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View Full Version : 2007/01/31 - Melbourne, AUS - Sidney Myer Music Bowl


swaps
01-17-2007, 10:07 PM
SETLIST --

Stinkfist
Forty Six & 2
Jambi
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Wings For Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus
Vicarious
Ænema

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

infinitereality
01-31-2007, 04:28 AM
THAT WAS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! Sound was amazing, lighting was amazing, crazy guy got up on the roof, great vibe, everyone happy! ANTITHESIS OF BIG DAY OUT!!!!

Fingez
01-31-2007, 04:29 AM
The dude on the top of the music bowl during 10000 Days. Rock.

kungfuonion
01-31-2007, 04:35 AM
Stinkfist
Forty Six & 2
Jambi
Schism
Rosetta Stoned
Wings
10,000 Days
Lateralus
Vicarious
Ænema

good fun. great show. seats were AWESOME.

infinitereality
01-31-2007, 04:37 AM
and we all come home 20 minutes after the show to post on here :P lol!! they better be true to their word and come back in december!

Before I Pine Away
01-31-2007, 04:38 AM
What A Fucking Show!!!! Arguably my best Tool experience.

Setlist:

Stinkfist
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
Lost Keys/Rosetta
Wings/10,000 Days
Lateralus
Vicarious
Aenima

As I said, great performance, one of the Best I have seen of my 7. Definitely rivals Hawaii last year, and Brixton Academy in 02 for me. Our seats were outstanding - Row F, so only 6 rows from the barrier. I dont mean to sound like an arsehole, but I kind of felt sorry for some of those people up on the hill. In saying that, they probably had the best view of the lasers. The Myer Music Bowl is a great venue, although the organisers should re-think their strategy of only opening 2 gates to let 15,000 people in from 7.30pm(?). I guess it was what I would imagine seeing them at Red Rocks in Colorado would be like.
Jambi was prob the hilight. That song just gets better every time I hear it live. My first time hearing Wings/10,000 Days aswell, so very special.
Thats all for now, will prob post more later. Was definitely worth the trip over from New Zealand. Tonight I witnessed the beauty, and bathed in the fountain.

simo
01-31-2007, 04:49 AM
fuck it was great. danny is a lord, and maynard being uber animated before the fuckwit came out was superb, sounds like you needed seats for a greater time.. cant wait for ndecember.

the fuckwit on the roof totally made me lose my buzz for the end of 10k days, what a dickhead.

Fuk_LRonHubbard
01-31-2007, 04:50 AM
yeah that was a fucken tight show.

Highlight for me was Wings/10,000 Days, lateralus and aenima

Set list as posted.

I felt the set list was one song short, as they played nothing off undertow

:(

Hawthorn Tool
01-31-2007, 04:52 AM
Awesome show!

Lost Keys / Rosetta Stoned was my personal highlight.

I was under the roof so didn't see the dude up there. What a nut, that roof is fucking high!

Here's some crummy pics from my crummy phone (good seats though)

http://stashbox.org/11224/Image009.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11225/Image011.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11226/Image012.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11227/Image013.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11228/Image014.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11229/Image015.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11230/Image016.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11231/Image017.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11232/Image018.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11233/Image019.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11234/Image020.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11235/Image021.jpg

art
01-31-2007, 04:52 AM
Setlist was something like

stink
forty
jambi
schism
lost
rosetta
wings
10000
vicarious
lateralus
enema

3rd tool show. didnt have a ticket. tried climbing a tree but couldnt see stuff all. jumped the fence. got chased by secirity and managed to scramble free. blasted all the way thru the crowd right to the front. every1 was royally pissed at me for shoving. but i explained apologized and relocated up the back somewhere. that guy who climbed the canopy was insane. should be some cool photos of him out there with the moon in the background. bet he cops a huge fine. but yeah fuck he'll never forget that moment. right up there for 10000 days. pretty damn cool. but pretty danerous too ay. as far as the show was concerned it was pretty flawless. i was in there from a bit before wings. the light show was pretty cool but it felt a little 'eye candy' to me i guess. tool are so hard to fault its like they really are a package or candy bar you pay for its kinda the same evry time. really feels like a weird travelling circus with all the tool shirts around and shit. but to be honest next tool show i am definately taking acid. heaps of it. i realized that was what was missing from the show. my own trip. tool are definately trippy enough without any sort of psychedelic but i kinda realized it would be about 100 times more powerful to have that shit getting you on acid. also i realized the internet spoils everything. all the youtube videos and photos of all the album art and concerts that spin around on the web really ruin the experience. it was like i'd seen it before. no surprises. i guess ive learnt my lesson.

i + t = <

nicksta
01-31-2007, 04:52 AM
This was the worst tool show I have ever seen! Lazers?? Was I watching a bad Spinal Tap concert or Tool? Seems like a departure from what I otherwise considered artistic credability. They have really cheapened their show using these props. 10,000 days is a bad album, (i have liked all albums up until this point) and having to stand and listen to lost key-rosetta stoned followed by wing - 10,000 days was tourture - i dont care what anyone says these songs are terrible, and the mood of the concert was less electric with them there. Thank god the dickhead who climed the roof provided some entertainment while these songs were playing. 46&2, Stinkfist, Aenema, and Lateralus were ok but sound quality was poor, everything was a little flat!! Have seen them do much much much better than this.

FearNLoathing
01-31-2007, 05:01 AM
That was the greatest concert I have ever seen. Maybe, after letting the experience sink in, I'll be able to express myself a little more eloquently, but for now...that rocked.

crumbsmasht
01-31-2007, 05:04 AM
Nothing really tops getting to see one of your favourite bands twice in one week (along with your favourite song too). Overall it was a great show, the sound quality was surprisingly good given the venue. My only gripe is that the general admission area was bad for anyone who isn't 7'11 but you can't win it all.

The guy who climbed up during 10,000 days was a moron who was either going to:

1) Fuck around and ruin a pretty powerful song at the height of the set by being an attention whore.
2) Same as above but they stop the set until he comes down.
3) He falls, dies and they stop the whole concert.

Thankfully it's likely the security guards who nabbed him gave him a few 'pats on the back' and threw him in the divvy van. Bloody moron.

Rant is now over.












\ .. / TOOL

Deviouz
01-31-2007, 05:06 AM
Well, I felt like I missed out being on the hill, even though I was about 4 rows from the front. I personally wasn't feeling the proper vibe, I mean I was so envious because there were pretty weak cheers coming from our end and up front everyone would scream for twice as long.

Some of the people around me pissed me off too, ie. one guy just kept yammering away, even during Wings (!!!!), kept saying the song was boring and how annoyed he was that Tool wasn't playing other songs etc. And other things along that line was what annoyed me most, the people around me weren't getting into the 10000 Days songs at all (except for Vicarious at the end), just made me want to tell them all that if they didn't bother to know the album very well then why the hell were they there.

I was particularly looking forward to Jambi, and someone up above said he loved it... but I just wasn't feeling it, there was no noise no nothing. It was death quiet, noone even cheered when they came to sit down for a break preparing for Wings. And maybe this is a bit immature, but I thought maybe at least if I was in general admission maybe a bit of moshing could add to the atmosphere, but we were way too far back for that.

Argh... anyway, now that I got all that out, I can't fault the band, they played absolutely unbelievable, and the last 45 minutes or whatever starting with Wings was probably the best I've ever seen in a concert thus far. The lasers were awesome. The visuals were also great, more high definition than I had expected, Rosetta was straight-up unreal. Lots of pretty cool seguing tracks all added up to make it feel real natural, and for the majority of the gig when I wasn't distracted it was just a great feeling being able to be so connected to the music, that's how awesome the amphitheater was.

So yeah, only complaint I had was I felt embarrassed about the crowd, (and the guy up top? What a douchebag!), Maynard didn't even need to say Sydney was louder, to me it was just immediately apparently this Melbourne crowd at least was pretty lame.

EDIT: I forgot to say anything about Lateralus. BEST. LIVE. SONG. EVER. It's like they've played it so many times live now, it just embodies perfection now. So good.

Oh yeah, Art, you pushed your way through me you sonofabitch :-) You were like two rows in front of me.

Forensick
01-31-2007, 05:28 AM
ARGH! shittest venue EVER!!!!
i am 6'1 cant see anything 3 rows back, no mosh, no atmospere, and i can hear the emo pricks singing louder than i can here maynard!

if they do come back in december, i'd rather buy tickets off a scalper and fly to sydney than put up with that shit again....

they guy who climbed the roof probably got bored.

the show itself (what i saw) was awesome....
but it would have been more enjoyable to watch it on channel V.
at least then i could see, and not having a crowd around me wouldnt mean a thing coz its not like the crowd did anything anyway.

hackshadows
01-31-2007, 05:31 AM
Only the most overused cliche is applicable:

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Loved it, loved it, loved it. The fifth time I've seen Tool, and this was probably the best. The first time I saw them (at Festering Hole, er, Festival Hall, on the Aenima tour back in 1997) will probably be a sentimental favorite, but this was seriously out of control. InfiniteReality said it best, this was everything that the Big Day Out was not. I'm so glad the Big Day Out was first. If I went to the BDO now it would be such a let down. Save the best for last. This was so much better.

The sound, oh my god, the sound. So hugely, ferociously, massive. And yet SO perfectly clear. How great is the Myer Music Bowl. I've seen the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra there before and you can hear every nuace of every instrument. When I heard Tool were playing there I was rapt. The venue was so spot on. When Tool came out to the roaring crowd and Adam cranked the feedback on his guitar for ages you could tell it was going to be huge. But when they slammed into the opening chords of Stinkfist, it was so much bigger than you thought it would be. Adam's guitar was savage and beautiful, Justin's Bass plumbed new depths of the sonic deep end, Danny's snare crackled and snapped clearly and the rest of his kit sounded like an avalanche as he pounded the everfucking christ out of it. And that gong hit at the end of Lateralus.... Aaaahhh fuck yeah.

Going from Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned into Wings For Marie/10,000 Days was truly a thing to behold. I was starting to feel somewhat overwhelmed. How the fuck do they do it, seriously.

The crowd was SO much better than the Big Day Out dickheads on Sunday. And the security were being really tight with idiots who tried to crowdsurf or get up on other people's shoulders. Thank dear sweet Jeebus for that. I didn't have seats, but didn't mind at all. Seats would have been awesome, but where I was was just great. About half way up the hill on the grass, I could see the whole band clearly right throughout the show, and as stated above, the sound was immaculate. The lighting show and lasers, etc, was super impressive and created a very trippy, imaginative atmosphere which accompanied the music well. The screens behind the band had the usual insane schitzophrenic mindfuck going on. How awesome is that double-time section in the middle of Schism. I really hope they record that shit, it improves the song immensely.

Danny Carey's drum break on Forty Six and 2 gets more and more insane every time I hear it. Adam's guitar sounds like no other guitar I've ever heard before. How can one man with six strings and an amplifier sound so different to other men and women with six strings and amplifiers? His genius is his deceptive simplicity, I'm convinced. Justin was rocking out harder than I've ever seen him before. He was genuinely loving what they were doing, and so he should. And Maynard, je-sus. I've seen the Nard quite a few times over the years with APC and Tool, he just keeps getting weirder. I had to laugh during the guitar and talk-box solo break in Jambi with Maynard waving his hat around his head like he's trying to stay on a bull at a rodeo. Such madness, but somehow it fits.

There was one guy who got all the way up on top of the roof/sail thing that goes over the stage. I imagine the cops standing there arguing about who was going to go up and get him down. He probably got the shit beaten out of him when he got down. Oh well, better than falling all that way down, I guess. But admit it, you felt the bloodlust and were hoping, just a little, that he would have come tumbling down. You all feel the same, don't lie.

They said they'd be back in December. They had bloody well better. They played so well and played so many great songs, but they could have played SO many more. Opiate, Sober, Prison Sex, Flood, Eulogy, Pushit, Third Eye, The Grudge, The Patient, Parabola, Disposition/Reflection, The Pot, Right in Two, when you think about it, they could have played for another couple of hours and still had room for encores. I guess that's what happens with bands who stick around for so long, their catalogue becomes harder to cover.

I wonder what Tool think of their Australian fans when at the end of both of the Melbourne shows, when the band was throwing drum sticks/water bottles etc out to the crowd and waving, hugging etc, when the crowd starts chanting in loud deep voices "DAAAAA-NEEEEEEEEE, DAAAAAAAA-NEEEEEEEEE, DAAAAAAAAA-NEEEEEEEEE" (think DAAA-RYL from the Simpsons).

They either think that we're all awesome or that we're all dickheads. I don't really care either way, just as long as they remember us and come back.

infinitereality
01-31-2007, 05:45 AM
testing this pic. it was taken by my partner from the middle of row x. should have taken the phone to the front :-)

http://stashbox.org/11236/31012007243.jpg

http://stashbox.org/11237/31012007237.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11238/31012007238.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11239/31012007239.jpg

some more for your enjoyment. man my neck hurts

kungfuonion
01-31-2007, 05:54 AM
yeah, the seats were really, really good. i was in the second row after the gap, and the view was great. would have been better if everyone was sitting down, but, oh well. if you don't get seats there, the lawn outside would be the next best option...

Elgyn
01-31-2007, 06:05 AM
Firstly, I agree that the fella on the roof put a dampner on the mood of Wings. I missed the better part of the song wondering if the guy would fall down. I had to laugh at the potential irony of him falling during wings...

Secondly, the extended section of Schism - fuck yes. They definitely need to record this. It made the song seriously awesome. I'd heard it on a bootleg before the show, but it was mad live.

I would have preferred a seat, because the view I got, being about 5-6 people back wasn't the best. I couldn't relax as much as I would have if I had a seat, and in that regard I preferred Rod Laver in '02 as a venue. If I went again, I'd definitely be looking for a seated ticket. The crowd though was pretty good. I didn't go to the big day out, but from the sounds of it, it was heaps worse there. I'm tall though, so I got a good view.

The other people singing didn't bother me too much, mostly because I was singing too. Yeah, shoot me. I couldn't really hear Maynard very well most of the time, and a few other people I spoke to in GA thought he was pretty quiet too. Not sure how he sounded up the front. I heard that he'd been avoiding the pot, and that a show in texas was cancelled a few weeks back due to maynard being sick, so it's not surprising that he didn't nail a few of the higher and longer notes in most songs. Bit of a bummer though. I hope it's a passing thing.

The show was fucking brilliant though. I was surprised, but Vicarious was a definite highlight for me. It's probably one of my more favoured tracks off 10,000 Days, but it came off really well live. Other than that, everything else was cool. I did notice that people were a lot more subdued during Rosetta Stoned and 10,000 Days, which was cool because I could actually hear things more clearly.

I would have liked a bit more variety in the set, and I was hoping they'd mix it up more after seeing Sydney's setlist. 46+2 was good for the first time, as were all the 10,000 days tracks. Jambi kicked a lot of arse. Anything more obscure off Ænima, and anything at all off Undertow would have tickled my fancy. I would have traded the support for an extra song any day, so maybe Sydney got a better deal (as they got swamp song).

Anyway, that's the end of my long-winded review. Good times, can't wait for December.

A.S.H
01-31-2007, 06:31 AM
Overall great show. Then again I only just got in. My brother and I managed to befriend somebody a while back who worked for the catering company that does Sydney Myer. Got us in using some names that were on the list, but that had pulled out of the shift some weeks back. So my brother and I were let in through the back, bypassed all the queues, checked out some of the backstage area and never got checked for id showing we weren't who we said we were. Infact we never picked up the credentials we were told we had to have so as to be let through to the main grassy area. Also it was free! Bad day for the security industry, great day for me. So maybe we just enjoyed it so much because we were never meant to have been there. I thought 46 & 2 was particularly tight and the best song for the night, the lasers looked great from the hill area, the guitar sound was the best I've ever heard at a Tool concert, and the last three numbers were outstanding (plus yes that sped up part of Schism is amazing - the sped up visuals too). Did notice though that Maynard seemingly coasted through Stinkfist, like he was holding himself back, or maybe his mike was just turned down low at the beginning.

Truthfully i loved the venue for Tool - just for the unique atmosphere. It was cool while watching them play Rosetta Stoned being able to look up at the stars above at the same time or the city in the background. And the way the lasers dissapeared into the sky above - very nice. That said however, come November or December I'll be hoping to take it back to the more traditional setting of Rod Laver. Also there seemed to be a lot of room to move - they could have fit a lot more people in there tonight. I had chunks of space in front of me most of the night.

Hmm there was a guy in a white tshirt that bolted past us at one point causing a commotion - was that you Art? Good stuff on getting in anyway

So overall yes I found it better than 2002, but not nearly as great as 2001. All different flavoured shows though

TooLooT
01-31-2007, 06:36 AM
seriously, I would have no hesitation letting Danny have his way with me after that performance. Fuck... just Fucking hell. That's all I can say. Not too shabby for a bunch of old men.

evilbackwards
01-31-2007, 06:53 AM
c'mon people. tool...
'nuff said...?
the show was awesome. 5th time i've seen them. the shows get better, the venue was tops, sound was awesome. i was on the hill, stand at 5'11" and saw enough, but heard heaps. i reckon where we were was perfect for sound. we had good crew around us and everyone got into it. some a little too much, some not enough, but fuck, each to their own. sidney myer music bowl has been designed for perfect acoustics, and it was proven tonight. seen mso there and was impressed, but even more with a band i worship and tunes i love.
people will whinge, but hey, they're idiots...
it was tool. 91, 2002, blah blah blah - every show has been different, but equally as awesome...

Bertram
01-31-2007, 07:15 AM
First time seeing them.....Holy shit it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

I was completly in awe of Wings and 10000 days. I
Just had to ignore that fuck head on the roof. Lateralus, Vicarious and Ænema were also a fantastic close to night.

I was about fairly close to the front and directly in line with the hanging speaker on the left. I found the crowd to be awesome. Very contained, not pushing etc. People were quiet enough during the songs so I could hear Maynard, yet at the same time were really getting into the songs. (Especially Ænema).

Anyway overall, absolutely amazing. Cant wait till there back.

DeVo
01-31-2007, 07:16 AM
Hahah the penut on the roof made me fucking laugh. What a fucking moron.

What a show, fucking-fan-tastic. Far better than thier Big Day Out set.

Absolutely amazing...

WatchDog
01-31-2007, 07:18 AM
The GA section was terrible. I was stuck in the queue for food when they came on. The opening act didnt seem to fit in with the tool vibe at all. Highlight was the rows of men pissing against the wall to avoid the toilet queue. I missed out on a gold ticket by about 1 minute and this experience really made me feel crap about that. Also no alcohol was served. In hiensight 1. Get Gold ticket 2. Get there early 3. Dont go with a friend who is not a big tool fan. 4. BYO food 5. Personaly i need to be drunk/stoned to forget about my surrondings and lose my inhibitions so that i can truely enjoy an experiance like this.

Edit: It was just dandy.

JizzyMcJizz
01-31-2007, 08:22 AM
Here's my pics from tonight. These are the best of the bunch, so you can imagine how shit the others were. My camera doesn't like not using the flash in low light.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?fb1073e9e0.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?08a490ef67.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?279db80063.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?0cdf78b23c.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?cd91890b67.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?a46a7fcb3a.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?00676a99b3.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?cf3b93e75e.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?36c7840376.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?7af2d524e8.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?86323e0369.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?8259b5195b.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?f0ccf1a372.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?88f9bcb0f2.jpg
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?76e1f81498.jpg

I had a fucking fantastic night. You can't not have a good time when ya that close to Tool. The seated crowd seemed quiet. Way more noise was coming from the back. I was wondering why everyone was cheering really out of place during Wings. We under the roof had no idea of what had happened. The sound was brilliant where I was, and Tool were flawless. I didn't notice one stuff up except Adam was a little out of time at one part of Schism. Anyways pretty much the same to say as all the other positive people. Wayyyyy Wayyyyy better than the BDO show. :)

donrp
01-31-2007, 10:28 AM
well....
first time I've seen Tool, and I gotta say I enjoyed it afukofalot.
Yes, yes the lines were shocking, that venue is not really built for that size crowd... the sound was bloody good though, compared to any other venue in Melbourne. Festival Hall is the only rival but it's so constricted for numbers....
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah the show! I was in GA but was center 2nd row (nice eh?): brilliant view - short ppl infront of me, brilliant sound - if lacking slightly in volume at my range, and the closest to a mosh pit that was able to form.
It's a little sad that the only mosh area was so goddam far away from the stage that there was little to no moshing... Ah well, things picked up for a crucial bit of Jambi (my favourite track off 10,000 days) and for Aenima there was some real moshing happening. Seemed to me that they put the most energy into that, but maybe it was just that there was more energy in the crowd around me.
So, what was my point? hang on, I'll try to work that out...
Er, I guess that Tool themselves were a brilliant act, the light show supplemented the music beautifully, The guy on the roof (a frequent Melbourne event) was cool... though shining laser pointers in his eyes never seems to knock him off does it? I saw at least three aimed at his face.
I was a lil disapointed in the crowd energy (ie the entire lack of head-thrashing mosh pit taking up half of the hill) though having the mosh pit so far from the stage does dispirit people a little.
Good set, I think the songs led into eachother nicely. Can't wait till they come out next, hopefully at a different venue? so long as it's not Telstra Dome :P

white horse
01-31-2007, 01:28 PM
Before I Pine Away, you were in Hawaii last year? So was I! That first show there was my favourite Tool show - at least until last night!

We had lawn tickets and then I ended up with some "lawn terrace" tickets - which was the small area general admission in between the seats and the general lawn. Only a few hundred people on both sides and heaps of space. WIN. They were awesome tickets! Only problem was the ground was very steep and hard to get a comfortable footing.
I think they were the late release ones so if you're going to see RHCP or anyone at the Bowl keep an eye out for them.

I must say I was a tiny bit disappointed to not hear Swamp Song/Opiate/The Pot (this was one song shorter than Sydney, though maybe there is a noise curfew?) but the rest of the set was seriously amazing. I think that was the heaviest performance of Lateralus I've seen in a while. And Wings/10KD was beautiful. Was it just me or was the whole crowd singing along with the "fetch me the....." etc etc line? It certainly sounded like everyone was screaming along to that section culminating in GIVE ME MY WINGS.

I thought at first the crowd was a little quiet but I think they were just more appreciative. The band certainly seemed pleased at the show's end.

The guy on the roof scared me. He was pretty much right above us and all I could picture was him falling and splattering on the ground in front of us. Idiot.

oh and forensick if you're going to buy up 10 tickets sell them to fans on tool forums and not on ebay. that's scalping. Speaking of, I had extra tickets to sell before the show and I got followed around by some annoying American scalper who kept offering me $40 per ticket. I eventually got rid of them cost price to fans, but fuck he was annoying. And selling tickets before shows sucks. I felt like an idiot and most people thought I was a scalper :\
Next time I'm making the people who bail come along and sell them themselves!

evlcookie
01-31-2007, 02:04 PM
I thought having a seat all the way back to row X was going to be a bad thing. It turned out to be a godsend. I was able to see pretty much everything, except for when the guy with the huge head would get infront of me, but it was just an awesome view.

Band rocked, i couldnt hear maynard that much thou thru the night but it wasnt too big of a deal.
I'm not a huge fan of wings/10k days but seeing it live with the green lazers (pew pew) was something just out of this world.

all in all a sweet fucking show.
Would have been nice if they played right in two thou ;)

deuceman
01-31-2007, 03:04 PM
Aargghhh.....WTF is going on with Maynard's voice? Is he getting too old to sing his own fucking material live anymore?? This is really pissing me off. Is he genetically fucked because he's a dwarf and he gets sick at the drop of a hat (no pun intended)?? How is he going to be able to make it through an extended tour later in the year? By the time they get back to Oz the only songs he'll be able to sing are Intension and Lipan Conjuring.

I want to hear the fucking Pot! I want to hear Maynard sing properly and throw himself into it. Even worse, I now realise they will never surprise me at a show by playing Cold and Ugly.

Where's the voice, Maynard? Where's the fucking voice that is the 4th instrument of the greatest band in the world, ever?

twoostobaba
01-31-2007, 03:26 PM
i agree with deuceman. danny, adam and justin were simply amazing the whole time but a few times it felt like maynard just wasn't that in to it. sometimes he just didn't go for the high note or really put his guts into the climax of a song, like the hook of rosetta stoned ("overwhelmed as one would be...").

some songs he was spot on and really singing his heart out, like 10KD or Aenema, but others his voice was either flat or only half there... it's not like hes jumping all over the stage like a rockstar - all he had to do was stand there in the darkness and sing.

deppo
01-31-2007, 03:44 PM
Wow, awesome show. I spent the first 30min trying to get over how good my seats were. We were dead center 4 rows back, phenomenal view. Nothing impeding my vision at all. The sound was almost perfect where we were, Maynard's vocals were at times a little low, but all in all, sounded fanstastic. Really good balance between the 4 guys, sound was really defined and clear, but loud as.

Visually, I was really impressed, the screens were pretty high def, cool imagery and the lasers for 10,000 days were nice. Maynard was pretty quiet, he said hello early on, then something like "well this has just been dandy, we'll see you again in December or maybe November" towards the end, but that was all, otherwise he occupied himself doing his crazy little dances, which was cool, he seemed to enjoy Rosetta Stoned, as did I. Danny was mesmerizing, it's like he has 4 arms, the breakdown in 46+2 was phenomenal. Justin was also brilliant, the highlight for me, his playing on 10,000 days. Adam was subdued as always and just sort of holding the whole show together, the sounds he conjours never fail to amaze me and technically, I thought he was faultless, talk box in Jambi went off.

Setlist was as expected. I would love to get some more obscure tracks but thats the deal when you see longstanding bands with big catalogues i s'pose, cant complain anyway because if they left out any of the tracks they DID play, I would imagine everyone would be a little disappointed as they were all classics.

I wish we could have taken in cameras, I could have got some bullshit shots from where I was, a bit disappointing, the rent-a-cops were all over anyone pulling out phones or anything so I didn't get any snaps. But fuck it it was such a cool show. I'm still digesting a bit and really keen to hear about everyone elses experience, any more photos that anyone managed would be cool too, alrighty then.

lordrob
01-31-2007, 03:50 PM
The show last night was simply amazing, i was totally & quite litteraly blown away! The lights were incredible, the sound was incredible and my seat was unbefuckinleavble. Not that i sat.. ha ha! Wings for Marie and 10,000 days hit some deep heartstrings (couldnt see a dude on the roof), and it was great to hear Jambi, Rossetta and Vicarious live. All those songs resinated. A highlight for me was definately Lateralus, amazing.

I saw one girl up the front with her cd goggles on.. I never thought of doing that! I now wonder if any of the animations on the rear screens did anything at all?? They most likely didnt but i'll prolly do the same around december time, i think Tool should incorporate somethin like this in the future! I can just imagine the effect on trip, and 15,000 people with their imax goggles on ha ha.

I cant wait till december, gotta start organising my camp out, get some "Number 1 mutha fuka" t-shirts together. Maybe even purchase the odd starwars costume or 3 depending who comes! And get someone to airbrush a tent for me!

If they play Telstra Dome in December, i hope they get a mixing crew like U2's.
Or better.

Pineal
01-31-2007, 03:59 PM
I think this show was the perfect remedy for the chaos of the BDO. I stood about half way back on Justin’s side with a pretty awesome view for the second half of the show. Things started a bit dodgy with the vocal volume going from way up to way down on the first few songs. Maynard was obviously struggling through this bit (maybe because it was cold?) but the instrumentation sounded tight throughout.

In my opinion, it all came together on Schism which I think works excellent live (especially with the new jam) but subsequently Rosetta Stoned brought things down a bit. It just didn’t have the kick it has on the album, particularly Maynard’s vocals which sounded pretty lackluster during it (I think the problem may have been with how the megaphone thing was hooked up). The drum and bass breakdown towards the end probably saved it from major disappointment though.

However, from this point in the show things continued on the path set by Schism. Wings/10KD was AWESOME, despite attempts to ruin it by some stupid chicks having a conversation next to me and the douche that climbed up on the roof (though he provided some funny moments). The lasers were very cool and really suited the venue I thought. From then on the momentum just built and the last three were all fantastic. Lateralus was spot on as usual. I was very happy that Maynard actually sang all of Vicarious (didn’t at the BDO) and Ænema is probably one of the best closing songs they could choose.

All in all, this show shat all over the BDO (despite the lack of The Pot and Swamp Song). The crowd was a thousand times better and I reckon the Music Bowl should be the mainstay venue for the rare occasions Tool chose to visit Melbourne.

Elgyn
01-31-2007, 04:22 PM
Perfect weather for an outdoor venue too. Rain would have sucked.

Still stoked.

Snutty
01-31-2007, 04:25 PM
I loved it. I thought it seemed a song or two short, but still brilliant. Much better than the BDO show.

Danny was just completely on fire, and that snare just cracked through so perfectly. Damn it sounded good. They've really put some time into improving their playing and reworking the songs, if only a little bit on some.

I was up in the crowd behind the seats and loved the fact that everyone pretty much stood still. Moshes just fuck up the whole experience of a show like that one. Complaining the the crowd "did nothing" is just ridiculous. Getting squashed, almost falling over and being crushed and kicked in the head by crowd surfers is hardly enjoyable. I've put up with that shit for too many years.

The doofus who got up on the roof was amusing for a while, and deserved a bit of applause, but after a while I just had to ignore him and enjoy 10,000 Days, hoping he wouldn't fall.

Was great to hear the W/10K pair and Rosetta, though the latter does seem to drag on a bit live. Right in Two would have made it amazing. A little bit over Ænema now... seen them do it too many times.

the
01-31-2007, 04:30 PM
the least best tool show i've been to. it was okay, but i've never had to watch from so far back. i was at the sydney show a week before and was front and centre on the barrier, so i guess it was all down hill from there.

also shitty that they played one less song than they did in sydney (merkaba+swamp song), which was a shame as it was the best song they did up there. dunno why there's all the complaining about maynard's voice. i thought it was spot on, and i'm glad he finally sang the ending to vicarious

if i never hear jambi again live i'll be a happy man. it's a great song, and the visuals for it are amazing, but i don't think it works live. there's just not a lot of energy to it

white horse
01-31-2007, 04:39 PM
I think Jambi is great live! Personally I'm sick of Schism. It's always the song where my mind wanders.

They were very strict about cameras. A friend bought one in (OK, she shouldn't have) We were standing at the front of the lawn terrace next to the mix desk (And men's loos...lol) and she had her camera resting on the orange water barrier thing and the guy *behind* her took a photo with flash. The security guard saw the flash, saw my friends camera and assumed she'd taken the pics, so she made her hand over her battery (which she never got back)

Maynard was sounding a lot better (or the mix was better) but I do think he seems to be holding himself back vocally. There was no massive scream in Stinkfist for example.

The Music Bowl is a good venue, though I think they need to get more drinks and food vendors for shows where you can't bring any in (most things on there you can BYO everything I believe) Drinks stands on the lawn would have been a good idea at least.

(t)hick
01-31-2007, 05:01 PM
Maynard = Lil John ??

It's very hard to be disappointed with last night.

Lighting (and reflections on roof) was good , in particular the red lights above adam in time with the opening riff to jambi and the big arse white one behind Adam that lit up right in the middle of the talkbox solo, just when they know everyone will be looking.

And it's always good to end the night with an hour and a half wander through the streets with a mate when you go out the wrong exit and cant be bothered finding the right one and just walk till you find somewhere you recognise.

ninwishes
01-31-2007, 05:14 PM
The best concert I have ever been to, without any doubt.

Had seats- Row L, right in the middle, so could see everything- in fact, at times it got too much, so I just closed my eyes...

I spent Wings/10,000 Days trying not to cry, it was just too much.

Couldn't take my eyes off Justin during Rosetta Stoned- he was just so into it, it was fucking amazing to see.

Sound/Acoustics from the seats were 10 out of 10.

Lasers, lights and visuals were great, especially the cloudy lasers, etc during Wings.

Maynard's voice sounded magic from where we were- yes ppl, he's not getting any younger, but jesus...

I'd never been to The Music Bowl before, but reckon it's hands-down, the best venue in Melb- at least, for those with seats.

I think they crowd was quiet cause we were all in awe- and after the all the Shitheads at the BDO, it was a relief to be surrounded by fans.

EDIT:

At one stage, I felt like I was off my face on something (maybe acid)- I'd only had 2 bourbons before, so what a friggin feeling!

Had 5 drinks at Y&J's after, came home and cried for about an hour.

Hubby reckons Maynard had a ball with Rosetta Stoned as well-I dunno, I was too bloody busy watching Justin!!

I thought the setlist was OK. Yes, there's songs I'd give both legs to see live, but it ain't gonna happen.

Blaise
01-31-2007, 05:22 PM
My first Tool gig and god, the lengths I went to get my gold ticket. When I checked out the seating chart for the bowl, I was still worried I'd be miles away. After spending one hour in the queue for gate 1, I was blown away when I saw how close I was to the stage (Row S).

I figured they'd be checking for cameras, so I stuffed my phone down my bra and they were none the wiser. Got about 20 good shots of the show, even after one of the security guards forced me to delete a picture he'd seen me take. Clown.

I'd read on here that people get annoyed about others singing. I'm not sure if the sound was different at BDO, as I wasn't there, but I was singing my lungs out last night and I couldn't hear myself, let alone the guy next to me who was also singing.

Forty Six & 2 sounded incredible live. I agree with previous posters, Justin was so into the show, he was sweating and playing so hard. It was a joy to watch him in action.

Highlights for me were the alterations to Schism, 10,000 Days and Lateralus. I've never been a huge fan of Lateralus, even though it's a Tool standby, but it sounded phenomonal! So heavy and crisp...good sound all over last night. Rosetta Stoned is my favourite track of 10,000 Days but oddly, it wasn't the best track of the night I thought. Still, the visuals were sensational.

Still, I felt the setlist was shorter than previous shows and I was not happy about missing out on The Pot and Swamp Song/Opiate. I'd read they'd played those tracks elsewhere and was hanging out for some Opiate/Undertow.

Also, did anyone else feel that Maynard was having a bad night? I saw him a few years ago with APC and he was chatty all night, cracking jokes, connecting with the crowd. He said two words last night and then he could not get off that stage fast enough. Was nice to see the other guys hanging back and feeling the crowd's gratitude, smiling and staying with us a bit longer.

Fingers crossed for shows later this year and some ye olde Tool tracks.

bitter_enigma
01-31-2007, 06:13 PM
Venue sucked. I was very let down. The band was great, there's no denying that. But on the hill (and later in the walkway where we could ACTUALLY SEE) it just felt like watching from a distance as opposed to being absorbed by the experience.

I brought my sister, and the only thing she saw was the back of everyone's shirts until I took her across to one of the walkways to get a clear view of the band. On the hill, she literally could not see the stage, and she's not that short either.

Vibe of the crowd sucked. There was a lukewarm response to most songs. I don't get why people didn't just sit down, which is what you're supposed to do at SMMB. People weren't even moshing or anything so what was the point of standing? After a while, the heels of my feet went numb from the angle the hill is on.

I'm guessing that the show the gold section experienced compared with general admission was very, very different.

halfbreed
01-31-2007, 06:14 PM
Was a really good show. Hard to fault really. Was an audio/visual feast. We were mid lawn in the middle and had a great view, didnt seem too far back. I was quite suprised by the sound quality, could hear nard perfectly. The dude on the roof was pretty funny, poor bastard missed half the show tho, dumb arse...

I agree the crowd was a bit, quiet. Didn't feel like everyone was as pumped as I'd expect. Weird sorta vibe I guess.

I had to laugh when the chick I was with said Nard had chopped off all his hair, then a dude said it was tied back. lolz

My biggest dissapointment was that this was my first Tool concert. Seems a shame that I "might never" get to see songs like Pushit, parabol/a performed live. Would have liked to see a Danny solo like they described in the Syd reviews.

Also was it just me or was (-) Ions in the setlist too?????

chaos95
01-31-2007, 06:19 PM
Awesome performance, crappy venue. I was about a metre behind the barrier, on the grass, and when that idiot got up on the roof, everyone started gawking, pointing, laughing and talking, which really detracted from Wings/10000, which would otherwise have been the highlight of the show for me.

I can't fault the band, they were fantastic. Plenty of energy, although Maynard did seem a bit down; even if he isn't as chatty in Tool as he is in APC, there was a definite change in his energy from the Lateralus shows in '01/02. Adam and Justin were both right into it and very enjoyable to watch. Danny was brilliant as always; my drumming idol.

Honestly I can't pick a favourite song, I love the whole lot. Lamented the lack of The Pot and Undertow-era stuff though.

The sound was perfect, in contrast to the wall of white noise that characterises the Big Day Out's giant speaker stacks. Snare drum sounded good, and the guitar sound was exceptional.

The support band had a good sound, even if a number of people around me made a number of comments relating to the band's heredity, appearance and odour.

The crowd was good, not too much pushing; although during one song a bunch of people around me started swaying from side to side, which got very old and very frustrating very quickly.

Lighting was also a highlight (pardon the pun), with some truly inspired choices during solos etc. Kudos to the lighting team. Visuals were awesome as well.

My only real complaint is the venue. The lawn is not quite slanted enough, which meant that I had a hard time seeing the band at 5'11" while my friend who is considerably shorter saw practically nothing aside from the odd green glow extending overhead.

All in all, a great performance from a band that continues to amaze and inspire me; and a choice of venue that was perhaps not ideal. Given the constraints the promoters would have had to deal (Rod Laver being booked out etc) I suppose it's the logical choice, but that doesn't really help with my enjoyment of the gig.

The lasers were pretty cool too :D

A.S.H
01-31-2007, 06:53 PM
What's all this talk about moshing? I've never seeing anybody physically able to mosh at a Tool concert, the time signatures dont really cater to it. The other Tool shows I've been too the crowd usually jump around for the first minute of the song (usually for Stinkfist, Prisonsex, Aenima and Parabola) before realising they don't know how to do it and they just stand there looking in awe. Or is that just my experience?

ooltay
01-31-2007, 06:59 PM
I wondered how the show was going to work at the 'Bowl' but I was quite surprised that it did! It was well worth the extra $10 for the gold tix! We were in row Q, but as soon as they came on, we rushed to the front and were two back from the barrier and pretty much in front of Adam! Fucking Amazing!

I hadn't actually seen them since they toured for Aenema and they just blew my mind again! Disappointed that there was nothing from Undertow (as looking at set lists for other shows, they performed Swamp Song, so I was eagerly anticipating that one) though, I still loved it. But with them being the fucking best mucisians in their own right, the set was spot on and I forgave them!

What was the go when they just collected and sat on the stage?? Loved it, but WTF???

The crowd were so well behaved, to my surprise (all except for the drunk fool that looks like the okka guy from Getaway accosting me) and there were not many people up at the barrier, so there was plenty of room to mimic Maynard's interpretive dance moves (love it!).

So enough of my awestruck rambling, bring on December - Maynard we're holding you to it!

ooltay
01-31-2007, 07:01 PM
What's all this talk about moshing? I've never seeing anybody physically able to mosh at a Tool concert, the time signatures dont really cater to it. The other Tool shows I've been too the crowd usually jump around for the first minute of the song (usually for Stinkfist, Prisonsex, Aenima and Parabola) before realising they don't know how to do it and they just stand there looking in awe. Or is that just my experience?

Dude, totally agree! You just can't mosh to them! Everyone around me got into it in their own special way - a bit of head thrashing, fist pumping, standing with their arms crossed and they all loved it!

Mescaline
01-31-2007, 07:09 PM
WOW... . . . . THAT WAS COSMIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. so emotional. .. . left me stuck in infinity...

ooltay
01-31-2007, 07:10 PM
Another note......why is everyone complaining about not being able to see??? If you were in general admission at a venue like Rod Laver or Festival Hall, you can't see anyway! I was in general at Festival and I could hardly see though the 6-foot-everything guys around me! Being 5'9", I generally have issues seeing the band at gigs - it's the experience. It's feeling the bass, the drums, the guitar and the vocals when you are at a gig!

FearNLoathing
01-31-2007, 07:32 PM
To all the vertically challenged: sometimes it helps just to tap the tall guy in front of you on the shoulder and ask. I mean, I'm 6'4, and if there's someone stuck behind me I'll happily let them stand in front. I won't let anyone just saunter through and push me back but if it's obvious someone can't see and would be able to if they could just get in front of me I'll let them.

I still can't believe how fucking incredible that show was.

EDIT: Add another voice to the thank christ there wasn't any moshing...I could just stand there, thrash my head around and appreciate the genius without having to worry about elbows in kidneys and neck injuries from crowd surfing (thats when you shorties are lucky...I always seem to cop it bad). Moshing is only good at shows like Trivium, where it manages to distract you from the music...

pharma_joe
01-31-2007, 08:11 PM
Here's my two sense:

First time I have seen Tool live, been a fan since late 90s.

Wow. Oh man.

I've seen countless bands in pubs, at festivals, standalone shows etc. I guess it has allot to do with how much I love the band, but it is without a doubt the best live music experience I have ever had. We had seats in row J, and I can say that I was standing and throwing my arms around all show (except when roasting a doobie!). Incredible. It blew my expectations right out of the water. The two lads in in the row in front of me were as into it as I was, we were in that connected by music zone- awesome. The security was a bit harsh, some guard came across and yelled at my mate for taking video, he was so fucking angry, I felt like telling him to fuck off and stop ruining the vibe, but knew what that would result it. Got over it quick as though, back into the music, foot stomping and arms flailing.

When they burst into Aenima was the highlight for me. Everyone singing along, on the same wavelength, awesome. And I love how sarcastic Maynard is when saying that the gig was dandy. It's almost as if he is humble about what the band has given people. The huddle at the end was the greatest ending to a show I've seen ever. They are about the four of them, being together making music, and if people can relate to it and enjoy it, great but not necessary.

Absolutely incredible, glad whoever else was there shared it with me.

the
01-31-2007, 08:42 PM
I don't get why people didn't just sit down, which is what you're supposed to do at SMMB.

i was right at the front of the GA section, and the barrier wasn't see through, thus i had to stand up. and since i had to stand up the people behind me had to stand up as well, and so on ...

vilemerchant
01-31-2007, 09:02 PM
Another note......why is everyone complaining about not being able to see??? If you were in general admission at a venue like Rod Laver or Festival Hall, you can't see anyway! I was in general at Festival and I could hardly see though the 6-foot-everything guys around me! Being 5'9", I generally have issues seeing the band at gigs - it's the experience. It's feeling the bass, the drums, the guitar and the vocals when you are at a gig!

You can see FAR more in GA at Rod Laver if the GA goes right to the front like it has before. If the stage is higher than you you can't not see once you get within a reasonable distance from the stage.

SMMB was unique in that even tall people could often see NOTHING AT ALL. I went to some sort of festival there maybe 8 years ago (can't remember what the hell it was) and it worked great because the GA area went right to the front of the stage - ie/ the bulk of the ppl in GA were looking UP at the stage - but if you're trying to look down at a stage that is lower than the ppl at the front like it was on the hill there's literally no chance.

white horse
01-31-2007, 09:07 PM
Maynard = Lil John ??



hah yeah I caught that.

the gardens there are bloody confusing at night, i remember going to Moonlight Cinema and somehow getting lost.

sauron017
01-31-2007, 09:50 PM
First time ever seeing TOOL live, and they definately put on a flawless performance. I have never seen a band who reproduce their sound live with such flawless surgical precision. They hit it perfectly in all the right spots. Opening with Stinkfist was a fantastic choice, you could feel the world lurch as the first heavy notes were struck. The Wings/10,000 Days combo i think was the defining moment of the show, the setting they were in and the laser show really leant itself to such an atmospheric couple of songs. Having said all that though, i think you could have fared better by having seating, or just being closer. the sound didnt seem to really penetrate you like it should have, and the crowd where i was, on the hill, didnt seem to ever fully get into it. But having said that, i thought they were great!

p.s. Do all TOOL shows only go for an hour and a half? i thought it was a bit brief. What do you guys think?

twistandshout
01-31-2007, 10:26 PM
Well that was the best live show Ive seen since the last time i saw Tool at the Tennis Centre.
The sound was awesome and the band were tighter than a pair of mermaid’s pants.

In the past ive heard alot of people complain that Tool play a very similar set list most places they play. I believe that the complexities of the music require so much precision and timing, that it takes a very long time to master, what I heard last night were the fruits of their efforts and It was amazing.
I did however think Maynard vocals was a bit flat at times but I suppose when you play that many gigs its very hard to keep your voice tip top on a consistent basis.
Im also very grateful I got seating, but I think when they tour in November that the Tennis Centre might be a fairer venue for them to play.

Becky
01-31-2007, 10:56 PM
I thought it was fucking amazing.

I was the first one into the whole venue, so although I was originally disappointed at getting only a silver ticket, I got a spot right in the middle right against the barrier. The view was perfect for the lighting, perfect for sound, every thing was just amazing.

And I had a few awesome people around me too which enhanced my experience. I wasn't 'squished', i was perfectly comfortable, and very happy with the show, although I felt it seemed too short, and that we missed out on some songs that would have been great to get.

I thought the guy on the roof was stupid and annoying, I only looked up a couple of times but I felt like it still look away from the experience I could have had during wings.

chaos95, were you in the middle of the lawn? seeing you were a metre back I might have spoken to you/seen you...

Alfonz
01-31-2007, 11:33 PM
This was my 3rd tool show 2 from the Lateralus tour & 1 from last night. Awesome show. I have uploaded some photos from the show.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/concertphotos/

Dragon_Lady
02-01-2007, 12:30 AM
Awesome show, but i'm glad i went to the Sydney concert to see all the lighting effects coz i couldn't see shit (sucks being 5'4").

A big 'L' goes out to the fuck wit who climed the top of the music bowl.

As i said before, awesome show, but i think Maynard's voice was straining a bit at the start... to be expected, 6th show they've done in about 2 weeks.

nathe
02-01-2007, 12:35 AM
i got into tool mid 03, so this is the first chance i got to see them.

WOW.

i was pretty pissed off when i missed out on tickets (my friend got through, and was about to confirm when his phone cut out). but i managed to buy one at the gig (and not from a scalper too).

best gig i've ever been to.

i was a fair way back in GA, but i managed to get a decent view. i found myself staring at them open mouthed, just mesmerised in the middle of the set...esp during wings, so much that i didnt notice the guy on the roof.

highlight was def lateralus, being my favourite tool song, but i woulda like to see some undertow stuff, like 4 degrees, or swamp song. oh well...

awesome night
awesome sound
awesome visuals
awesome

Ferkensterker
02-01-2007, 01:10 AM
Awesome show once again!

I can't wait til they come back at years end and PLEASE dont let it be at the music bowl again, the venue is shyte! For the lucky people who got seating tickets or who could actually get into town early enough to avoid the 2km long line to get in, I'm sure your view and aural experience was sensational. But for those who couldnt do the above, standing so far back, on a slope that was not designed to be stood on, unable to see, freezing cold and having a slightly distorted sound, things could have been a WHOLE lot better.

Still, it was Tool, and I was just lucky to be there at all.

The fuckwit who climbed the roof, you should have jumped, save people from wasting their time looking at you and taking their focus off of the music. As my mate said to people around us 'shut up about the guy on the roof, in case you haven't noticed, theres a Tool gig on in front of us.'

And if people want to sing along, why not? They've paid their $100 just like you. It just means they are enjopying themselves, and thats what its all about.

mistertim
02-01-2007, 01:42 AM
Pour moi, 4th time. A teensy bit of a let down (compared to the first
two times I saw them which included Prison, Pushit, 4 degrees, Undertow,
Flood, etc etc). BDO actually I thought was a better list. Lost
Keys/Rosetta was 15 minutes I do not ever want to re-live. Seriously, in
that time which is around 15 minutes, we could have had Pushit plus
another song perhaps Intolerance, Prison Sex, Crawl Away, Undertow, 4
degrees, Flood, H, Eulogy, the list goes on...Opiate?

I'm not quite sure the shows are the same without the dirty, heavy songs
prevalent on Undertow and Opiate. Sweat or Hush or Cold and Ugly would
be nice for a change - this is what made the BDO so good, Swamp Song and
Sober. Sure, people will say, "but fk, man, it's Tool!!!!!", but I
think it pays to remember these guys are a rock band and are putting on
a show and we shouldn't just be blind to objectivity because "it's Tool
man,m farkkkkk!!!!oneoneshift1111".

Although the drum bit in Schism is very good, I've now heard this song 4
times, and I personally think it needs a break (again, that's just my
opinion). Same goes for Stink, 46&2, Lateralus and Aenima...I wonder if
the band performing songs like Wings 1&2 and Lateralus take a little bit
of the meaning from them, both for the audience and band members (given
that these songs seem to mean a lot to people) - are they diminished in
importance for the band, in performing them all the time - do they
become pedestrian? (This is not a statement but a question). This is
what causes me to say it might be time to trot some left field choices
out - No Quarter would be good, I'm really keen to hear Third Eye (my
equal fave with Pushit), Hooker, H, Eulogy, Pushit, Crawl Away, Cold &
Ugly, Sweat, Hush etc etc. Third Eye would just be excellent and I think
The Patient works really well live, as does The Grudge (Flood/Grudge
opener is choice bro ay).

The two openers were very, very good, but after that, the atmosphere
seemed a tad subdued...? I was surprised by Jambi, it was good, although
I think the visuals (although part of the show) perhaps artificially
mask any inadequacies in the actual song? I loved the visuals and
"stage show" element, I think it's amazing work from Adam (and I think
Carmella?).

Personally, and this is just my opinion, the sound was pretty good, the
atmosphere was good, too many black Tool tshirts (that's a joke), I
thought the band was tight (I do not expect perfection in a live
performance ever, live = organic and natural). Yes there were venue
logistic horrors but that's all part of it. Doesn't seem so important
now.

I did like Wings 1/2, I do really like those two songs together, a lot.
And I was glad to hear them. I think Lateralus is a little pedestrian
now (Maynard seems to be just running through the motions sometimes
which goes to my comment before about diminished importance and
feeling), although I completely understand people who have not seen it
before, or heard it once, being wowed by it - totally understandable.
Apologies if I sound jaded - just saying some more left field choices,
and older stuff would really add and compliment the set...like heavy
start (Flood-Grudge into Sweat/Hush into Eulogy, etc etc), laid back
stuff like Wings in the middle, into a thrashing ending (eg Wings -
Opiate - Aenima - Pushit/Third Eye). We can all dream, I suppose, and
have a dream list.



Don't regret going though, was definitely worth it.

Becky
02-01-2007, 01:48 AM
The fuckwit who climbed the roof, you should have jumped, save people from wasting their time looking at you and taking their focus off of the music. As my mate said to people around us 'shut up about the guy on the roof, in case you haven't noticed, theres a Tool gig on in front of us.'I totally agree.

I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for the security guard talking to me between songs about it (as I was at the very front). People around me were making comments, and all I said was 'Shut up, Tool is playing', and pointed at the stage.

I wasn't interested in one person doing something so stupid considering tool was playing, but I couldn't help but be distracted as I heard a lot of people around me talking about it.

I still can't get over Tool last night. Amazing to say the least.

Happiest day of my life, seriously.

Rubb.
02-01-2007, 01:51 AM
Tip top show. Was pleasantly surprised with the venue, sound was awesome for the most part, and i actually managed to get a good view for the first 9 songs. As soon as Stinkfist started the crowd to my left all pushed forward, leaving a nice open space for me to move into where i could see everything clearly for the majority of the time :).
Highlight for me was wings/10k despite that dickwad on the roof distracting me during it...cunt. Rosetta was prolly the lowlight, due mainly to the fact maynard was really struggling. He pretty much sounded like he was constipated in the mouth through alot of it. Adam massively fucked the second solo in Lateralus, but that was the only mistake that really stood out for the night. I was very pleased with the behaviour of the crowd, i don't believe there was a single dunce near me.
Was a bit worried during stinkfist when the screens weren't working, but that was fixed by jambi so that's all good, and the lightshow was motherfucking uber. Only thing that pissed me off was the lack of posters in the merch tent. I wanted a poster :(

All in all a very satisfying way to lose my tool virginity.

Also, today my mates mate met the band at the airport, and whilst getting danny and justins autographs, he was the victim of an attempted adam jones dacking. Ah, that crazy adam, always showing the fans how much he loves them.

Ardhanarishvara
02-01-2007, 01:56 AM
that was a phenomenal show. the fact that i went to bdo made sidney myer more special. I would've love to have heard disposition/reflection and something off opiate. but still.

How sick was the green visualization when maynard was doing "oh oh oh oh oh" during rosetta stoned?!!!!!!!! It was like a pond of soundwaves rippling outwards!!!! I think the reason the crowd was so quiet is because we were all torn between screaming like crazy and not wanting to interrupt them during songs.

amazing.

H A R R Y M E R K I N
02-01-2007, 02:26 AM
This was my 4th TOOL show, and I think the first thing I noticed was that Maynard really wasn't too into it at all, he seemed to be skipping certain parts of songs or just kind of mumbling his way through parts that required him to really belt it out. I think it's fair enough really, some nights you feel it and others you don't. the set list was great, but the croud were really young and very annoying. Poeple holding Mobile Phones up during the set and blocking the view were terribly annoying, and the MORON who decided to scale the Music Bowl really interupted 10,000 days, a song which when played live really does require the croud to chill out and enjoy the piece as though you are watching a film, this was enhanced as the stage seemed to be shrouded in dry ice and dark projections. I must admit at being a little shocked at how distracted people were by something like that. Anywho, that was my little whinge, all in all I would say it was a good show but not great, and I think they have really improved the whole projection thing as well, and it will be good to see them again in nov/dec.

twistandshout
02-01-2007, 02:56 AM
I loved when the crowd errupted when Nard sang.

" Shake your fists at the gates saying.....

Nous
02-01-2007, 03:06 AM
The roar from the crowd at that point was because of the moron on the roof, though it did fit nicely with the climax of wings. Man i wanted that douche to fall..

Forensick
02-01-2007, 03:34 AM
i have nothing wrong with people singing.... hell.... i think i probably was....
but given the closest speaker to GA is like 50m in front of the barrier, it sucks when you hear people singing LOUDER than the band.... its wrong!
and not becaus ethey were singing, but because the venue was awesome.

and at a normal venue, short people can still move toward the back of the room and see the band...
but shit when a few people back 6' plus people can't see, something is serisouly fucking wrong...

anyband but tool and i'd demand my money back....

tool themselves should be pissed, the venue tarnished an awesome show for those 13k of us that didnt get seats.

Fuk_LRonHubbard
02-01-2007, 03:56 AM
Maynard's voice just isnt what it used to be - i remember the last show at rod laver and when he sang the first two lines of Flood i went coco bananas because his voice was so crisp and clear. The vocal range on 10000 Days isnt anywhere near as strong as the other albums. I think his voice is losing its strength with age unfortunately

This is not to take away from a magnificent show.

Similarly, i remember the first show of the lateralus tours when they did pushit and the climax was sung so well i screamed with joy.

I have never done that before and never done that since

BLISS!

zeltron
02-01-2007, 03:58 AM
I can understand anyone dissapointed or really critical of the show as they usually pull off an imaculate set.. and think about it not very many bands at all can sound AS good or better live, than they do on the album. Especially vocalists but then I couldn't get fucked out AND do gigs 3 times a week and travel, and not have a nervous breakdown or have my body fail me.
So, I empathise and ask those who have a whinge about something as temperamental as the human body to send me a tape of something better and then I'll listen.

I did feel it was was below 100% output from the band.. but I also felt it was well below 100% input from the crowd, no one kept the lighters going when they had one cranking or screaming and going crazy between songs.. not alot more than the non optional clap at expected intervals.

The only time I heard a chant or some crazy energy going was when people were expecting an encore, but it quickly died out when they realised it wasn't going to happen..

Sydney was amazing because of the vibe and love you could feel in the room, everyone just grooving on the music and rocking out, as well as the awesome sound quality which was all encompassing.

Maybe it was partially a case of you get out what you put in?

All in all it was an experience.. unlike shit day out which I will try to block from my memory forever and will never, ever, ever, ever.. EVER.... go to again.

Cheap bastards with their cheap sound systems that kept cutting in and out, don't cut it for any non garage band even though the band (for the most part) were doing all the right things.. it was like having a cd playing in the next room and you swear you can hear something.. but your friend is playing shitty distorted loud techno next door.. so you're not really sure. That and the general population of bdo which I never want to be enclosed by three fences with ever again.

The lack of drinks wasn't so bad for me as I had more than long enough to drink and get a good buzz while I was waiting to get in.. And there was a couple of spliffs going around that were shared when asked (thanks heaps to anyone that donated to the cause!)

Oh and the guy on the roof did have bad timing, but it was amusing just like any random act of stupidity at a gig. Don't know why the fuck he got down before the end though, there was a whole lot of seco waiting that pounced on him and took him down with zeal.

JizzyMcJizz
02-01-2007, 04:11 AM
How sick was the green visualization when maynard was doing "oh oh oh oh oh" during rosetta stoned?!!!!!!!!

Yep fucking awesome all the visuals on that song. Makes you see the true meaning behind the song. I always thought it was just some nutter whos lost his mind, but it's really about an alien abduction???? I'm pretty sure. That was my highlight for the night fa sure.

donrp
02-01-2007, 05:39 AM
Also was it just me or was (-) Ions in the setlist too?????

Yeah, dunno where it slotted into the list though. I took that as a chance to zone out and look around me...

white horse
02-01-2007, 02:38 PM
It's interesting to read the differing opinions of this show. I thought it was great but then I wasn't in the main lawn area, which seems to be where most of the bad experiences were.
I do agree that Nard doesn't seem to be putting 100% effort into his vocals anymore.

ooltay
02-01-2007, 05:06 PM
With all the complaints about Maynards voice, don't you think that they could've sorted that out at the mixing desk? I agree that they weren't as strong as is expected, but should we be giving laying it all on Maynard?

ninwishes
02-01-2007, 08:07 PM
Were some of you people even at this fucking show?

Maynard's voice sounded fantastic!!!

FFS, he's not 25 anymore- the overt need to scream, roar, and prove that they're a "metal" band is long gone.

Yes, there's stuff from Opiate/Undertow I'd give my left leg to hear, but I also appreciate that people grow and that those songs may not be where the band is at these days-whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or whatever.

As for claims of his "attitude" - HUH? Looked to me like he was having fun-and since I was pretty close (Jesus, I could see his friggin' yellow shoelaces), I really think it might just be a prob for those who ended up on the lawn.

Tool have a *lot* more fans than ever before- they spent 2 1/2 years touring Lateralus, and will no doubt spend a similar amount of time with 10,000 Days. If he is trying to conserve his voice, what's WRONG with that?

deppo
02-01-2007, 08:19 PM
I thought his voice was great, I just thought his mic was a bit low at times, and I noticed him signaling to get it turned up during Wings/10,000 days.

kungfuonion
02-01-2007, 08:33 PM
i can imagine how the vibe on the lawn might have been a bit lacking, but everyone in the seats was loving it...

as for maynard not putting in 100%, i think the reality of the situation is that he's not as young as he used to be, he's had recent vocal troubles, and he's had to tone it down so that he can last the duration of an entire show, as well as the entire tour. it's probably why the sets aren't as long as they used to be, and why they stray away from the older material that requires more of a growl. people's voices naturally change with age. look at johnny cash, for instance. i wouldn't take that as an indicator of whether he was enjoying himself or not, he was just his usual self... and people expecting witty banter were always bound to be disappointed.

and i agree with the post a few up from this... he looked like he was having fun. probably hard to see from the lawn.

i have a feeling, and i may be wrong, that the people who complain about the lack of growl in the vocals and the lack of moshing are probably the same people who thought a good choice of support act would have been the butterfly effect or cog. make of that what you will.

white horse
02-01-2007, 09:42 PM
I don't think he sounded bad here, in fact this was the best show in my opinion - at Sydney BDO I thought he sounded pretty vocally tired and croaky for example - but compared to seeing them six months ago last August he's definitely toned it down, and I was surprised given that this leg of the tour is a) fairly short (8 shows here, 4 or so in Japan) and b) occurred after a decent break from touring.

Dragon_Lady
02-02-2007, 01:03 AM
Does anyone know who the support band was? I was on the hill and missed most of what they said.

Rubb.
02-02-2007, 01:31 AM
Shapeshifter.

hitmanharris66
02-02-2007, 01:37 AM
Hi all

Here is a few shots I took from the Myer Music Bowl. The security regarding cameras was the tightest I have ever seen at any concert. But still managed to get a few good ones.
Feel free to email, should you want a copy.
http://stashbox.org/11430/Picture 068.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11431/Picture 069.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11432/Picture 043.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11433/Picture 047.jpg
http://stashbox.org/11434/Picture 048.jpg

mikeyspiral
02-02-2007, 04:16 AM
unfortunately i've gotta say the show for me was very average...I'm only 5/6 and could see buger all on the hill for starters. the band or should i say maynard definately didn't live up to the mind-blowing heights of the lateralus tour... I actually thought the rest of the band were practically perfect. to me it was painfully obvious his heart wasn't in this performance...he didn't seem to even attempt to nail any of the screams/vocal crescendos that sheerly amazed me on the lateralus tour.i thought 10,000 days and Ænema were the only two songs where maynards voice seemed to almost live up to his normal brilliance... i don't know maybe his mic wasn't turned loud enough or they were not using voice enhancing effects or something. Additionally the set list for mine was far too similar to that of the big day out. in the end i think they ended up dumping the bdo's swamp song, the pot and sober in exchange for rosetta stoned and 10,000 Days....bloody disappointing. i thought a treat like eulogy, prison sex, the grudge, opiate, third eye, or no quater might of been on the cards...maybe the band thought there was a high proportion of wankers in the melbourne crowd...i sure did...unfriendly, nuckleheaded and at time aggressive wankers

don't get me wrong they were good but were nowhere near as good as I have come to expect...i guess thats the price you pay for raising the benchmark so high in the first place!

drunk_in_public
02-02-2007, 04:24 AM
the sound was UNFORGIVABLE

nice mix, could hear everything ok. was WAYYYYYYY to quiet.

i was waiting for stinkfist, hearing adams feedback waiting to throw my head into that first kick drum and feel it pounding my chest. sounded like i was listening to it though a cd. My mates could talk to me at normal volume, couldn't really sing along as people could not hear maynard when i did, had a phone call halfway through (the person could hear me clearly) all from 10 metres behind the barrier. <--- WTF!!!. tool as usual were insane. awesome show, will love them forever but the volume was a MAJOR letdown. seen them twice before this at indoor arenas and they were miles better due to the sound. crowd was PLacid as but the sound did seem to pump up a little for the last 3 songs ( which were the best) and the crowd kicked in as well. would have been an awesome gig had it have been louder. Sidney music bowl - next time please dont use the same PA you did for carols by candlelight. apparently gold tickets were mad as tho, it was loud as all hell.

I have been to countless shows indoor and out, quietest one ever. cant feel the vibe if you cant hear the god damn music. will not see tool there ever again unless i get gold and i doubt i will see any band there. I just hope when they come back in december they play at rod laver and smash up the volume.

Maybe that way you wont have to climb onto the top of the roof to hear the band.

Light show was unreal tho, and for all those idiots laying to maynard about his singing, i am a singer and know all too well that you cant be on your game night in night out, especially after 15 years of touring like he has. he was far from his best but still blew me away. if his voice is going its only because he sings harder then almost anyone on the planet. althought maybe he was just sick or something. so choke on one. how about you scream your lungs out 200 nights a year for 15 years, Ill sit on my ass watching tv and wristing off for the same amount of time and then pay you out because you were not up to my standards.

for anyone who says the volume was loud enough ( excluding gold ticket holders) you havent seen many bands live.

peace out

Steedus
02-02-2007, 05:49 AM
anyone figure out maynards mohawk isn't real?
think it's weird?
me either

mahogonycanoe
02-02-2007, 12:01 PM
Now that i have commented on the adelaide BDO tool show, melbourne was a whole different kettle of fish. Great crowd vibe, good atmosphere and the tool performance was amazing. Except for the fucking attention seeking whore who climbed up onto the roof of the sidney myer music bowl ( yes fuckhead, you know who you are. If you had fell, and the show was stopped, i had made the decision in seconds of you getting up there that i was going to kick the shit out of your splattered corpse and then take your wallet. The people chanting "jump" was good for a chuckle though ) This performance was well worth the trip to melbourne, and the crowd was a lot more into it than just the drunken BDO fuckheads. A tool show is exactly that... Tool.

myministry
02-02-2007, 03:55 PM
GOD! what a show defently the best perfermance by Tool and any one for that matter. Rosetta Stoned was defently the high point of the night and the new end to schsim took me some where new thanks guys. To the camera police that bounced our friend out thank you we really needed that resupply of water. ;-)

And yes i Sung............................

nathe
02-02-2007, 04:06 PM
i sung too

and i didnt mosh

shoot me...

i sing because i enjoy the music, and i dont mosh cause its not that type of music. if i wanted to mosh, i'd go to something like prom queen, or trivium, and i do (when i get the money/chance). i'd love to see people try to mosh to schism, or rosetta stoned, or any song with weird timing. i go to tool because its good music, not to jump around.

btw...does anyone have any pics of the guy on the roof?? i'd love to see some

ooltay
02-02-2007, 05:57 PM
While GA had the moron on the roof to deal with, some of us had to contend with a drunken loser who spent most of the show hurling abuse at the band and Maynard.
Why do these people have to go to shows and ruin the night for everyone else?

deep_schismic
02-02-2007, 08:25 PM
So then, my 6th Tool show of the 10,000 Days tours...

I gotta say the venue was pretty damn fantastic, and standin back on the lawn (though 2nd row in the middle was pretty decent indeed) was not as crap as I thought it might initially...really got to appreciate the lasers and all. The shows I saw in Europe last year all had me placed on the floor, and I never got to see them from afar...so yeah. the sound was GREAT...the bass was not overpowering as I had experienced in my last 2 shows in München and Stuttgart, where I could feel it rattle around in my rib cage!

As for the guys themselves, I think maynard sounded much better than he did compared to the last 2 shows I went to...(and thankfully KILLED Lateralus and Vicarious on the night)...Wings/10,000 Days was another highlight...though marred with the idiot who climbed the roof and distracted half the lawn area crowd! I mean it was quite entertaining, but why the fuck did he have to go and ruin the most emotional song of the night...douchebag! Ah well...it was great anyway...the only minor 'complaint': they played 1 less song than they usually do...like somethin from Undertow or Opiate is usually played, or the Pot...so yeah...

can't wait till they return next summer! And hopefully it'll be back at Rod Laver Arena or some other Ticketek operated venue so we can avoid Ticketmaster's debacle again!

Torpid_Prey
02-02-2007, 08:50 PM
First tool concert. I know I've been a fan well long enough to see most other concerts, but money is no longer an issue :) I would kill to have seen Pushit or 3rd Eye live however. Hopefully next time... do you really think they will come back Nov/Dec? I heard they were not impressed by the BDO crowd. Lucky i wasnt there.

Was I the only person who bought a $40 Tool cap?

paqman
02-04-2007, 01:16 AM
it's all been said, it was a great set, one song short of the sydney ent. gig without swamp song, but a little better than the two bdo's because of wings/rosetta. only just though, because i was more comfortable for the two sideshows, the big day outs were rad becuase i could sufficiently 'rock' out while not being pushed around (towards the back of the D both times)


i've seen tool about an average of once a week this year think i can keep it up?!



piece.

louise_duo
02-04-2007, 01:50 AM
I enjoyed this show a heap, I was really squashed second row silver ticket, but I could just stand there and enjoy the music (and actually hear maynard sing unlike BDO.)

And if that guy who elbowed me in the head and apologised later on in the night reads this, it's ok, I had worse at the BDO.

Elgyn
02-04-2007, 03:35 AM
I made this little animation from two photos I took on my phone. I was holding it above my head, but this is pretty close to the view I got of the stage, and I was one of the taller people at the gig. I don't remember what song was playing when the lasers were going off, but they were cool. I haven't seen many photos from GA, but one of mine turned out kind of ok.

Before / After (http://www.clinch.com.au/music/)

^Check it out... It trips me out to watch it, not to mention brings back memories of a great day / night.

dirtyepic
02-04-2007, 05:36 AM
I made this little animation from two photos I took on my phone. I was holding it above my head, but this is pretty close to the view I got of the stage, and I was one of the taller people at the gig. I don't remember what song was playing when the lasers were going off, but they were cool. I haven't seen many photos from GA, but one of mine turned out kind of ok.

Before / After (http://www.clinch.com.au/music/)

^Check it out... It trips me out to watch it, not to mention brings back memories of a great day / night.

very fucking cool good work

Tool were awesome, i had a really good time! although that fuckin cunt on the roof distracted me during 10,000 days (the part we all know), but really who knows, even though the dude was fucking around and having a good time, it's not hard for him to slip, and i'm sure he was intoxicated to a pretty stupid fucking level, i thought/hoped maynard was going to say something after the song...i just love hearing the guy talk (it's down to such a minimum)

Also during rosetta stoned some guy from SYN fm came up to me n my mate and started giving us information about the station (numbers/mobile)....my stupid mate got stuck in a conversation with him and were annoying the people around us...the dude was annoying, i was thankful he went...but straight on to annoy some other unlucky people to be trapped in a conversation with him...

This was definently better than BDO...even though we missed out on one song (i would have liked to hear swamp song again)...although my BDO experience wasn't bad, it was pretty laxed (close to the D barrier as well) this setting was far better and the lawn IMO worked pretty well, i was suprised with the good view of the band i got..even my gf who is smaller than me got a pretty decent view

this concert felt a lot more natural and was better than the roger waters concert i saw the next night. Can't wait til' november/december....i hope they add 1 pushit, 1 eulogy and 1 D/R/T to the setlist....

paragon
02-04-2007, 09:17 PM
In my boredom today I took photos of all my tool merch (half of which I got at the Melbourne show) and did a half-arsed job of photoshoping them all into one photo. (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/silentparagon/Eve-Tool-Merch-all.jpg)

deep_schismic
02-05-2007, 04:40 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/one_schism/myspace/tool-myermusicbowl-poster.jpg

chaos95
02-05-2007, 02:43 PM
Hi Becky! Sorry for the lateness of my reply; busy busy couple of weeks. I was towards the right side of the lawn, just about in line with the right-hand support pylon of the canopy. Unfortunately, that placed me fairly close to where the guy on the roof was flailing about :S

white horse
02-05-2007, 03:41 PM
http://flickr.com/photos/conrad_korten/ found some there.

that poster is indeed awesome.

and yes i'll be at some of those NIN shows, time to put my spiral membership to use.

white horse
02-06-2007, 06:21 PM
Just thought I'd sneak this in before this thread gets locked

http://www.beat.com.au/review.php?id=511


Tool
Myer Music Bowl

Let’s get something straight. It hurts to write this.

Tool are one of my fave bands, 10,000 Days my album of 2006, and like many, I was highfiving my mates for weeks in the lead-up to this show. Tool. The Myer Music Bowl. Gold tickets. I was pumped. And no doubt, so too were the line of 11,500 black Tool t-shirts that circumvented the Tan, all queuing patiently to get in.

So how was it? How was the gig of the year, by the best band in the world?

Disappointing, is one word. Underwhelming, is the other.

For a start, what’s Maynard’s problem? Have people been telling him he’s God for so long now he’s started to believe it, or is it an acute case of little-man syndrome? Must be. Even after witnessing his dismissive superior air at the Big Day Out performance, and knowing his reputation for being ‘difficult’, still nothing prepared me for his refusal to engage with a devoted audience, his lack of communication, and the fact he comes across like an complete arrogant wanker onstage. Where was the energy? The presence? The charisma from their frontman? Weren’t Tool here to give us something back?

“Waddup?” sneers the singer to the 11,500 Tool fans who have payed over $100 (and let’s be honest, many paid a lot more on eBay) to see his band, as the four of them take the stage. Waddup, you say?

And so it goes. This middle-aged pot-bellied scrawny little man, with his cowboy hat and scraggly Mohawk, puts on the most introverted half-hearted performance I have ever seen from a band of their stature. Indeed, the term ‘frontman’, does not even apply in his case. His stage show limited itself to flailing like some drunken goblin whilst silhouetted against the picture screens, and sometimes singing. How well he sang exactly is debatable, his voice so buried in the guitar-heavy mix. And yes, Tool are a band where the vocals are lower in the mix than your conventional act. Regardless, for most of the show his voice was inaudible. When it was meant to soar, it didn’t, and so the crowd carried the tune for him.

Nonetheless, the gig had its moments. This is Tool, after all, so even if they were just going through the motions, no other band in the world even comes close to what they do. The band was tight, the sound monolithic, the playing above reproach. You could argue it was all worth it just to see drummer Danny Carey play. The man is an octopus. The virtuoso of percussion. Likewise, Justin Chancellor seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, dropping his shoulder into the muscular basslines that give spine to Tool’s polyrhythmic songs, and while guitarist Adam Jones simply stood with a glazed expression for the entire show, he nonetheless executed every riff to perfection. Sledgehammer renditions of Jambi, with its spine-tingling talk-box solo, and Vicarious were truly awesome to witness live. However perfunctory the performances, Tool will always do enough to raise the hairs on the back of your arms.

But now to my other main quibble. The setlist! Sure, it was great to hear Stinkfist and 46&2 from Aenema, and as expected Parabola and the title track from Lateralus… but that was it! Apart from the dubious inclusion of an overly long Rosetta Stoned (arguably 10,000 Days’ most tuneless track), we were treated to boring interludes, and over 20 minutes of the dirge-like Wings For Marie I & II. Okay, okay, to the diehards who want to say this was ‘dynamics’ and part of the band’s psychedelic manifesto, you’re kidding yourselves. Did you come for a rock show, or to watch the outline of Maynard huddled over a keyboard warbling Tibetan cantors while the band tinker minimal atmospherics? To add insult to injury, the four of them abandoned their instruments for another five minutes and went and sat down on the drum riser to allow the crowd to bask them in lighter-held-high glory. What the fuck was that? The assembled Tool Army came for the songs, the anthems, a fucking concert! Not this self-indulgent dribble. And where the hell was the The Grudge? Or Ticks&Leeches? Even The Pot – undoubtedly the pick off the new album, a song clearly everyone wanted to hear, a song that Maynard refused to play in Sydney, a song begrudgingly trotted out at the Melbourne Big Day Out – was not played. These and many, many more of Tool’s great songs were simply ignored.

I suspect many of us have been guilty of looking at Tool through rose-coloured 3D glasses for too long. For those who allowed themselves to be stung for a $45 t-shirt prior the show, I bet you’re kicking yourself now. The roar of the crowd that followed the band’s group huddle at the end of their show was equal parts incredulousness as it was appreciation. Surely that can’t be it, seemed to be the consensus. They say every great band should leave you wanting more, but in this case a fair proportion of the crowd would have left feeling short-changed. Sorry, fellas, but a pretty laser show and some picture screens alone don’t make a great gig. Let’s hope when you return in November/December, you’ll give the fans what they want.

Oh, and thank you, Maynard. It’s now clear how the band arrived at their name.

NICK SNELLING

Does Nick lurk or post here? Interesting that he echoes what a lot have said on tn.
Also FWIW InPress gave this show an excellent review.

deuceman
02-06-2007, 06:59 PM
Does Nick lurk or post here? Interesting that he echoes what a lot have said on tn.
Also FWIW InPress gave this show an excellent review.

I think he echoes what a lot of us felt about some of the performances. Which prolly just means he loves this band and feels gutted that they (or Maynard, or whatever) under-delivered....

I have to say I wasn't overly impressed with their setlist for this and other shows. Stinkfist? Again? Schism? Not even one of their standout songs (IMHO, and I know I'm not alone in that). Rosetta Stoned doesn't do it for me live. Take those aforementioned songs out and they could have played 4 or 5 others, like

The Pot (I still cannot come to terms with the fact this song was not played at most of the shows. Simply does not make any FUCKING sense to me).
Sober
The Patient (maybe?)
Right in Two (maybe?)
Eulogy or The Grudge

Ended up being more like a Tool's Greatest Hits!! (exclamation points thoroughly intentional, to put the point across how cheesy and awful Greatest Hits albums are).

Great for "new' fans or fans they are still trying to win over. But for the devoted and loyal followers, just not the best songs available.

As far as Maynard goes, I saw him at Perth BDO few nights back and as per my review of that show, I really thought he pulled finger, came down to Earth with the rest of us mortals, and gave 100%. The sound was poor due mainly to wind and maybe some mixing issues, and his vocals were affected more than the instruments because of this, but he definitely sang every lyric, didn't hold back on the challenging vocal shouts, etc, and I thought he danced around and performed well. Maybe he was faking it, but who cares? He was convincing and that's all that is required. After all, that's what defines a great actor.

white horse
02-06-2007, 07:09 PM
Perth was the last show in Oz, perhaps that had something to do with it?

Personally I'm happy not to hear Sober. Prison Sex would be better.

I still maintain this was the best show of the four that i saw though.

Blaise
02-06-2007, 07:11 PM
Thanks for the link, white horse. Yeah, it pained me as well. I was beside myself with anticipation for weeks leading up to this show. On the day, I had butterflies in my stomach and couldn't wait to get out of this fucking office.

But yeah, I could not help but feel like I'd missed out on something. Still, I will be seeing them again at the end of the year. Everyone has their off days...