when I see them again

[durden2281]

I attended Wed nights show in Philly, and Friday at NYCenter and this show was BY FAR the best of all three. The sound levels were where they finally needed to be and Maynard was definitley rockin out. The band sounded great with less mistakes on the newer stuff than the previous nights. Orchestra seats was where u needed to be at at this venue.

[GeorgeinNY]

Had a chance to sleep on it and reflect on the shows, and I guess I would have to say thank you to whoever was looking out for me up there or my karma or whatever that I got to see 3 shows on long-shot miracle tickets (scalpers didnt make a dime on me- New York shows I got to see only thanks to NYCMale who rarely posts here but gave a heads up on these boards when tickets got released last friday, thank you man I will be eternally grateful whoever you are), plus Coachella.

I agree with the person above(hbynoe) when Tool comes around in the future if I get extra tickets Im passing them on to some deserving fans outside the shows.

As for the show, what I forgot to write last night- I dont know if Maynard used the line in the other shows but he introduced the new album as "10,000 Reasons to Live" how fucking powerful/spiritual is that? He said something like "We got a new album out, etc" like hes been doing on the tour but changed the name here.

From what Im reading everybody seems to have their favorite "Tool" be it Adam, Danny etc, for me Maynard is the MAN or should I write "Maynard is God" on the theater walls? His voice was ON last night, and he was hitting all the notes and lyrics. As for Maynards abrupt exists the last two nights at the end, from what I remember(correct me if Im wrong) they all walked off together both in Chicago and at Coachella, but I wouldnt read too much into it.

Finally I hope all out of towners had a good time and enjoyed the city, I think sometimes us natives forget how good we have it here with the music scene, and when you talk to people who came from Canada etc and what a blast they are having and how they wished they lived here I think we remember to appreciate it more, how lucky we are...

[fibonacci]

I though Maynard said "10,000 Reaons to love New York".

[Fadilles]

he did.... he also said his dog farts louder than we cheered for another song after Vicarious...

[SonOF]

Amazing, amazing show...Easily the best I have ever been to, Tool or otherwise.

I sat in rear mezz and had absolutely no problem with the acoustics. The band's sound was tight and near flawless. I can't even imagine how wonderful it must have sounded for someone seated in the orchestra section.

Obviously the setlist was altered, and I was quite surprised when they came blazing out of the gate with Stinkfist and 46 & 2. Those songs may have been better if saved for the middle of the set, but starting out with such a fury was great as well. I didn't like the idea of opening with Rosetta Stoned when I had heard they were doing it at previous shows, and I'm somewhat glad they didn't.

Security and ushers and the venue were also awesome.

The only thing that irked me slightly (very slightly) was that I feel like the setlist is getting shorter and shorter. Most shows got "The Pot" and "The Patient" in addition to everything else, or "Right in Two" only. We got only "The Patient."

Also Maynard never left his platform. He did move/dance around a bit, but stayed in his little area. Some reviews of the other shows said he was moving to the fron of the stage and whatnot, which would have been interesting. Adam was his usual statue self.

The other thing that annoyed me were these assholes that I heard talking after the show making comments like "oh, I wish they would have played Opiate, or I wish they would have played "Jerk-Off." Come on now, I am an old school fan as well, but expecting to play those tracks is just ridiculous. Not only is this a tour in support of 10,000 days, but they have three albums before which WERE reperesented. They are likely tired of tracks they played more than 10 years ago.

Overall, a wonderful set from my favorite band. No screw-ups in sound or playing that I could notice whatsoever.

Highlights for me were: "Sober," "Aenema," "Vicarious," "The Patient," and "Lateralus." That is almost the whole show, but what can I say? ;)

[whjeffs]

and to anyone involved in the seating confusion in the rear gallery, row j....i'm still 9.

DUDE!! I was right fuckin' there! My bro and I were in seats 1 - 3 at the end. I dont know what all the confusion was about. Three different people came and checked my ticket, and everyone that was sitting there seemed to be right where they were supposed to be.


I know man, I had my ticket checked at least half a dozen times...it was all because of the people in seats 15 & 17...they didn't want to admit they were in the wrong seats. god damn that shit was annoying. but the show was fucking phenomenal.

My friend and I had J-13 & J-15. Those ladies that were trying to figure it out were clueless. Once the show started it didn't matter, we were up at the rail the whole show. Anyway, I figured out why there was so much confusion. Those seats were mislabeled somewhere. The last seat on that row was marked 23. I just looked at the seating chart on the City Center's website and they only show that row going to 21 so something was really fucked up with that row.

This was my 3rd TOOL show, 2nd this week. This show blew away the Philly show Wednesday. Maynard sounded much better and was much more into it. Philly was certainly memorable though as we got 3rd row tickets right in front of Adam. Got my 10,000 Days CD case signed by Adam & Danny after the Philly show so I didn't bother sticking around after this one. We did go to the CoSM tour before the show which was really cool. Got home at 6am today after the train ride and drive back to Maryland. What a week. Can't wait for the full blown U.S. tour!

[theDEXorphan]

all righty then
picture this if you will

reached manhatten at 12:30 pm
drank half a bottle of pinot noir and half an 8th of fungi
immediatly hit a pub and drank a stella
then proceded to walk to cosm
hitting several pubs on the way and st. michales which is a great place to peak.
entered cosm and gazed fanatically at alexs work. brush stroke to brushstroke.
the guided tour was sold out, which was my original plan.
while there my friend banjaminjamiahjamin asked one of the stuck up employees if tool had been there yet? and she said no. then benz girlfrind said shez probally lying and the chick got angry and defencive. later we would find out that the whole band was there in the back room at the time hanging out with alex. probally preforming some homosexual ritual inolving the ingestion of maynards seamen out of alexs ass with a straw.
around 5:30 we left.
met up with half retarded josh and sum little girls one of which was his girlfriend.
hit another pub smoked a couple bowles ate the other half of my 8th.
at that point i wondered if jesus was a homosexual, ya know it gets lonly wandering in the desert and he kept 12 guys hanging around.
then while smoking cigarettes outside the venu comenting on how tool sucks and there a bunch of satan worshiping ***gots rather loudly. another intern or employee of cosm was trying to promote the afterparty. i made it rather clear that i thought tool was gay and so was his $50 dollar shirt that said fool. he then made some funny comment back. and we started talking. thats when i found out the chick at cosm was lying.
enterd the show
got sucked into buying a poster and 6 beers.
i'm so weak
then i saw something that churned my stomache. steve say, sucking cock for quaters in the stairwell. he could sure take it back with the greatest of ease. i couldn'tpass up the opertunitey and stood in line. when he got to me his lips were chaped and he was coughing up cum and blood. i didn't care i just stared skull fucking away. that boy has no gag reflex at all. and a throught that goes on for miles. i blew my load all over his eyes, blinding him. then kicked him in the throught and ran to my seat as the show was about to begin.
sitting in the front gallery center 3 rows back from the edge. i could see everything perfectly.
adam was behind the curtin making noise and amping the crowd.
everyone was going wild screaming.
then the curtain came up and they went into 46&2 which suprised the hell out of.
i thought for sure they were going to play a different playlist and was wishing for wings.
it's all jumbled in my head after that. i do remember alot of jaming. maynard playing the keyboard for a couple songs. danny was insane during his druming he would through out his drum sticks and pick up new ones without missing a beat. it was crazy. i couldn't make out what maynard was saying mostly. he was talking alot though so i hope sombody can remember and write it down. the visuals were perfect. the sound needed work. it was too loud for the venu at points and all i could hear was a distorted mess. i could have sworn maynard and adam were kissing when they did the little sit down thing. it looked like justin leaned oer to kiss danny, but danny pulled away. rejected again.
the whole gallery was rocking out and singing along which was actually pretty cool cause they weren't too loud to overpower maynard. it just sounded like a chorus. the gallery was bouncing and swaying which was pretty cool.
i just wish i could remember what maynard said. unfortunately though i forgot my pen.
shit the bed again!
really great show. this was my 666th tool show. at the end of the show i jumped from the front gallery to the stage and straddled maynard while we ate orange slices. he then kissed me and fondeled my ballz while danny punctured my ass with a splintered drumstick. then adam came up and started pissing on us all while justin just watched and jerked off. i then grabed adams pissing cock and shoved it in maynards mouth. he sucked so hard that adams eyes sunk into his skull. and danny blew a load on my back. then the agent says, "well sounds like a good show, what do you guys call youselves?"
and then jesus said,
"CHRISTIANS"

after the show i went to the nearest pub with my crew and proceded to drink hevilly. at one point i pulled i guy in off the street to do shots of tequilla and tabasco with me. needless to say i never made it to the afterparty at cosm. mostly cause my friends pussed out. i'm really pissed cause i heard adam and danny were there talking to people and signing stuff.

well one day i'll get to smack them in the ballz.

looking back... i could have sworn there were hoves in thoese cowboy boots.
shit the bed again!

[yossaricat]

this show was fantastic. i sat in the rear mezz and the security was pretty nice to us. the one time we got caught smoking we were just told to put it out. how funny was it when the band fooled everyone with the extra part in stinkfist? and that drum solo in 46&2, insane. i can't really say much else. i was blown away. i wasn't really getting the vibe from maynard that he didn't want to be there. i've been to shows where he barely says a sentance or two to the audience. this was my 8th tool show.

[Meir Cyn]

Sound was too low, especially from where i was sitting. Maynard did seem out of it. He said "we're 2 for 2" which made it seem as there was some doubt as to whether they wanted to play the second night. Set was way too short for just them. I remember them being a whole lot better the last two times i saw them. Hammerstein 5 yrs ago was infinitely better than this one.

[Fritz]

Well what can I say other than this was the most spectacular show I have ever been to. It didn't start out looking like that would be the case however. If we go back all the way to the beginning it was a very dim prospect that my girlfriend and I would be fortunate enough to see the show. I made the attempt like many of you to get tickets on opening day of sales; long story short I spent the better part of 3 hrs twiddling my thumbs dialing 212 581 1212 about 9 million times. After being assed out I resigned myself to buying scalped tickets. I decided to wait till near the concert dates to maybe get a better deal. I almost went through with one deal in the mid mezz for 325 for two but I backed out after I thought about. I later cursed myself thinking what an idiot I was.

So the weekend comes up, I was hoping to try and hit all three shows until I got into one of them. My girlfriend got sick on Thursday night and wasn't able to go Friday so we decided to postpone it a day. We set out on Saturday afternoon around 5 with nothing more than a pocket full of cash and a dream. We got to the city around 6:45-7 and got into the cancellation line at the venue. This was our last ditch hope and we figured even if we didn't make it in this way scalpers would come by. The greasy haired gentleman in the suit came out after about an hour's wait and swiftly ushered about 10 people into the box office. At this point I am getting extremely anxious and exceedingly excited. I made some nice chit chat with a fellow named Greg and a second fellow from New Orleans who was there with his sister. The line moved again. Now we were less than 10 people away from the front of the line. About another 30-40 minutes wait and the next group went in, all the while old people going to see their ballets and shows were giving this line of social misfits and miscreants lined up outside the venue the strangest and most baffled looks. They kept asking, "what's this line for??" "Tool" "what??" "Tool" "what?" "Tool" "Oh,.... okay" poor people their wonderful little theater being a congregation point for the most diverse and sometimes frightful group of people they had ever seen in one spot.

We were now standing 3rd in line waiting for cancellations, the gentleman came out and asked how many? "1" "1" "two, one each for the both of us" "two" "two" "two" he quickly did the math and let the 7 of us in. We were the last ones from what I gathered. We got up to the lady in at the box office and said please anything together. She smiled and said she had something nice for us. I handed her the money and she handed me the tickets, my girlfriend and I both blew her kisses and then we looked at the tickets. In 4 big letters read: "ORCH" and right beneath that a shining H. We were 11 or 12 rows from the stage, for fucking Tool. After many I love you's to the kind woman who sold us these phenomenal seats we made our way out to the line to get in. I still can't fucking believe it 133 dollars for two seats in ORCHESTRA! Unbefuckinlievable!! On the way who do we bump into other than Christopher Meloni, the actor from Law and Order. "Holy fucking shit" was my greeting being caught by surprise, my girlfriend deftly shook hands with him and asked for a picture which was blurrily captured by my crappy cellphone. We said thanks and let him go in to get his tickets.

Once we were in line it was little other than happy jigs for the next half hour as we sang to ourselves how freaking incalculably lucky we were. The guys in front of us had caught them in Pennsylvania and laughed at us, upon hearing that it was my girlfriends first concert they responded: "you are going to be so spoiled" she eagerly nodded in response. The gentleman behind us who was in the Airborne division of the Army and his friend also gave us some nice small talk.

They started letting people into the venue, and we quickly moved in our cattle like fashion towards the door. Upon entering I was intimately frisked by a kind man who laughed when I asked him not to grab my crotch. Inside the doors and man we were on cloud nine, but the problem is cloud nine has no bathroom so we had to go look for one in a hurry or we were both going to wet ourselves in glee. After our brief sojourn at the lavatories we moved to the next area of business, food, we were frigging starving having come without eating any dinner and having waited in line for somewhere around 2 and a half hours. We got inordinately overpriced cookies chips and water and then upon attempting to consume them we soon discovered we were incapable of eating because of how excited and anxious we were. We handed our remnants of sustenance over to a group of younger gentleman who were sitting near the beer stand on the floor which they graciously accepted. After which we began to make pleasant small talk with the kind old woman named Mary, who was guarding the right side orchestra door like some sort of ominous sphinx, well in all reality she was just looking kind and old, and perhaps a bit deaf but she was ever so nice. She gave us the whole history of the building from the carpet to the ceiling, I can now say I know more about the NYCity Center than I ever would have tried to learn. She mentioned, "The previous night everytime I opened the door the crowd was giving a standing ovation, almost like they didn't sit down, I must've just opened it in time for every standing ovation." Ahhh the beauty of innocuous ignorance and an era gone by of polite sitting etiquette.

The doors went open and we went in to sit down, we had the pleasure of sitting next to Stefan(sp?) one of the guys ahead of us in line, we elected to move down our row if people didn't show up. Here we were it was 9:30 and the theater was still patchy at best as far as seating. I walked over and shook hands with Alex Grey which was a pleasure and proceeded over to one of the security guards to ask him something which I forgot, he mentioned how the previous night the sound guy had told him that the volume clocked at 135-140 decibels, we were truly in for a treat, 150 decibels is the sound of a jet engine from 30 meters away, 140 is a rifle from 3 feet away 130 is the human threshold of pain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_pain) we were trully, trully in for a treat. We sat for another 30 or 40 minutes in eager anticipation and nervous laughter and chit chat, the theater started to fill and the speakers started oozing tuning notes and other feedback from the bass. The lights went down, the crowd went nuts the people outside filled in every available gap of space imaginable in the theater and curtain flew up to euphoria that is Tool live. The rest was a blur of unfathomable inexplicable incomprehensible wonder.

The guys were the best I have ever seen them and the sound, oh my fucking goodness the sound. Every note was crisp and clear, all these people who bitch about the sound I can only assume you sat in the bathroom the sound was something to be reckoned with, the bass shook my hair everytime Danny hit his bass drums or Justin got down and dirty on his bass, and holy hell, when that gong hit came in Lateralus I think the foundation of the building shook, and several people soiled themselves. The boys were tighter than knit nylon and it showed the whole setlist went off without a hitch and I can't really even articulate just how amazing the whole show was. The lights were phenomenal the sound my goodness the sound, the videos were super cool when working with the lights Maynard was funny as hell "Alright everyone you've had enough get out.....man what's tonight? Saturday, oh yeah, no school tomorrow alright it's cool then", he sang beautifully you would've never guessed he had been sick earlier that week by the sound he was putting out, he sang The Patient beautifully and screamed up a storm in Rosetta Stoned hitting those vocal chord ripping notes with patent control and clarity. Adam tore a hole in my gut with his guitar he played the cleanest and smoothest I have seen or heard from him before with no sign of effort on his part. His riffs were chugging and monstrous when need be and cool and ethereal when the moment commanded. Justin was a powerhouse, neigh a wall of ineffable soul whomping mayhem, you didn't hear what he was playing you felt it vibrating in the marrow of your bones. Danny, what more can one say, the man is a deity here on earth on loan from heaven to play the most incredible drums ever. When I say you felt Justin's playing, your fucking heart skipped beats to Danny's playing, it was like taking a step into the ring with Muhammad Ali, he just kept hitting you and hitting you and before you knew it you were dazed and stupified at the wonder of it all. Each one donated his own special charm and charisma to the entire night and really made every moment worthwhile.

They capped the night off with nothing different than any of the other concerts and man I don't fucking care, I just wish that it could of gone on and on, I don't know I will ever get an opportunity to see these guys this close again but it was a lifetime experience I know I won't forget. Thank you Danny Adam Justin and Maynard for your talent and performance, you gave me an unforgettable night that will make me smile for years to come.

[waking believing running]

ok...i'm not going to get all detailed, but this night fucking rocked, even though it had a crazy start - i met up with some people from toolarmy and some other fans and we drank, then went and smoked some weed which i haven't done in 3 FUCKING YEARS, then as we are leaving the building we did this at we got stuck in an elevator -- which to MEEE was scary as hell, i thought we were gonna miss Tool and i was about to have a panic attack. i heard all different times, some said we were stuck in there for 15 minutes, someone said 10, it felt like at least 20. it was just unreal to me, nothing like that has ever happened to me, let alone while stoned!!!!! The fire dept. had to come open the door for us to get us out, we did make in perfect timing for the show, the line was still going outside.

i had an orchestra seat, last row, and could literally feel maynard's voice bouncing off the wall, i could not only hear it but feel it. i won't get into detail, but something happened this weekend with Tool's music, and especially something i felt different about Maynard where I actually like Tool even MORE, especially him, vocally, lyrically, and spiritually, for different reasons.

i did go to CoSM - Danny and Adam did show up. I met Danny, his girlfriend noticed my 311 tattoo and showed it to him and he got all excited and i was like OMG you like 311!? I was kind of surprised, and he said yeah and that he was friends with one of the members, I'm pretty sure he said Tim (the guitarist). Then I mentioned the Eye of Horus he has around his house cuz i had heard he had one but wasn't sure where (it is on his patio) - which is awesome, because i love that symbol and have a tattoo of it and a necklace, it's my favorite symbol or "amulet" ever. He was really cool, I didn't get a picture or autograph though, that wasn't in the mood of the moment because I was too happy that he liked 311 and The Eye of Horus.

Adam was around for a while too but I didn't bother him, I just didn't know what to say and he seemed kind of busy talking to Alex a lot.

Altogether this weekend was memorable and I can't wait until the next tour. I think I am now officially a Tool addict, moreso than I ever was. To all that I met this weekend, it was nice meeting you!

[soulslot]

Unbelievable fucking night. Great show. Great party at cosm....Getting to meet adam jones and danny carey as they just hung out while alex grey was doing live painting...unreal, simply unreal. Still clearing the cobwebs trying to realize what was last night, and the night before.

[torrent]

The security/ticket ushers were lax enough that I moved down from the last seat in the house in the rear gallery to the grand tier for the second half of the show.

The sounds was leagues different the closer I was to the stage.

First night I stayed in mid mezz and loved the show because the crowd was so sincere and into it.

Great weekend.

[BlackRoseImmortal]

What an incredible show. This was my first live Tool experience that I would like to share with you...

The NYCity Center is a theater that holds 2,500 people. A much smaller venue than what Tool usually performs in (arenas), but being that this was my first show I was grateful to experience such an intimate setting.

The theater has 5 levels of balconies and we were seated in the 3rd one up... rear mezzanine which had a ceiling overhang of the gallery right above us... which may have accounted for the overwhelming/distorted bass, but other than that everything is on a positive note.

They opened with "Stinkfist" and we were welcomed by the band with a curtain rise, which I thought was a fabulous touch. The audience was very loud during this song, especially during the part... "It's not enough, I need more, nothing seems to satisfy, I don't want it, I just need it, to feel, to breathe, to know I'm alive!!", that we could barely hear Maynard. Excellent enthusiasm from the crowd!!

Being that it's my favorite song from Lateralus, one of the highlights for me was "The Patient". This is a song where Maynard sings in a high key and he hit every note with total ease. I heard that he was sick this week but he did not show any evidence of that during this show.

"Lateralus" was another highlight for me and during the most intense part of the song (for me that is) where Maynard sings... "I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected, enough to step aside and weep like a widow", this guy pokes me on the shoulder so he could pass me to go back to his seat, only to have him pass me a second later to go back into the aisle. Back and forth this guy was a couple of times this evening. Well, instead of punching him (which I really wanted to do for interrupting my intense concentration on that part of the song), my husband and I released our anger by pointing at him while singing when "Aenema" (the last song of the evening) came on. It went a little something like this... "I sure could use a vacation from this bullsh*t, three ring, ciiiiiiiiiircus siiiiiideshow of FREAKS!!" Haha, good times. And guy, if you're reading this...... learn to swim.

I loved Maynard's getup for the evening. He was adorned in tight blue jeans, a Texas style belt buckle, black boots and no shirt. Oh, and let's not forget the white cowboy hat. He has this unique way of moving around, especially to the song "Stinkfist". He kicks out his leg back and forth and then kicks it out behind him. He does it in such a way that looks robotic with strong precise movements that are in perfect time with the songs. It was very entertaining to watch!!

I found myself watching Justin a lot. What an outstanding bass player he is and he too was rocking out. Danny, well, I'm speechless when it comes to him. Adam, though very stoic on stage, was incredible.

The lighting/effects were fantastic and they helped set a surreal mood in conjunction with the panel screens towards the rear of the stage.

After "Lateralus", their last song (pre-encore), instead of leaving the stage and coming back on like most bands do, they all came forth and sat themselves down on the stage. They just sat there for the longest time, looking around and being silly. Funny as hell and how original!! They then proceeded with "Vicarious" and "Aenema".

There was a lot of pot smoking that night. Personally, I don't partake in the stuff but don't mind very much if it's around me. However, I can't help from always thinking if I will get some sort of reaction from it. Well, I didn't seem to but man did I have the munchies after the show. So bad that I had to go out and get a Taylor ham egg and cheese on a roll with a side of fries. I also slept like a baby. Hmmmmmm. I "must have been..... soooooo high". hehe.

As we were walking out to our car, this guy drives by and yells out "Ozzy!!!" to my husband. To which my husband replied, "Sharon!!!" I think my husband having a long haired bearded Rob Zombie look had something to do with that. Guy, if you're out there, that was funny as hell.

~ Sandy

[Corganschild]

I agree that Saturday's show was definitely better than Friday's, at least a better experience for me anyway. I really had wanted to go to Cosm, everytime I'm in NYC I say I want to go but I never get the chance to! And this would have been perfect, meeting Alex right before the Tool show and everything, but we had just come back from the baseball game and by the time we got back to City Center it was like 6, so I didn't want to risk getting into Cosm late, then risk not getting a ticket. But it was cool seeing Alex Grey at the show on Friday! I wanted to go up and say hi but he was talking to someone else. So my friend and I stood in line, I was wearing a black Rush t-shirt and red shirt over it and black pants. I was afraid we wouldn't get in, but we were closer to the front of the line than I thought, and I looked behind me and thought, Well if these people get in, then we definitely will (which makes no sense lol but anyway..). It was funny because there was another show going on, so you saw all these older people and these people dressed up coming in line too. Luckily my friend told this older guy that it was the line for Tool. I mistakenly was telling this lady about the Tool show last night, she asked me what time the doors open or something, and I'm like, "Oh, well they open at 8, but they didn't even let people in till like 8:45, and then it didn't even start till like 10. I hope I didn't make her miss her show! We helped out this guy who needed a lot of tickets since the limit was two, he gave my friend $150 for two and let her keep the change which was really nice of him, and I got 2 for me and her.. I was so happy we got orchestra seats again. We were the last row in the orchestra but in the center, better view than the night before, and at least the speakers weren't making me more deaf than I am already lol, like the night before. I swear Friday night's show, if I hadn't had cotton to put in my ears I was thinking Maybe I'll walk out, because I have some hearing loss from a previous concert (not Tool) and my ears are sensitive.

WalkingBelievingRunning,

I know what you mean about the anxiety. I was like that the first night, which is why I had a better time Saturday night. Always too many thoughts going on in my head to be in the moment, which just totally sucks more than anything when what you want most at the show of one of your favorite bands is to be in the moment.

i had an orchestra seat, last row, and could literally feel maynard's voice bouncing off the wall, i could not only hear it but feel it. i won't get into detail, but something happened this weekend with Tool's music, and especially something i felt different about Maynard where I actually like Tool even MORE, especially him, vocally, lyrically, and spiritually, for different reasons.

I was in last row orchestra too, did you see me there? I was with my friend but she was tired and isn't really a big Tool fan, so she sat for most of the show. What were you wearing?

And for some reason, I know exactly what you mean about something different happening. I've never seen Tool before, and lately when I go see bands, I don't feel like this after I see them, but I felt sad, and I still do, I miss them. I felt some kind of emotional connection to them. Maybe it was because the crowd was so into them singing along and dancing. Or maybe because it sounded so great because it was so damn loud lol. Maybe it was because the crowd fed off the band and the band knew it and fed off them, I don't know, maybe it's the lyrics, whatever, but I know what you mean. I definitely like them more, and I'm going to totally fall in love with the new album as I haven't listened to the whole thing yet. I'm definitely going to become a bigger Tool fan after this experience. I absolutely cannot wait for them to come back. I definitely will be at all the shows in this area, plus Chicago (I love Chicago so I find excuses to go there hehe). And for some reason, I actually liked being able to dance without general admission. The thought of seeing them at Madison Square Garden seems depressing, because the floor is big so it seems that it would be hard to get close to the stage, and being in the mezzanine there would suck too. I really don't like MSG much, but I'll go there for Tool anyway. I'll definitely be saving up my money for when they come around again!

[TJBundy]

holy fucking shit...this was the most fantastic weekend of my life.

spiritual cleansing.

saturday night was 10x better than friday. and friday was divine.

tripped on dxm both nights. i will post a lengthy report sometime this week describing both shows.

i just want to thank everyone that was there, most especially TOOL, for being awesome, simply incredible.

thank you thank you thank you Maynard, Adam, Justin and Danny, Alex Grey and the whole human race . THANK YOU. i am speechless.

<3

[P-Digi]

So this was the 2nd of my first Tool shows, both this weekend in NYC. An absolutely amazing time, Row C mid Mezz first night with a friend and Last Row (V) Rear Mezz 2nd night with randoms. 1st night to me was great, and sound was fine where I was but it's all debatable, the show was fucking sick no matter what. I left the city afterwards, t-shirts and poster in tow, but the next night, sans close friends, I went in with a change of clothes etc. assuming I'd be staying in the city somewhere.

I was EXTREMELY lucky to meet some very cool people at Heartland Brewery from here (Kozmicprincess, Rob Halford) and many more from ToolArmy. One of the Toolarmy guys was one of the more hospitable people I've met in a long time, hosting 10-12 people at his place of business nearby (both nights, and it weas a VERY COOL place of business, we had our "moment of zen" so to speak) for drinking and other mind-altering activities. This led to me having a very focused and intense experience the 2nd night, especially via what to me was better sound near the back and nice visuals behind the band. Maynard dancing around like a redneck is pretty funny, it's like I'm back in Virginia at a county fair.

After the show, partied with the same people some more and felt like I made some good friends. Listened to some Isis and Pelican, got fucked up some more, got a VRazr phone for $100 off a TA member plus some free dvd's. Good times.

Got back to my house about 6:30 and shut down til 1PM or so, and while I did listen to some Tool I was too wiped to check boards or post anything until this morning.

Highlights for me were Lateralus, which I can listen to over and over, and LK/RS in the middle of the show so the crowd had settled into their intensity and were giving full attention. LK seemed extended, or at least as long as the album track which didn't seem that way the 19th. Patient was really amazing, and it was just an overall great experience through and through even without "The Pot."

I told myself these 2 shows would be sufficient and no arena tour, after this, but, I have to hear the huge sound and see the huge visuals now.

I feel sorry for the people who didn't enjoy the show, I know it's all personal opinion but I think the overwhelming majority had their bells rung!

[Mavrik21]

I can't believe no one has mentioned that Trey and Mike (Phish) were there to take in the show. I'm pretty sure they only stayed for half but saw them at the sound board. One of my favorite bands watching my favorite band = not bad.

Energy was good in the crowd (at least downstairs). Set list = the Patient instead of Right in Two or The Pot = not my preference. Also - Saturday nite in Manhattan = break out something different - even if it's just one song.

Always good in a small venue! Second best venue to seeing them in Zurich.

Swing on the spiral.....

[carfig]

I think everyone has pretty much talked about everything about the show. I was in the first row dead center in the Front Gallery, unbelieveable, there were not obstructions of people it was almost like Tool was playing for me personally. The entire balcony felt like it was going to collapse during Sober and 46&2 it was incredible. And to start the night at COSM was just icing on the cake.

Anyone that went to COSM, did Alex finish in enough time to get to the show. I ended up leaving at 10 after 8 while he was still talking because I got nervous about getting to the City Center on time.

BTW: Anyone that was there that helped my wife who sprained her ankle and took a nasty spill at COSM. Thank You

[optimistic-pessimist]

Anyone that went to COSM, did Alex finish in enough time to get to the show. I ended up leaving at 10 after 8 while he was still talking because I got nervous about getting to the City Center on time.

My friends and I left the CoSM tour early too. We were worried about missing the beginning of the TOOL show. Alex did get to the concert in plenty of time though. I saw him walk in before 10.

[GeorgeinNY]

I can't believe no one has mentioned that Trey and Mike (Phish) were there to take in the show. I'm pretty sure they only stayed for half but saw them at the sound board. One of my favorite bands watching my favorite band = not bad.

Energy was good in the crowd (at least downstairs). Set list = the Patient instead of Right in Two or The Pot = not my preference. Also - Saturday nite in Manhattan = break out something different - even if it's just one song.

Always good in a small venue! Second best venue to seeing them in Zurich.

Swing on the spiral.....

Dude! I THOUGHT that was Trey! I was like nah can't be....sure looked like him thanks for pointing that out.

[nosuch1]

Dude! I THOUGHT that was Trey! I was like nah can't be....sure looked like him thanks for pointing that out.


yar yar, what everyone else said. and the cosm party was pretty nice too. Left at around 4 so didnt meet the band members, but watching alex grey paint was pretty damn priceless.

seen them 4 times, not as good as lateralus tour, but still amazing.

[fishbucket]

and to anyone involved in the seating confusion in the rear gallery, row j....i'm still 9.
hey #9, I'm #7. kinda funny that they put up such a fuss about the seats in the beginning, but then let us stand anywhere once the show started. security was really cool, at a lot of places they'd start bitching if people tried to stand at the railing for the whole time. we got a great view for a great show!

[Boozy Eulogist]

I flew up gftrom Savannah, GA for this one...it was a good excuse to see my old job and friends. Had a great time at both shows. Nice to visit friends and make some new ones as well. Went with the CoSM crew the first night, and a few of us (Alex, Allyson, Sharen, Zena, Myself and Paul) went the second night. Alex seemed to get occational fan notice and everyone was being quite respectful. I would have liked some more "less expected" songs in the sets, but it was still great to see Tool again. The CoSM party was fun. When not working I had time to catch up with Allyson while she drew.



while there my friend banjaminjamiahjamin asked one of the stuck up employees if tool had been there yet? and she said no. then benz girlfrind said shez probally lying and the chick got angry and defencive. later we would find out that the whole band was there in the back room at the time hanging out with alex. probally preforming some homosexual ritual inolving the ingestion of maynards seamen out of alexs ass with a straw.



No one from Tool was back there. In fact, NONE of them had ever been to CoSM until later during the party (when Adam and Danny visited).

That guy who told you otherwise is just a friend of one of the other employees and was not at CoSM until trhe party. Calling a very sweet girl a stuck-up liar for telling the truth to you and about 80 other Tool fanatics (hell every time I left the back room, about three fans hounded me) makes you sound like a real asshole.

[Boozy Eulogist]

BTW: Anyone that was there that helped my wife who sprained her ankle and took a nasty spill at COSM. Thank You

Oh wow small world. Was this at the party? A woman asked me if we could get her and a friend access to the elevator after an accident and I had to wrangle one of the club doormen downstairs to bring it up. Some generic party guy complained and the bouncer told him "I'll take you to the top of the stairwell and break your legs if you don't show some respect. Best bouncers in nyc I tell ya.

How's she doing?

[optimistic-pessimist]

Calling a very sweet girl a stuck-up liar for telling the truth to you and about 80 other Tool fanatics (hell every time I left the back room, about three fans hounded me) makes you sound like a real asshole.

... and his spelling makes him sound like an illiterate idiot. Everyone I spoke to at CoSM on Saturday was very very nice. It's people like this that give TOOL fans a bad name. Sorry to hear about it, Eulogist.

[Aggroculture]

I was a bit disappointed by both shows, but I enjoyed the excitement among all us Tool fans, it was great. Now I feel hollow though. Fucking Tool, always messing with us.

[carfig]

Oh wow small world. Was this at the party? A woman asked me if we could get her and a friend access to the elevator after an accident and I had to wrangle one of the club doormen downstairs to bring it up. Some generic party guy complained and the bouncer told him "I'll take you to the top of the stairwell and break your legs if you don't show some respect. Best bouncers in nyc I tell ya.

How's she doing?

She's ok, her knee is pretty sore since thats what she used to break her fall. She told me there was all kinds of drama with the elevator, there was some private party going on next door and it took her like 30min to get the elevator.

Thanks alot for all your help

[accel2]

I think most of you are being a little too easy on the band, which is understandable. Did the show rock? Yes. But the song choices were so predictable and the setlist is really stale. I wouldn't call it very enthusiastic or inspired. I hope the "arena" tour improves upon this "warmup" tour. How many warmup dates do you need?

Ah well, back into my garbage can.

[optimistic-pessimist]

True... I'm sure they didn't NEED 16 "warm-up" shows, but they wanted to play more shows and please more people before heading over to Europe, as opposed to the just FOUR US shows they played in 2001 before leaving for the summer. Sure I would have liked a longer set, especially considering that I went to 4 shows this month, but I'm not complaining. Some TOOL is better than none.

[s_jhaver2004]

Came up the coast from Richmond the see the show. I have to agree with the consensus and say the show was fantastic, really one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Granted, they did play alot of the more poplular choices, but the opening with Stinkfist was perfect, and what a place to see a rock show.

By the way, Jersey has got to be the biggest shithole on the entire East Coast, even possibly across the country. The state literally made me ill, as evidenced by the projectile vomiting on Jersey Tpke on the way back Sunday afternoon. Fuck what a hole, Im praying for a tidal wave to wash that fucker clean off the map.

[Khadgar346]

Here is my NYC/Tool experience...

Flew up from Austin TX to Newwark and stayed with Family in Jersey on Thursday and Saturday morning took a ferry to Manhatten.

I was pretty spoiled and got a room at the Sheraton on 53rd st, just 2 blocks away from the CityCenter.

I did some shopping and walking around all afternoon and decided to walk by the venue to check it out, get some pictures and find out when doors open. They didn't have a sign outside saying TOOL was performing tonight or anything but it was a great looking building.

I was told doors were at 8 and figured 9:30 was when they would go on...
I walked back to my hotel and drank some brews, went out to dinner and then walked over to the CityCenter to find that there were two lines formed but they wern't long at all.

I wanted to get there early to make sure I was able to grab a poster and a shirt
(figured they would sell out of stuff fast, but they seemed to have plenty in stock).
They didn't allow re-entery so I just checked all my stuff and didn't have to worry about it for the night.

For reason I don't know, they didn't allow us to take our seats after the doors opened. We all had to stand or sit around untill 9 before taking our seats. I read the history on the wall while I waited. I thought it was pretty cool that the building was originally a mecca temple. Built in 1929, pretty fucking old!
The security seemed pretty relaxed after you got into the building. No one was really checking tickets to make sure you were sitting in the correct seat.

I had a mid mezz seat (row f) and dead center. I was very happy with my view. Though I was annoyed by the two guys and a girl that shared 2 seats with 3 people. It was obvious that they had moved up from the back, but I didn't care after the show started, I'm a tall guy =/

I had a nice convo with an older couple (in their upper 40s I assume) from philly and it was their first time seeing them. I told them they would be blown away and I think they were :p

Something interesting I saw before the show started was a family of 4 walked in all wearing what seemed to be some sort of backstage passes and had front row mezz seats. I wonder whose family that was or

Now on to the show....

I won't post the set list since its been posted already.
This was my 3rd time seeing them live.

When they opened with Stinkfist, my first thoughts were cool, they are changing it up a bit, perhaps we are going to get something different tonight but something in the back of my head was afraid they wouldn't play Rosetta Stoned.

Maynard really made me laugh with his dances this time around. Something about his belt buckle and boots with movements were funny as hell. He even put up two "cowboy guns" with his hands. I think he was still feeling alittle sick or drained physically but he didn't comment on it. He didn't seem to put much compassion and intensity into his dancing and movements, at least not compaired to the Lateralus tour. I also couldn't understand some of the stuff Maynard said inbetween songs. Some of it was mumbled and hard to hear and others were loud and clear. Strange.


Adam made alot of eye contact with the crowd I think, he and Justin were the only ones looking up at the crowd on the 2nd and 3rd levels, at least more so than Maynard and of course Danny. Adam seemed very humbled.

Justin was amazing of course, looking like Jesus with that beard of his. He looked like he was enjoying himself, drinking a beer and just jamming hard.

Now on to Danny... Umm when did he change his setup?! High-hat in the center of his kit?! The man is incredible. He was switching some things up and doing some different techiques at some points. There was some sort of computer or something to the left of him he keept looking down at, I didn't have a good angle of what it was tho..

The set-up and visuals I enjoyed alot too. The orange and reds and greens was great during Jambi and I really enjoyed the water ripple effects toward the end of the show.

The setlist was good, it's pretty obvious that this is indeed just a warm-up show with mostly their "hits" and such. I only wished they played more from 10,000 days. We didn't get the Pot or Right in Two.

I had a great time and can't wait for their fall tour. I'm sure they will have something up their sleeves.

ps. I sorta of kicking my self for not staying back by the tour busses and trying to get my poster signed. Who else got to meet the band? blah

[Boozy Eulogist]

She's ok, her knee is pretty sore since thats what she used to break her fall. She told me there was all kinds of drama with the elevator, there was some private party going on next door and it took her like 30min to get the elevator.

Thanks alot for all your help

Yeah, some of the biggest clubs in NYC surround CoSM, and one of them uses the frieght elevator as the main entrance into their club (apperently it's a hip and trendy idea). You have to establish with the guards that you are not some dumbfuck trying to get into the club, and then explain the situation using the words "injury" and "handicapped" as much as possible. That first part takes a good bit of time...thank God I'm big, and I certainly did not have the club look so they snapped out of ignore mode quickly.

[opiate_flood]

The show was great -- so many people were singing along with Maynard that it made up for the low vocals -- the crowd's energy was the most I've felt in all of the Tool concerts (or any concert for that matter) than I've ever been to (since '96). I also felt the steel in the upper balcony bending -- it was awesome! I started out against the railing of the upper balcony until I was chased by security twice -- then took my seat at F10/F12 -- where I stood next to a guy with his arms crossed the whole night -- no movement or sign of life at all -- that kind of brought my me down a bit...but I fed off the rest of the crowd instead. It was nice to see there were other 30-something people there too -- the arena tours make me feel way too old.

Somewhat off topic, but Was anyone else at the Ben Ash bar on the corner of 55th & 7th? It was one hell of a pre-show with those two bartenders "serving" us. The hot redhead who just came here from Denmark and goes by the name "Rose", was clearly wearing no underwear or bra under that skin-tight black dress -- I have to figure out how to get myself back to that bar -- "Honey, I'm going to the ballet tonight at NY City Center, see you later"....hmmmm - or "Honey, going to Carnegie Hall to catch Loren Maazel and the NY Philharmonic..." It was probably the biggest put-on to get tips, but she sure knew how to make it seem like she was interested -- probably cursing us as "obnoxious Americans" at the same time. Oh well, it's nice to dream. I was at the same bar on Friday night before the show and that night it was a gay bartender (self proclaimed), but next to me I was being hit-on by a 26 year-old Dominican girl who was just there for some drinks -- I was just drinking some Guiness and reading my newspaper. I was a good boy and just smiled, talked a bit and then had my affair with tool instead.

All in all, it was an awesome show -- I am disappointed that they didn't play "The Pot" on Friday or Saturday, but I'll survive.

Take care.

[theDEXorphan]

while there my friend banjaminjamiahjamin asked one of the stuck up employees if tool had been there yet? and she said no. then benz girlfrind said shez probally lying and the chick got angry and defencive. later we would find out that the whole band was there in the back room at the time hanging out with alex. probably preforming some homosexual ritual involving the ingestion of maynards seamen out of alexs ass with a straw.


since i can't edit the post any more for some reason. i decided to reply with an apology. i was informed that it was actually the guy that was lying. i am formally apologizing to the sweet girl that i always thought was nice up until i thought she was two faced. i'm sorry that i was misinformed. and hope that i can be forgiven. i was always very happy to see her smiling face when i walk in the door. she always makes me feel welcome when i visit cosm. and yes i am an asshole.

if anybody else would like to give me shit about this, my disgusting post, my horrible spelling and grammar please feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]
or AIM me at:
theDEXorphan
or just private message me here.
this way we can leave the board open for serious reviews and stop clogging it with hateful jabbering. doo u poople reali cuare dat mowch aboot spieling

and someone please pass this on to the girl i wrongfully accused.

peace,
theDEXorphan

p.s.: the post was all in good fun and i just wanted to make people smile or cringe in an otherwise straight forward and boring place.

also was anybody else offended that they played the pot and right in 2 in boston. then maynard said that we were smelly. i hardly think that was a reason to jipp us on at leaste one or the other. arg!!! i hate tool.

[soulslot]

Ok, so im a little confused about the lack of commentary about the fact that adam and danny were both at COSM at the afterparty. I guess there were relatively few tdn folk there. What can i say though, it was freaking amazing getting to meet and actually talk to those guys. Very approachable, very friendly and dare i say goofy guys. It was a truly special night and would love to hear more from other people who also got to experience this. To those of you who opted not to go to the gallery post show, what can i say, you missed out on a truly surreal night.

[moneyisevil]

Ok, so im a little confused about the lack of commentary about the fact that adam and danny were both at COSM at the afterparty. I guess there were relatively few tdn folk there. What can i say though, it was freaking amazing getting to meet and actually talk to those guys. Very approachable, very friendly and dare i say goofy guys. It was a truly special night and would love to hear more from other people who also got to experience this. To those of you who opted not to go to the gallery post show, what can i say, you missed out on a truly surreal night.

im still kickin myself for not going.....however my friends and i were dead tired, and i heard danny and adam showed up at what 4am? that would have been four hours of chillin in CoSM..i probably would have left by then

and yeah wheres the damn mp3s

[optimistic-pessimist]

Ok, so im a little confused about the lack of commentary about the fact that adam and danny were both at COSM at the afterparty. I guess there were relatively few tdn folk there. What can i say though, it was freaking amazing getting to meet and actually talk to those guys. Very approachable, very friendly and dare i say goofy guys. It was a truly special night and would love to hear more from other people who also got to experience this. To those of you who opted not to go to the gallery post show, what can i say, you missed out on a truly surreal night.

Damnit don't rub it in. I worked my ASS off to make it to four shows on the mini-tour, and unfortunately I had a 7 AM flight to catch on Sunday morning to get back home. There's just no way I could have gone to the CoSM after-party and still caught my flight. Damnit all to hell.

[soulslot]

It was really not my intention to rub it in, as it were. I was just sort of confused as to why nobody was talking about this..i thought it was a relatively big deal. And yeah, as to the other question, danny and adam did show up quite late in the night..i want to say danny showed up around 3 and adam about 45 minutes later or so. To be honest with you, for various reasons time was somewhat distorted for me that night so i cant say for sure what time it was that they got there. Both stayed for a considerable amount of time as well.

[optimistic-pessimist]

Hehe... I know. My frustration is with Jetblue... not with you of course. Just trying to vent a little.

[GeorgeinNY]

soulslot- can you tell us a bit more what went on at this party?

optimistic- the only way you could have done it is pull an all nighter and go straight to the airport from the party. Believe me Im kicking myself too! I was about 95% sure Tool were gonna show up at this party, and yet didnt go, wtf was I thinking?

[optimistic-pessimist]

optimistic- the only way you could have done it is pull an all nighter and go straight to the airport from the party. Believe me Im kicking myself too! I was about 95% sure Tool were gonna show up at this party, and yet didnt go, wtf was I thinking?

Actually, I hung around outside the venue long enough to talk to Adam, then took the subway back to my friend's apartment, had a sandwich, packed, then got back on the subway to JFK. I got there around 6 and my flight left at 7. I DID pull an all-nighter, and there was no room for the CoSM party. :( Unless I had packed beforehand and taken my suitcase WITH ME to the CityCenter....

Incidentally, where'd you get your avatar?

[soulslot]

soulslot- can you tell us a bit more what went on at this party?

optimistic- the only way you could have done it is pull an all nighter and go straight to the airport from the party. Believe me Im kicking myself too! I was about 95% sure Tool were gonna show up at this party, and yet didnt go, wtf was I thinking?


Well, essentially the party was a kind of regular event that alex grey holds at his gallery on about a monthly basis. Typically, the parties involve some kind of psytrance show with assorted djs and what not spinning some beats, visuals, etc. Additionally, alex and alyson grey, as well as some other artists were doing live painting...which is quite cool to watch. Because this party fell on a particularly toolish weekend, it had a like vibe and alex was paining a piece that was a derivative of the lateralus concept (a seemingly bewildered person amidst flaming eyes) Otherwise, i mean, it was just a party..the entire gallery was open so viewing the art was an option. The psytrance/rave type shit was going on in a separate open space called "cosmosis" while there were also some djs spinning in the gallery itself. When Adam and Danny showed, it was nothing formal..in other words, it wasnt any kind of normal meet and greet situation. It was just them kind walking around taking it all in, visiting with alex a whole lot and at one point i remember seeing danny in the gift shop. IT was funny because you actually walk past the gift shop to get from one area to another so from time to time you would see people walk by it, do a double take, and then realize who that was in there. Anyhow, i dont really know what else to say ..thats about the sum of it.

[toolism]

It was really not my intention to rub it in, as it were. I was just sort of confused as to why nobody was talking about this..i thought it was a relatively big deal. And yeah, as to the other question, danny and adam did show up quite late in the night..i want to say danny showed up around 3 and adam about 45 minutes later or so. To be honest with you, for various reasons time was somewhat distorted for me that night so i cant say for sure what time it was that they got there. Both stayed for a considerable amount of time as well.

i talked about it...

[soulslot]

i talked about it...

Noted. Im glad you got to experience this too, sounds like you appreciated it just as much as i did.