2007/06/15 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival

[paraflux]

setlist being relayed to me via brightwell, as it happens

Jambi
Stinkfist
The Pot
46&2
Schism (extended)
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Wings For Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus - with Tom Morello (http://www.dimwell.net/roo/tool_-_lateralus_(with_tom_morello)_-_live_at_bonnaroo_2007_(unedited)_-_brightwell.mp3)
Vicarious
Aenema


DO NOT POST IF YOU WERE NOT AT THE SHOW

If you have a review of the show, post it. Back and forth bitching at each other will be deleted along with everything else that is not a show review.

Any other questions? Look here (http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=82257).

[Stoned Immaculate]

TOM MORELLO!! AENEMA!! I'm still @ the fest in one of the computer tents so as soon as I get home I will post my actual review.

Maynard was really funny...awesome fucking show...

[etaipo]

Tom Morello and Tool jammed out at Bonnaroo. It was awesome. (Full review later.)

[O.G.T.92]

The 6/16 setlist if anyone is trying to find it here was:

Jambi
Stinkfist (Ext.)
46&2
Schism (Ext.)
Right in two
Lost Keys/ Rosetta Stoned
Wings 1 & 2
Lateralus (Ext. w/ melt banana)
Vicarious

I'm not completely sure about the order. No big surprises. Will contribute a review when link is corrected.

[bennytude]

Soul-igniting show. 8th occasion of experiencing tool's grandeur since 1998. Every time I see the band, it's a huge occasion for me, but it's amazing to witness an occasion that is obviously big for the boys in the band. They poured it out of their hearts into the air/aire like a great portal in the sky had opened and rained down ass-kicking psychedelic love on the thoroughly assorted crowd of people who all seemed to share an intense appreciation and high level of intoxication.

Amazing to witness Tom Morello on stage with tool. Music history has been made. He even played one of Adam's Silverburst Les Pauls! Tom returned for hugs with the band after the amazing version of Aenema. Maynard altered the lyrics to, "Don't just call me pessimist, try..." He thanked the crowd for enduring their "cynical attitudes." MJK also taunted the parched masses with tales of his shower earlier in the day inside his air-conditioned trailer which featured soap. Later in the set, he inquired how many of us were "high on the marijuana? and high on the LSD?" "The next song is about you," he said to those who responded, and then they launched into Rosetta Stoned.

Most amazing version of Flood ever witnessed. Most amazing version of every song for that matter. Danny was especially ferocious and rewired many of his thunderous incantations on the fly.

The crowd was thanked profusely at the end, and told to look forward to "the Police on Saturday"(who rocked very much).

Several of previous reviews are entirely inane, by the way. Hear the force of my words and ignore detractors.

Praise life and tool, and thanks boys.
Benny

[Chris_Brightwell]

Awesome show. I'll post more later.

[Silence04]

Unbelievable! Best show i've ever seen in my life, no joke! 20 out of 10 stars, this show was worth the price of the ticket and the ungodly heat...
Anyone that didn't go, really missed a life time experience of Tool and Bonnaroo!!!


LIGHTS AND LASERS:
The lights and lasers were completely different from any other tool show i've been to this tour. the lasers had new colors, lots of shades of Yellow/Blue/Teal/Purple/Magenta/Pink/Red/Green instead of the typical Green/pink/blue. They also took the lasers that would normally be projected from the back of a area (around the mixing boards) and placed them at the front of the stage angled up towards the white Bonnaroo stage top creating way more intricate laser designs then ever before (especially during Lateralus). And to add to that, the whole freaking farm/field was dusty as hell, which helped the lasers glow super bright and project for miles. my camping neighbor didn't go but said when they performed, lasers completely filled the sky as far as the eye could see, he was kicking himself in the ass for not going after seeing that!

I also noticed at the top of the stage, there were tiny red and green laser being moved around rapidly and randomly on the white tapestry, i thought it was a new laser design they programed in... But when i saw the Flaming Lips the night after, i realized that those lasers were laser pens that were handed out to the crowd for them to project at the top of the stage... really wild shit...


THE BAND:
Rocked the place, didn't miss a lick. Maynard even changed the rhythm of the vocals in many songs such as stinkfist, 46&2, wings1&2, making them much more melodic in some areas...
and same with the rest of the band, there were a lot of change ups, mostly with the fills that lead up to certain parts of songs.
and TOM MORELLO!!!! my god, it was so sick!!!!!

Maynard was really one on one with the crowd, i don't know if that's cause i was tripping my face off or what, but he seemed to talk to the crowd more than any other tool shows i've been to combined, talking between almost every song.

when the band walked on stage Maynard said "I smell patchouli" then they went right into jambi.

Before stinkfist, Maynard Said "I took a shower this morning and hung out in my Bus with A/C, jealous?"

after stinkfist, maynard said "this next song is dedicated to the Reverend David Cross" then they played The Pot.

After Schism he said "So i take it all of you are high...*pause* and on LSD? This next song is for you" then Adam instantly started playing Rosetta Stoned... Maynard emphasized certain parts of the lyrics, almost messing with everyone one that was tripping... "YOU!!!.....*pause* are the chosen one.... YOU!!! *pause* are the one to deliver the message"

After Rosetta Stoned, Maynard said "this next song is a couple years old, from back in '96" and then they played FLOOD!!!!

before Laturalus, Maynard thanked the crowd and bonnaroo told everyone to have a good weekend. In the middle of danny's drum solo, maynard says "introducing the great, the only, TOM MORELLO!!!!" and tom played the sickest solo ever for Laturalus!!!!!!

then after Laturalus Maynard said, "everyone have a good night, this is our last one. The Police tomorrow night, Damn Fine. Have a good weekend" and went into Vicarious...

after Vicarious they pause for a long time, making it seem like they were done, then Maynard walks up to the mic and says "Thank you, everyone have a good week end... HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY" right into AENEMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then Tom Morello came back on stage and they all huged and then thanked the crowd... maynard said "Thank you for putting up with our cynical attitudes"


THE CROWD:
the main stage area was packed to the brim, 80k people AT LEAST, everyone screeming at the top of there lungs, even at the back. It was like you where in the middle of a giant trip fest, everyone was either high, tripping or rolling. Glowing sticks, balls, wires, flashing lights, etc. were moving around everywhere... when they played Jambi, after the part when maynard sings "dim my eyes if they should compromise our fulcrum, if want and need divide me then i might as well be gone..." a giant group of people trough tons and tons Yellow and Orange Glow sticks up into the air... after that glowing things were being thrown everywhere constantly for the rest of the show... out of this world experience...


THE SOUND:
Crisp and clear, better than the albums!!! HUGE props to the programers for Bonnaroo! This entire festival had better sound than any concert or festival i've ever been to. They even setup multiple speaker system pods throughout the crowd area so everyone could hear it as if they were right up front!


CONCLUSION:
Best Performance of my life, best Bonnaroo of my life. Tool was the highlight of Bonnaroo this year, blew The Police away IMO. The band really made this a more unique concert than any of there other show. Lasers and lights were dead on, amazing in fact, a lot more dense and wider array colors, projected further than your eyes could see. Crowd was going nuts, even the 'mature' Police fans were loving it! The sound was superb. The experience has change my life forever...

The only thing i hate is that it's over... see you next year Bonnaroo!!!

[stevejols]

Great show. Possibly best musically of the three I saw on 10000 days tour. Manyard did talk.

During enima (aenima title track did i spell that right?) it was:

"fuck all you HIPPIES, and fuck your short memories"

crowd vibe during rossetta stoned was dead on, so many people were tripping so... lot of freaked out spectators some booking it out of tool for that song.

visuals were not as good because they didn't have that whole visuals on the stage thing (since you couldn't see them anyways).

Hats off to flaming lips (which i'm not HUGE on) to best visual show. Their lights became a UFO... seriously

other good bands at B-ROO-

Ween - never seen them before but they are ridiculous

Mago- Medeski and Martin playing in an air-conditioned tent that served good I.P.A. with tables playing for about 200 people. Really great

[RKramer973]

My first Tool show, at my first Bonnaroo. This was an absolutely amazing first experience, and in my opinion, Tool was the best show at the festival (a close second being Aesop Rock, El-P, and DJ Shadow). I've listened to Tool for so long now and have yet to see them live, but I've fallen in love with them again after this experience. Jambi, Vicarious, and Rosetta Stoned, all of which I've enjoyed on the record, were AMAZING live, and I have a new outlook on them. Wings 1+ 2 was absolutely beautiful, bringing chills to my spine. It was a pleasure to hear 46&2 and of course Lateralus with Tom Morello! The entire show was fucking incredible, that's all I can think to say. Ænema too! I thought the show was over after Vicarious, then MJK says"hope you have a good weekend....." and they launch into Ænema!! A few MJK quotes...he was rather talkative.
"I smell patchouli!" - right before launching into Jambi
"I took a shower today, at my air conditioned tent, with soap. Jealous?"
"So I take it you guys guys are pretty far along on your LSD trips?-crowd cheers-"Well you're all under arrest."
At the end of the show, he thanked us many times, and said that he hoped we would have a good time, and thanks for putting up with out cynical attiitudes. Then Danny and Adam threw some sticks, and drum heads, and waved, and then they were gone. A great show, around 2 hours i believe, without a break.
Thanks to everyone that was there, I hoped everyone enjoyed the show as much as I did, Thanks so much Tool. The presentation of your music was above all other musicians there that weekend, and I've fallen in love again.

[Stoned Immaculate]

Okay so i'm back home now, I arrived around minight last night. Still overcome by Friday night...

I went up to Tennesse with about 6-7 of my friends so it was a guaranteed good time. I was hellbent on getting a good seat for Tool, so we were there almost two hours before the show was slated to start. Also, I had eaten an eighth of mushrooms just a few hours prior. I figured since I saw the band in Florida while completly sober and in the 1st row, I should try for a different experience. We settled a little bit left of the control tower thing and started talking to some really cool people. One of them was a friendly bearded man named Russ and we smoked a good amount of bowls & joints together while talking about Tool and other good music. At this point they were soundchecking the instruments - and Adam's guitar was fucking brutal...it sounded so goddamn good. As mentioned previously, kudos to the sound tech people - the entire festival sounded amazing. No complaints there.

After smoking all that weed I started really tripping hard. You know how it is @ shows or festivals especially - the harcore fans get there real early to get good seats and then the masses show up trying to get close and they walk through you...it's all very annoying. Our group used the "starfish" method to try and keep the people away from us haha. Soon everyone was standing but it was too much for me to handle @ that point, so I stayed low. The ground turned into a disco dance floor, so that cheered me up.

After I could build up enough stength to resurface there were these really fucking annoying drunken teenagers not too far away. I was like "Oh god, no. Not this show." But I couldn't really move since there were so many people, and I hate being that annoying person that cuts through people. Finally, the house lights went down and the crowd went wild...

"I smell patchouli."

FUCKING STRAIGHT INTO JAMBI. Maynard was pretty crazy the whole show; he never had his back to the crowd and was dancing quite a bit. The stage also had two huge monitors on either side - so those were projecting all of the weird imagery/video art associated with Tool (but not the same as the screens behind the band). The orange during Jambi made my mind wander and suddenly Maynard became Satan. Also, throughout the show I had convinced myself that Tool was jamming since they were @ Bonnaroo. Everything sounded so different to my ears...unexpected, you know? I knew all the songs they played yet I was totally surprised with sections during certain songs.

A few songs into it I decided to move forward because those drunken kids were freaking me out. And then something really fucking weird happend. Earlier in the show Russ and his buddy had decided to move for the same reason so I was kinda bummed because it would have been really awesome to see Tool with them. Crazy thing is, I found a good spot within this huge crowd...and I found them again. That really fucking messed with my brain, but it was awesome. Throughout the show we all exchanged "tool is unbelievable" facial expressions.

During 46 & 2 some chica in front of me fainted (probably drug induced) and all her friends were screaming their faces off for a medic. That was scary, I thought she had died...but at the same time I was like...why does this have to happen at a Tool show, let alone a legendary one like this. But she was fine eventually. It actually in a way intensified the song for me...

Rosetta Stoned...my god...I thought it was amazing when I saw them in Florida...but this was just overwhelming. Maynard did the screams and everything. Did I mention the lasers? As someone said previously, there was so much dust (and smoke, haha) that the lasers were incredible..."when a flaming stealth banana split the sky" and the song just made so much more sense considering the venue (lots o' hippies on LSD).

Flood. What is there to say? I didn't even really understand what was going on at that point. I thought they were jamming. I was completly consumed by the music; I had let myself go, I wanted Tool to feed off of my energy and do something amazing with it. Mission accomplished.

Wings seemed kinda "eh" ... considering they had just played Flood. The whole buildup made so much more sense while tripping, though. So that was highly enjoyable. The crowd didn't seem into it as much as the other songs.

And of course...Lateralus. As if it wasn't amazing enough - Tom Morello fucking killed it with the guitar solo which seemed to go on forever (in a good way). It was really refreshing to hear the guitar being played in his style with Danny backing him. I believe this is where the Alex Grey background showed up...it might have been a few songs earlier, but for some reason it was more apparent during this song. Either way, it looked huge and they had lights projecting different colors onto it. Pretty trippy. Also I think there was a little extension towards the "spiral out" part...because I started singing "spiira...!!" as did many others until we realized that Tool didn't break it down yet. Trickery.

Vicarious was awesome, but I was upset Maynard didn't sing the "vicariousllyyyyy IIIIIIIIII" part again. He said something like "your turn Bonnaroo" and stuck the mic out. That's pretty much the best part of the song so that always has bothered me. Otherwise it was perfect. I knew from previous experience and from reading on here that they usually close with this song, so that was a bummer. Until...

"hey hey hey hey hey...."

I flipped my shit. My mind flashed back how I used this song for a philosophy project not too long ago. It was really interesting seeing all the nice looking hippies sing along with such brutal lyrics; everyone was into it. The "'cause i'm praying for rain.....watch you flush it all away" verse was beautiful. Closing the show with that song was brilliance.

They definitely finished early. I believe they still had 30-35 minutes to fill. But i'm not complaining. It was probably the greatest show i've been to besides Daft Punk (but they are completly different...so I am unsure how to compare) - the vibes, everything...it was just perfect.

The only complaint I have was trying to get out of there after the show. I was still tripping so I thought I was just walking in place, because it seemed like no one was getting anywhere. But eventually I found my way out and lost all of my friends...haha...it's all good though. It took me a bit to get my bearings back.

And if anyone was worrying about if anyone got footage of the show - I saw a guy videotaping the entire thing with a camcorder. There is most certainly tons of footage thats going to be availible within the next few days. Just keep your eyes peeled.


Oh and also --

I was wondering if Russ is a member of this forum, so if you're reading this -- thanks for the great time! Maybe we can go see some more Tool shows in the future, it was a blast.

And I met some guys Saturday morning when I went to go take a shower. I didn't get their names but they said they were from Illinois...we talked about Cochella and Lollapalooza...and Saw haha.

I was the chica with the light blue '06 Bonnaroo shirt and the red/orange Mars Volta baseball style shirt. Also I was wearing a blue bandanna most of the time. So if you talked to someone who fits that description, it was me.

SUCCESS!!

[g0)z111a]

I just got back home after the festival. Prior to the Bonnaroo date, I'd seen the Birmingham and Duluth shows on this tour. Those were both great (especially Duluth) but this made them both seem like dress rehearsals. I have not seen Tool play with as much intensity and energy since probably their initial tour for Aenima. I just got the sense that they had something to prove and were not going to compromise themselves at all for a crowd that was totally not their core audience. Sure they stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the bands, but thank God for that!!! The set list was excellent (Flood -- that's all I have to say) and they must have rented some extra laser rigs because there was light going all over the damn place.

I am so thankful I ponied up the cash to go to this festival because of this one set. If for some reason this is to be the last time I see TOOL live, it'll be one hell of a high note.

[insaner]

well, we didnt get the john paul jones no quarter, but he did at least find the time to make it up to me by stopping by the rv to do a little jamming on the mandolin for about 8 of us sunday morning. nothing like shrooming face and having a member of led zeppelin walk up to the campsite for a little jam. gotta love it!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/toolian/IMG_0506.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/toolian/IMG_0507.jpg


as for tool, flood might have been my greatest concert experience ever. it was cool, they had two sections at the very front of the stage that were gated off, so you just went right down to the very front, and all of the sudden it spit you out to within 20 feet of the stage. and wasnt crowded! great amazing show, best ive ever seen. and believe me, thats saying something.

[Kody27]

"I smell patchouli..."
"Just had a shower....in an air conditioned trailer......jealous?"
"....Tom FUCKIN Morello!" best way to introduce tom morello.
Tom incorporated that little rap scratch sound he does with rage into lateralus, it was pretty much perfect.
"This song is dedicated to Deputy Sheriff David Cross."
Tool + my new love pure molly = Godlike experience.
I love tool.
TOol tool Toooool.

[Obscenename]

I really wanted to hear Third Eye, that would of been amazing, I didn't like Rosetta stoned, other then that it was amazing. Flood made my face melt.

[tooldude]

2nd tool show, 1st bonnaroo....amazing show!, sound was surprisingly good, maynard seemed to be in a good mood, got to hear flood and lateralus with tom morrello..definately will be back next year

[armmar]

Just got back today from my first Bonnaroo...One of the best fucking weekends of my life...Will definitely be going for years to come...Best Tool show I've ever seen

[tomatoms]

green crescent. (crescent fresh)

what an amazing show. amazing. i got kind of pissed when i saw some guy snap 3 flash pictures during wings pt. 1 right after maynard asked politely that they not do it -during that song-. other than that love was all over and around. flood was a great surprise. i wonder if he smelled patchouli or if it was actually.. opium? i predicted maynard would say the things he did. someone told me about the jpj no quarter thing. rolling as i was.. i was like 'if that happens, tears will be shed." I was the tall guy in the left front pit and i was wearing this 'Squeegee your third eye' bill hicks shirt. and a tool hat. adam looked so cute in those pigtails.

other fest highlights:

black angels
tortoise
galactic
ween (shroomingrins)
sts9
feist
nightwatchman
roots
the 'reggae' band that played solar cafe 'til 6:30 am sunday morning (and mon.)
Yard Dog road Show
those chicks at 'somethin' else' (and the pyrotechnics)

im sorry but the flips suck. the reason their show is so crazy with visuals and props is that their music.. sucks. my opinion. it just doesn't do anything for me. it seemed like ppl cheered the most when they got doused in confetti. i did get a laser pointer that was always on, so i put it in the crook of my ear and jammed to galactic, who were amazing.

I hear rodrigo y gabriella was incredible. ima hafta check them out in the future.
unfortunately, i didn't get to see dave cross or mago, but i pretty much made everything else had on the 'must' list. im still a bit jaded from this 4 day experience of awesomeness. man.. those shrooms i took.. it was like a bite size peyote experience. i love how the festival grounds, esp. centeroo, seemed decorated for the tripping patron. i will attend another bonnaroo provided the artist list is as appealing as this year. but even without the music, still an amazing experience, unity and community and culture abound. it's like.. amsterdam comes to america.

my throat is so f'd up.. i got a chest cold on tuesday the 12th that went great with the cigarillos and umpteen doobies i smoked, not to mention the dust. the dust. on monday morning i noticed everyone had the same cough i did on thursday. *cough*hack*wheeze*

[nusense]

fucking amazing show.

though i noticed no one has noted that with the exeption of before 46 + 2, they didn't do ANY of the synth jamming that they've been doing. also, no lost keys.

don't get me wrong though. i'm not bitching. i loved getting that many songs. it just seemed that they left all the stuff out that would've REALLY goosed those hippies (and filled the time slot. i heard alot of festival regulars who weren't tool fans pissed about the 30 min left over. though, tool wasn't the only band to do this, nor did they stop short by the most. plus....how could you bitch? it was bad ass.)

setlist is correct. i think, for once, i remember all the maynardisms verbatim (thank the FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC/crystal clear soundsystem for that!) :

"I smell patchouli"
Jambi
"I took a shower today. Used soap...air conditioned bus. Jealous?"
Stinkfist
The Pot
46 + 2
Schism
"I assume alot of you are smoking the marijuana? On the LSD?............Well you're under arrest! This song is about you people"
Rosetta Stoned
"We're going to go back a few years for this one. Back to 2006 (? i swear this was the year he said. made no sense) This next song is dedicated to Deputy Sheriff David Cross"
Flood (my god, the dragged out intro to this was SICK.)
Wings For Marie (Pt 1)
10000 Days (wings Pt 2)
Lateralus (extended version with "Tom Fucking Morello")
"Thank you, Bonnaroo, for putting up with our cynical attitudes. Good night."
Vicarious
"Have a good weekend........HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY"
Aenima

[Grimgrumthegnome]

(edit: I love tool, I loved the experience. My review is simply that - a review. I don't mean to say that I don't love, and thank, tool.)

Ever since the coachella show last year I was thinking "man, I hope they add some better material to their setlist," and since then there have only been a few additions (i believe the only additions after the first month or two have been the very recent flood and pushit; though there might be one or two others skipping my mind).

I don't want to offend anybody, but I've been waiting for my chance to put in my two cents, and since there's a "don't post if you weren't at the show" rule, this is my first chance to do so.

My biggest question is does the band have no taste in their own music, or are they actually (to quote mjk himself) "sucking up to the man?" Where are all of the best songs? What happened to the grudge, third eye, disposition > reflection, eulogy, h, parabola, triad, etc.? It's just my own opinion that the current setlist is weak, but the point is that no matter what setlist they choose to go with there's a good amount of people that will think it's weak. If you want to please your fans you need to change the show up a little.

Now, to be fair, tool does put a ton of work into their live shows, so it would be impossible to change the setlist as much as many other bands do; but, all the same, after a year + i don't think it's too much to ask for a fresh batch of 10 to 12 different songs (they've got plenty of good ones now; can't they switch it up?)

My biggest complaint about the performance is that tool was scheduled to play from 9:00 until 11:30. When i first saw this i thought "holy shit, a 2 1/2 hour tool show, this is going to be epic"... I figured "they could play the entire setlist that they've been using and still have 45 minutes leftover to do some rarer material." Imagine my disapointment when the band walked off stage at 10:45.

This show wasn't special at all. It was exactly like every other show they've played in the past year +, with such minor exceptions that it's not worth mentioning (except the lateralus which, i must say, was great). The performance was tight and the lights were fucking phenomenal, I just wish the band would put more thought into the music side of being musicians; plus, I lose respect for any musician that doesn't take advantage of having the privelage to play 2 and 1/2 hours at the country's biggest festival (even if they hadn't added any new material to the setlist, they could have still filled in the 45 minutes with pushit, right in two, and one or two of the other couple songs that they've played recently).

P.S. To continue my rant, I will tell you to consider what was mentioned earlier. No synth jamming, no lost keys, no extended schism or stinkfist. They had 45 minutes left to do whatever they wanted, and what did they choose to do? Walk off the stage.

[goldendawn777]

Just got home a bit ago, I'll post a report tomorrow. as in past reviews it will be less a review and more a story that transpired during the course of the show. Till then, be patient.

[tomatoms]

don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
There was an interview with danny where he was talking about playing a more stripped down show for festival gigs, because they don't want to so much 'knock people on their asses.' this may explain the lack of synth jams. however, the shear strength of their performance didn't leave me feeling anything but inspired, uplifted, and spiritually quenched. my 12th tool show. 13 and 14 on the way.

[Grimgrumthegnome]

I loved the show... I loved the experience... that is simply my honest opinion. Even the worst tool show would be amazing. I can honestly say they are my favorite band. I just wanted to state how I felt because this is the place where I can do that. What good is a review board if everyone is simply groveling all the time? I thank the band with the bottom of my heart for the experience, but I think (as talented as they are) that they could do so much more.

(edit: ps. i deleted the opening sentence of my previous post because it was more harsh than i meant it to sound)

[delvec28]

I definitely don't think it would be too much harder for them to throw in three or four more songs into their current setlist to mix it up. I would give my first born to see parabola, disposition/reflection/triad, or third eye live, but unfortunately it doesn't look like they are changing up their setlist this tour.

With that said, I have seen them three times in the past year, and all the shows have been awesome regardless. The all around show was better than any other at Bonnaroo this year, but there was tons of cool music without all the visual stuff.

The highlight for me (other than Tool) was the White Stripes. Jack White is a god and they are the type to change up their shows every night. Then again, I guess it's easy to do that when you only have two people playing, and no real visuals - besides the candy cane colors.

All in all, I saw my two favorite bands, along with many other cool shows including: The Roots, Ben Harper, Wolfmother, Kings of Leon... I just may have to go back next year if they have a lineup half as good as this year's.

[nosuch1]

so the show was the best of the nine ive seen the play by far, all songs before wings were inspired performances with several TRIPPY jaw dropping peaks, changes, and exploitations of the sound system. The tone of adam and jason just reeked of mind fuck, maynard sang in a way i havnt seen since lateralus tour, and danny was pummeling through each song improving for almost all of the sections, and then they played wings,,,,,,,,,,,,,assholes in the crowd must have took pictures for 10 minutes, the moment maynard asked them not too, they just shot off, i thought i noticed several lyrical variations (fuck all you Hippies in anema< And the band seemeed pissed/dissapointed. they cut the show sort i feel, because of the flash photography, several people i know seemed to agree. they stopped jamming , and just played the three normal closing songs, thank god for the tom morello jam, the show was still ridiculously special, but i feel that we missed out on a much higher peak because of the selfishnish, and self obsessiveness of the dicks out there who cant respect one simple wish, i just wish i could give the band my apologies. but to restate, hands down the most impressive artistic performance ive ever witnessed, they rewired my brain, and if i ever get to see them play on a sound /video system of that magnitude
i will do and reccomend doing anything to be there. words cannot explain how good they sounded. thank you for one of the most spiritual moments of my life.

[bobbopperano]

this one will go in the history books

tom fucking morello.

thank god i went to bonnaroo

[ChrisV]

just got back a little while ago. i was about 7 people back from the stage in the front pit. awesome experience down there. i got a few pics (they're tough with no real lights lighting up the band or anything, plus security was nuts about cameras down there. they had a separate security checkin. i had to put my camera in my crotch.) show was great. Tom Morello was fantastic. Flood was a real treat.


here's a couple of the pics.
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/1976/1001019kq8.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8585/1001025bo2.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3557/1001018ij4.jpg
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/1930/1001011he0.jpg

[roomservice]

the flaming lips were 10 times better than tool.

after seeing them 3 times in 2 months, tools show wears thin.

very scripted.

hats off to the FLips for stealing the show from the headliners.

[xyno512]

Lips where great to end the night, but Tool stole Bonnaroo imo. only complaint was that their set ended really early :-(

[Grimgrumthegnome]

as someone who has been to many festivals and spent much time with those who many would call "hippies," I can say that this is the only festival crowd that I have ever seen that wouldn't respect a band's wish to stop taking flash photography. If I were to place bets, I'd say there's an 80% chance that the assholes that continued to take pictures were the same people that were there for tool. There are obvious exceptions, but let's face it; tool fans are usually assholes, and hippies are usually very friendly.

So what I'm saying is if the flash photography is the reason the set was cut short then there is a logical error because it was tool that brought the assholes to the festival - two years ago if that wish had been requested by another band (let's pretend widespread panic said it two years ago) i'm sure it would have been fulfilled; the crowd is getting worse every year and tool headlining brought a bunch of rude people this year.

If tool wants to start improving the crowd (i.e. getting rid of trendy people and assholes) then I suggest they remove stinkfist, aenima, sober, schism, and vicarious from the setlist.

[sniff]

it was my 4th time seeing TOOL and i loved the show, but i can't lie and say i wasn't a little let down. Bonnaroo was a perfect opportunity to mix things up a little bit, do something different from the typical 3 setlists that they normally play. honestly, i think it's pretty shitty of them to have not played "No Quarter" with JPJ in some way, shape or form. i mean, if JPJ can go out and play "No Quarter" with Gov't. Mule, why couldn't it happen with TOOL? but, no, they didn't do that, and they left a half-hour early. no "Third Eye" with the extra half hour that was given to you? no "Pushit?" i don't want to bitch too much, because it was definitely one of the best TOOL shows (and DEFINITELY near the top for the weekend) that i've witnessed ("Flood," "Lateralus" with Morello and the extended version of "Schism" were all terrific) but i do feel like they squandered a golden opportunity to make it a truly historic night.

[GullyFoyle]

Fourth TOOL show off the new album: Chicago for the minitour, Southaven, Birmingham and now BONNAROO!!
I expected the same setlist, so I drank up some fungi tea I made at Rusty Griswald campsite (which was a hellofa walk away). I drank it down with some friends as we came under the arch at the gate.
I must say this was the best TOOL show I have been to, to date. Everything about this venue (the main stage) was big; lights, crowd and HUGE sound with no Blown or crackling speakers. I have never heard anything that loud and clear. The stage lights were very bright and seemed to be pure color, also the lasers seemed to be bigger, brighter and in more different colors than previous shows (I do realize that that may be the fungi talking). The crowd around me was great and I didn't notice any "flash" photography, but I wasn't really looking for it. Tom Morello rocked the fuck out and I would have loved to see JPJ there, since he obviously was trying to play with almost every band there. I'm glad this was the last show I got to see off this album, cause if it were the first I would have been very letdown at the other shows. I can appreciate the fact that they are perfectionists and want to have a perfect show fully synced with the lasers. But there are audio/visual engineers that could easily sync ANY of their songs very easily. Not to mention the fact that there are NO lasers until Wings begins to play. so they could play any unsynced music before wings.
The setlist is the only bitch I have and at the time it didn't matter because of the drugs... all of it seemed very different than the same setlist at the other shows. But I didn't even bother to post a review to the Southaven or Birmingham shows. I would rather have the chance to see the same setlist a few times than no TOOL tour at all. Hopefully before too long they will be back in the studio working on a 2 CD album!!!!

Flaming lips came on about an hour and fifteen minutes early and said they couldn't start until 12, but they were going to do a soundcheck. They played Warpigs and it rocked out. Their show was cool eyecandy that rivaled anyones show I saw. Caught Old Crow Medecine Show and their sound wasn't up loud enough. The SuperJam rocked, as did Galactic, DJ Shadow, Rod and Gab, Gov't Mule, Sasha and Digweed. Honestly I got into everything I saw, even the Police (I know). It was an awesome vibe everywhere. One of my highlights was coming up on a tent with about 200 people dancing and lights and a dj, but you couldn't hear anything. Upon approaching you realize that they all have on wireless headphones and are jamming at "the silent disco" it was cool and funny all at once.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY LINKS OR WHATNOT TO AUDIO OR VIDEO OF TOOL AT BONNAROO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!!

gf

[topheronehalf]

What can I say? This set was simply full of dissapointment for me.

I was introduced to Tool officially when I saw them perform in Prague last summer. At that show they blew me away, it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen (and I had recently watched 2 consecutive nights of Radiohead which had gone so far above and beyond any concert I had been to before). Then I saw them when they played Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass and they had changed the stage set up and added the laser show, but the set list was essentially the same (They had switched sober and right in two out to play 10,000 days). then this year, I got to see pretty much the exact same show in orlando and then in Blatimore, but those times I got Pushit and Flood pretty much out of nowhere.

Then I really got my hopes up for Bonnaroo considering the 2.5 hour set allotted to them.

Now, let me say, it was much more difficult to find the drugs i wanted than I had been told it would be and I merely had a few crappy shrooms with me when i sat down for tool, fortunately a kind hippie chick wandering through the crowd sat down in front of me and asked me if I wanted acid just about a half hour before the show. Bless her heart, it actually made the set somewhat significant for me.

But let's face it, Tool pummeled through the setlist like they were late for an appointment. There was no jamming in between songs and they didn't have an intermission or an encore which they've done every other time I've seen them. Not that I'm a huge fan of intermissions or that break before an encore, but my point is they seemed very much in a hurry to be done with the set. I was really hoping they had something special planned for this show and I saw nothing that I hadn't seen before, most of which I've now seen 5 times be pretty much exactly the same.

Except Tom Morello in Lateralus, that was nothing short of awesome.

As for the flash photography, I would argue that Tool fans are far from the blame there. In Orlando, there was flash photography going on, but when 10,000 days began and Maynard requested they stop for that song, the audience immediately complied. In Baltimore there was no flash photography that I saw at all. It's new, casual fans and people who simply aren't fans but were checking them out since they were the headliners that should be blamed.

I also don't think the band should expect anything less at a show like Bonnaroo. There are so many people, of course a good number of them won't respect you or the music, so don't play a song that you don't want to see disrespected. I guarantee you most of that crowd still has no idea what that sing is about.

To get off the stage 45 minutes early was really lame. To only play songs you've been playing the entire tour is lame. To not jam at all is lame.

Honestly, I think Tool should tour with the Flaming Lips and Radiohead and try to learn something from them. I think for a singular show experience Tool blows each of those bands away, but as for giving their fans something incredible time after time, it almost seems like they don't care and honestly, I'm starting to believe that they really don't.

I have tickets to see them one more time this summer, but I'm looking to that show not as one more awesome show I get to go to (although it very much is), but more of a farewell to a stage of my life that Tool guided me through and a farewell to seeing them live until I have some reason to believe I will get something new from them. Honestly, I'm getting just as much pleasure finding bootleg videos of their shows from Aenima and Lateralus tours.

I can't believe I haven't heard H. yet and they didn't play Third Eye at Bonnaroo.

Flood is fantastic, I'm glad it's back in the show. At the very least they should have thrown more stuff in that they'd played this tour (Pushit, Opiate, Sober, Right in Two, Lost Keys) and filled the 2.5 hours.

Although I still danced my ass off and learned a few things about myself. Disappointing or not, it's still going to church.

P.S. Seriously though, the Police are the most overrated band of the year. Their set was boring. They're just Great Britain's Bon Jovi. Everyone needs to stop wetting themselves over a mediocre band reuniting.

[Grimgrumthegnome]

What can I say? This set was simply full of dissapointment for me. (...)

I agree with you on every point you make. You might be right that tool fans aren't necessarily to blame for the flash photography, but you are definately 100% right that the band should expect that at bonnaroo. If Maynard really thinks his requests are powerful enough to inspire a crowd of 80,000+ to stop taking pictures, then I think he is on an ego trip (to be fair, we don't know that the flash photography really pissed him off that much). I think it's great that you mentioned both radiohead and the flaming lips because I feel exactly the same way. Radiohead played their entire 2 and 1/2 hours last year - it was radiohead's longest show in history (I believe that is correct - I know it was at least the longest of the tour). The flaming lips played ALMOST the full 2 and 1/2 hours this year (the extra time was probably just some "slack" time considering the space ship at the end of the set; they probably didn't know how long that would take). The point to remember is neither of these bands are "jam bands" yet they still managed to make their 2 and 1/2 hour bonnaroo sets unique and remarkable. Radiohead and The Flaming Lips at bonnaroo are easily 2 of the top 5 shows I have EVER seen... the tool set on the other hand might make the top 50.

[hikingartist]

Thanks for the review.
1. I had wanted to see the Police this year, but was put off by the ticket prices. Then it occurred to me, how good are these guys going to be after 20 years apart? Now I know. It is too bad: they are great musicians, but to try and rehash their commercial/punk success of 1984? No can do. They would have been better off playing Andy Summers solo stuff.
2.Regarding TOOL: I know what you mean. They are not the same Tool of old. I just try to approach it from "this is where they are today" and not what they were, and I enjoy the shows just fine. They are better than most bands around & still can create a spark, but no, this is not the Tool of old. Just be thankful if you saw the Untertow, Aenima or Laterlus tours. In retrospect, they look very, very good (For me, especially the show at Red Rocks, when King Crimson opened.) Peace, kerry

[Aire]

It really is astonishing that so many people didnt enjoy the show. Its typical tool to play the same setlist and to only play for 2 hours. Why are all the negative reviews pointing this out....the obvious. Talk about how amazing it was that Tom Morello came out or how perfect the sound was. Maynard loved the crowd (in my honest opinion) he faced us the entire time and talked alot. Tool slayed me.....20 minutes after they went off stage I was still in complete and utter awe of the performance. Look at the previous tour...Lateralus, same setlist most of the time (lots of stuff from Lateralus). Aenima tour, same setlist most of the time (lots of stuff from Aenima). I didnt see anyone ranting on them doing the same setlist on those shows.... some people obviously dont like the 10k days CD and instead of ranting on the show rant on the album. Now this is the 10k days tour and what else would you expect than lots of stuff from 10k days. Jesus people if you wanna be amazed when you see tool play dont go in thinking all of a sudden at this festival they are gonna be doing some off the charts shit because if you know tool well enough you know they wont. Look at the setlist from other festivals on 10k days tour......and look at the bonnaroo one. As you can obviously see we were treated to something special. This show was a 1 of a kind...the Lateralus performance will never ever be performed like that ever again. Think about that for a second then go and rant on the show some more. Im a changed person since this show and i expected tool to be fucking amazing and they were way better than that. This will be the last time I come on this thread to see what people think of the show because reading posts of people says the show was full of disappointment makes me sick. Go ahead and hate on me I dont care.

[Gregmas]

I went to Bonnaroo with the sole intention of seeing Tool. This was a big deal for me since I have a seething hatred for all things hippy. As a 30 year old tool fan, I can say that i have to agree with previous posters on the set list issue.

I was 95% certain that the set list would not vary from previous shows this tour, and that was, of course, the case. Tool is my favorite band, probably for the same reasons as other people who post here. My first live show was in 1993 on the undertow tour. I saw 2 shows that tour, 4 shows on the Aenema tour, 4 shows on the Lateralus tour and 2 shows so far on 10kD. I can say that without exception that on each tour, the setlist has been the same, with only one or two song variations. This is the way it has always been. I know going in that the setlist is going to be the same. Do I wish it was varied every night? Of course. Do I think the songs would be as tight every time if the setlist was varied, probably not. I think Tool plays shows assuming that the majority of fans are only going to see 1 show each tour. You know what? They're right. The hardcore fans like us are the only ones who go to multiple shows each tour. I would guess we account for 5-10% of the overall audience. Would you tailor your live shows for the 10% who will see you again, or the 90% that won't? Playing the same set list allows for an incredible level of musicianship for the selected songs, and that's what matters to the casual concert goer. Tool freaks are gonna go the multiple shows no matter what, and we're still gonna have a great time and enjoy our favorite band. Will we be disappointed? A little. Will we come back anyway because we love Tool? Hell fucking yes.

On a side note, I hate hippies even more after Bonnaroo.

[bobbopperano]

the point of a festival is to introduce new people to your music, while putting on a good show for your fans. i must have seen dozens of people who were converted to tool fans after the show. i actually heard one guy say "that changed my life i want to look up every lyric to every song". i was with a friend who HATES metal, and tool and now loves them after that show. and as far as no "jamming" or extra material, look at that fucking lazer show they put on man. it's such a tightly run show that there isnt much room for added stuff. i think you're all spoliled from going to so many tool shows you expect them to keep raising the bar just for YOU. for anybody who was seeing them for the first time, i think this was mind blowing. tool has never been the sort of band to play for the fans. they play for themselves. this was by far the most special performance of the tour, fucking tom morello came out for christ sake. it seems the ONLY people dissapointed in this show are those who dwell on the boards here. hats of to tool for having such a great stage show and such amazing live material.

EDIT:

Flood was dedicated to David Cross, to my recollection.

EDIT #2:

I just listened to Brightwell's recording of lateralus, and you all have to be fucking kidding me. seriously. i would have been happy if they just played that one song. morellos solo was unbelievable

[unicornpaco]

it was fucking incredible.
2.5 hits of geltab cid and 200mgs of molly.
also best fucking setlist i could have asked for.
combined with san antonio's show, tool has completely satisfied me.

[bonnaroowahoo]

I saw them at Bonnaroo while tripping on mushrooms and it was absolutely insane. It was the single most intense experience of my life, I can't say enough good things about the show. Even though it was an outdoor stage, the sound was incredible. Every one of the 80,000 some people could hear them perfectly. The light show was brilliant, and having the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine join them just blew it over the top.

[Novus_]

Our group of 8 arrived in Manchester, TN on our RV Thursday night a little bit after 11. Unfortunately, we still had to wait in line for about an hour until we could get into the campground. While waiting, we were lucky enough to see a guy get his clothes cut off of him by police officers and then strip searched beside one of their patrol vehicles. Lets just say his weekend was probably ruined. What an awesome way to start Bonnaroo, though. Finally it was our turn in line. A group of like 5 college-aged kids asked us all to get out while they searched the RV. After a few minutes they came out and joked it was taking them a little bit longer because they were watching “Borat” that had been playing on our TV. Once they finished searching the RV and gave us the thumbs up, we were ready to proceed to the campgrounds. Very nice!

We unpacked and set-up our camp, popped a beer, took a deep breath; we had made it! A few of us in the group then decided to make our way to Centeroo (the main area) before the first night wrapped up. It was around a 15-minute walk, so not that bad. Our first year at Bonnaroo in 2005, we had the worst spot possible at around a 45 minute walk.

Once we came upon Centeroo we decided to first check out one of the DJ tents. Lots of hippies dancing to techno. Awesome. After that, we found another tent and were able to experience our first “silent disco.” Think headphones on each person + club music. Pretty neat. We arrived too late to see any bands, but hung around for about an hour just checking out some of the sites and looking over the map for where certain things were situated this year. We finally made our way back “home” to rest up for a long day on Friday.

{{{ FRIDAY }}}

Woke up early, made breakfast, played a few card games over some beers, and headed out to see the bands.

In order of appearance:

Kings of Leon
- There was a fairly large crowd to see these guys. I was familiar with a little bit of their music, so I enjoyed some of the show. Though, I had to leave early to catch Morello on one of the side stages.

The Nightwatchman
- Morello was having a really great time during his performance. One of the songs was being filmed for the soundtrack for the movie Sicko (Michael Moore’s new documentary), so he had to play that it twice. He joked for us to “look pretty.” Tom also said he knew nothing about Bonnaroo coming in, but guaranteed a return next year because he had been so impressed with the festival and the people. He also said we were the “best crowd The Nightwatchman has ever played to.” I missed his autograph session after the performance, but I figured the line was going to be pretty ridiculous, and I needed to head back to our camp to get ready for TOOL.

http://i11.tinypic.com/4mtw7sh.jpg


TOOL -
My crew and I headed out to the TOOL show around 8:15. After stopping for a couple beers and a bathroom break on the way to the main-stage, I lost half of the guys I was staying with. So my only friend that stuck with me, his girlfriend, and I worked our way toward the left side near the pit area. We were probably about 4 rows away from the pit fence. And, we were followed in by two cute ladies who saw us fighting (i.e. stepping over the passed out hippies) our way through the crowd to get a better spot. {Seriously, there have been some extremely attractive girls at the recent TOOL shows I’ve been to. A+ to that.} All in all, it was a pretty good view to watch the show and ended up sounding great from there. It was loud, but very clear.

The weather was perfect, there was a full moon and a nice breeze to keep us cool, and I was getting ready to watch a TOOL concert. Can't get any better.

The guys came out at exactly 9:00 and kicked into Jambi. This is such a great opening song. It’s also one of my all-time favorites by TOOL. Jambi has so many different tones, from very heavy to very soft. And the fire theme during the live performance is very trippy.

Stinkfist (regular version) was next. It was a definite crowd pleaser, and brought out some weird “hippie moshing” close to my area. I assumed TOOL would do the more “jammy” or extended version of this song, which they didn't. I’ll bring that point up later in this review, though.

Next we have The Pot. For some reason once the groove in this song started, the moshing became a bit ridiculous. It was basically this one stoned out girl, who was a bit on the large side, running into people. As they would push her away, she would just run into another person. And it started this endless cycle of pushing her around, until eventually a group of idiots joined her in the moshing. There was a couple beside me who had some professional cameras in use during TOOL, and for some reason they started using me as a shield. I mean, I’m like 5’5”, so I thought that was kind of dumb, but whatever. I just grabbed the shirt of the next idiot who ran into me and wouldn’t let him go until the crowd calmed down and went back to normal. I think he was too drugged out to know the difference, because he just screamed with delight and waved his arms around when I told him he wasn’t fucking running into anyone else. After a couple minutes of the silly monkeys and their slam dancing, I was able to enjoy the show once again.

46 + 2 was next on the set-list. This song has been a highlight for me on this leg of the tour. It’s better viewed at a distance, because then you can see the formation of the geometrical patterns behind Danny during his solo and the light rig shining down from above him. Great stuff.

After 46+2 and the extended version of Schism, Maynard dedicated the next song to all of us on the marijuana or the LSD. Of course, that song being Rosetta Stoned. There was no Lost Keys intro. This performance was definitely a highlight for me. For some reason the distortion part was not as mudded this time around as it has been at the two pervious shows, because it sounded somewhat audible and not extremely out of place. I love this song, though. It takes all of the great elements of Third Eye and twists it into this evil little ball throughout the beginning, and then spits it back out at the end. And, you’re left standing there pondering images of UFOs and aliens and hospital beds.

Next we have…Flood! This actually had a somewhat full intro. I was so happy to hear this song, if not for me, for my friend who had been excited the entire week to hear it. It made his night. And, it rocked my ass off, too. So, win-win.

The interesting thing I noticed throughout this concert was that TOOL seemed to not put in any of the long segues they had been doing. Also, there was no set break before Wings. This is when they sit on stage for a few minutes while the crowd holds up their lighters. They could have easily used this exact set-list and stretched it to 11:30, but instead chose to end at 11:00. That’s why I thought they were trying to hurry up and get in more songs. My friend and I were discussing this notion after we observed them hammering out the songs a bit quicker than normal. Strange, but maybe they had to leave the venue early? Or, just really don’t like to play that long? Junior -- if you’re there, any idea?

Wings For Marie (Pt 1) / 10000 Days (Wings Pt 2) was next. This is the ultimate epic song. It’s not so jam-band-esque or trippy as Third Eye, or Disposition / Reflection / Triad. It’s just a great musical experience. You have the color patterns and the lasers and then the body floating in the cloud tunnel on the video screens. Add to that the tunnel of eyes, plus the giant 10,000 Days artwork in the back. It’s just a complete sensory overload.

Once Wings ended, TOOL didn’t waste a lot of time until they broke into the intro for our next song, Lateralus. Enter “Tom Fucking Morello.” Adding him as a special guest just put this performance as tied for number 1 on my list of TOOL shows (the Tabernacle show also being there because of the rarity and uniqueness of that experience). Bonnaroo was lucky number 10 for me seeing TOOL in concert.

http://i8.tinypic.com/6c47q5i.jpg

After Lateralus and then Vicarious, I figured the concert was finished. Though, once the houselights didn’t come on, it was obvious we were getting at least one more tune. Aenema time!

What a great closing song to an amazing show. Everyone held their hands up and sang the final stanza with Maynard. Once Danny hit the final slams on his drum set and then threw his sticks into the crowd, we all knew it was over. The houselights came on and the guys walked out to the front of the stage to wave to us. Morello even joined the band on stage for the hug, which was pretty cool.

In closing, during these past 3 shows my friends and I were lucky enough to see each of the 3 different set-lists TOOL has done on this leg of the 10,000 Days tour. Pushit in Richmond, The Pot and Right in Two in Atlantic City, and then The Pot, Flood, and closing with Aenema at Bonnaroo. I guess I can understand someone feeling a little upset if they were expecting a certain song and got another one, but what can you do? The shows are still incredible, and the band is playing as tight and concise as ever.

After seeing 5 different shows off of the 10,000 Days tour over this past year, it has definitely become my favorite TOOL CD. Maybe that’s why I love these recent shows so much? It has been such an amazing experience to watch these guys perform; I just can’t put it to words. As possibly corny or weird as it may sound, I just sincerely love this band. There, I feel better.

Bonnaroo wasn’t over, though. Here is the rest of my adventure last weekend…

(continued on next post...)

[Novus_]

PART 1


After TOOL:

Superjam
- John Paul Jones, baby! I was hoping to see him join TOOL for “No Quarter,” but at least I got to see him on stage during this show. Maybe if TOOL played Saturday they would have been able to pull it off (considering he played with like half the bands on Saturday)? Guess we’ll never know.

We all went home after this performance. It was late and we were pretty tired.


{{{ SATURDAY }}}

We slept in a bit to recover from a long night out. Finally, we made our way to Centeroo again.

In order of appearance:


Ziggy Marley
- We missed the first half of his set, but what we saw was
pretty good. Heard a few Bob Marley covers.

Xavier Rudd
- I had never heard of him before, but this was an awesome show. I went to his autograph session and got him to sign my Bonnaroo booklet and got a picture with him. This festival is all about finding new music, and I definitely did with Xavier.

Ween / Spoon
- Went to a few songs for each of these bands.

The Police
- It’s always a pleasure to see a band that’s been around
for so long and has had an influence on so many people. I think almost all of the 80,000 people at Bonnaroo were there for at least a little bit of the performance that night. Huge crowd.

The Flaming Lips
- All the balloons and lights and stuff are neat and interesting to watch, but the music was painful to listen to. Seriously…I don’t get it. And, the lead singer talked way too much. I don’t need to hear Flaming Lips Philosophy 101. They definitely weren’t my style. We left early.

Galactic
- Another awesome show from a not so familiar band at Bonnaroo. I needed a pick-me-up after The Flaming Lips, and this was it.

Sasha & John Digweed
- These guys put on an awesome giant rave way later into the night, or early morning. The performance finally ended around 3:30 or 4 in the morning, and only one of my friends and myself were able to keep going. I was exhausted, but everyone else in the group had gone back to the RV, so we win at life.


{{{ SUNDAY }}}

We woke up with our chests and noses feeling a bit congested, and we were a little slower than the previous day. Bonnaroo was starting to catch up to us a bit. Though, it was our last afternoon of fun so we had to push on. It was also the hottest and dustiest day of the weekend, which made it difficult to stand outside for some of the bands. Thank god for the giant fountain raining life-saving water down on all the sun-dried hippies. It was very refreshing.

In order of appearance:

John Butler Trio
- My third time seeing them live, and one of the reasons why I came to Bonnaroo this year (besides TOOL). They didn’t disappoint, and were one of the top shows for the weekend. I also got to meet the band and get their autographs later in the day.

Wolfmother / The White Stripes / North Mississippi All-Stars
- We went to a few songs for each of these guys before calling it a day and packing up the RV.


What a weekend. I’m still exhausted, sunburned, and even a bit sick (and I'm still refusing to shave my beard -- those guys at work will have to deal). It was worth every second. My friends and I just completed an amazing 10-day experience following TOOL around and we were able to top it off at the greatest music and arts festival in America: BONNAROO! It just doesn’t get any better than that. :)


[[[ SIDE NOTE TO BONNAROO ]]]

Brightwell and I tried to meet up several times throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate Cingular blowing ass for cell phone coverage, so I didn’t get a lot of his messages until an hour or so after he had sent them. Also, it was pretty much impossible for me just to make a simple phone call, so the first afternoon in Centeroo all of my crew ended up going to shows alone because we had no idea where anyone was. I was also supposed to call a friend of mine from college once I got to Bonnaroo, but that ended up not happening because of the cell phone problem. So, lesson learned. That seemed to be the only real complaint we had throughout the weekend. Well, besides the dust.

[tomatoms]

flaming lips were lame. their music is lame. i've seen them twice, enjoyed neither. tool makes music with substance, with spirit, music that is moving. flaming lips make half ass shit-out songs and fill their stage with distractions to take people's attention off their lack of musicianship. i mean..the bubble.. come on. it was more like a circus than a music event. They did the same things at lollapalooza, and i was barely amused then. F the FLips. TOOL knocked those hippies on their asses.

[armmar]

Tool was clearly the best show at Bonnaroo, but the Flaming Lips were really good too...It does upset me when people say they were better than Tool, but they were good on their own merit...My top 10 goes something like this

Tool
Gogol Bordello
Mute Math
The Flaming Lips
The White Stripes
The Roots
Aesop Rock
The Brazilian Girls
The Decemberists
El-P

[soberus96]

Tool rocked w/ flood and the pot but what about Slip? They were bad ass as well!!!!

[topheronehalf]

The interesting thing I noticed throughout this concert was that TOOL seemed to not put in any of the long segues they had been doing. Also, there was no set break before Wings. This is when they sit on stage for a few minutes while the crowd holds up their lighters. They could have easily used this exact set-list and stretched it to 11:30, but instead chose to end at 11:00. That’s why I thought they were trying to hurry up and get in more songs. My friend and I were discussing this notion after we observed them hammering out the songs a bit quicker than normal. Strange, but maybe they had to leave the venue early? Or, just really don’t like to play that long?


This is exactly the thoughts and hope that jumped into my drugged out mind during the set. I guess a combination of factors were really getting my hopes up for something new and when they were very clearly speeding through the set I thought for a moment it had to be in order to fit in more stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast during the show, but at the same time I realized that you really only get to see Tool for the first time your first time and sorry, but that's a little sad. It's like knowing you'll never have an experience like your first psychedelic trip again.

That being said, the band was definitely very accurate, precise, and kick ass as always. It just hit me hard to realize that I can't really expect to have my world rocked like that first time.

Over all Bonnaroo encapsulated quite a series of dissapointing events, so the opinion is a bit biased, but come on. I'm sure the band, for all they talk about how much playing these songs night after night is exhausting and how difficult it is to continue to play them with the same passion and personality, you'd think they would want to switch it up more.

Another thought I've had is acknowledging the fact that Danny is still recovering. During the intermissions at the past 2 shows i saw prior to this, he had an ice pack on his arm the whole time. It's probably extremely painful for him to play long sets.

And this may just be my imagination, but I feel like while the videos are mostly the same each show, they've actually been unique in the ways that they are cut and made to reflect and "respond" to the music.

The laser show has been consistent the past 4 times I've seen them, but the videos are evolving in different ways. They could change up the set lists and still put on a sensory overload of the same caliber.

I will say this though, just so I don't come off as hating on the set: I'm downloading a bootleg of the show just so i can hear Morello's beautiful reworkings. If not for that, I would better treasure a bootleg with some sweet ambient jamz

[SAGET]

Show was boring. Not worth standing for an hour waiting.

Other shows were good, Tool was disappointing.

End review.

[mrblah]

The show was amazing, couldn't have asked for more. Tool headlining a huge festival like Bonnaroo just made the atmosphere perfect for the show, it an amazing expirience.

I dunno how no one else mentioned STS9 after Tool, it was an awesome show and it was perfect for chilling out (or coming down) after Tool.

[sniff]

not sure who it was, but whoever said there was a full moon during TOOL's performance is being dramatic. not that it matters, but there was no full moon; in fact, before Bonnaroo there was talk about how there was going to be a NEW moon and how that might have been a big deal for them in some weird way. it was just a sliver, and this, along with other biased comments, skewed your review. everyone keeps talking about how no one should expect anything different, that the setlist is always the same and always will be the same. why shouldn't i, or anyone else, expect something different when there was a half hour left for them to play and a legendary musician - who wrote a song that TOOL covered - jumping at the chance to play with every band in sight? yes, they sounded incredible, yes, they were tight as hell, yes, the light show was amazing, and yes, Tom Morello's cameo was cool, but it still doesn't change the fact that, as someone else has already said, they don't seem to care that much about what their fans want. does anyone here honestly believe that they didn't consider the crowd's desire to hear "No Quarter?" and i really don't think shortage of preparation time had anything to do with them not playing; it's fucking TOOL, i think we all agree how good they are, they could've pulled off a jam with JPJ with as little as an hour to prepare.

[bobby digital]

for all of you who had an amazing experience during tool's set at bonnaroo, i'm happy for all of you. i had a great time too. for all the naysayers who've been bitching about the set list since the beginning of this tour, i feel sorry for you. with all do respect, if i took anyone to that show and they didn't have the best time of their life or had any complaints, i would assume they were profoundly fucked in the head. i know that all of you read the message boards and knew what the set list was going to be heading in, give or take a few songs. this is the 10,000 days tour people. if you show up expecting half their set to consist of songs from aenima, undertow, and opiate, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. end of story. if you're expecting john paul jones to show up during their set even though he had a show scheduled moments after tool, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

tool is many things: innovative, groundbreaking, technically and visually brilliant. one thing they are not is improvisational. in concert their music is too married to the visuals to vary their set list too much. the band members are also staunch perfectionists. they would never think of playing any of their materiel live without meticulous rehearsals and practice time. since that's the way it's been since the band's inception, it is really mind-boggling to me that so many people feel betrayed in some way when "their" show isn't different from all the others.

here's what i took away from tool's performance at bonnaroo:

1) the thrill of seeing rosetta stoned, wings pt. 1 and 2, and flood, live for the first time. wings pt. 1 and 2 was a particular high-point. hearing these songs live, i was struck with the realization that 10,000 days is a much more significant album than i first surmised - more than a worthy addition to their previous work.

2) danny carey is the best drummer on the face of the earth. his speed and precision is almost frightening at times, and he'd never sounded better than he did on friday. even maynard commented mid-song that "[he] like[s] watching him too." i'm sure you do, maynard, you've got the best seat in the house every night.

3) tool is the most original, brilliant, compelling band of their generation. there's not another band on the planet that sounds like these guys do, and their live shows are unmatched. they likely gained thousands of new fans during their bonnaroo set, and for good reason.

i left feeling grateful to band for sharing their art with the world, for having the dedication and commitment to deliver nothing but perfection and excellence each time they step on the stage, and wondering when, if ever, i would have the chance to see them again. if that is the last tool show i ever have the good fortune of seeing, i could live with that. i think it was one of their finest moments.

[fallenxruby]

this was by the far the best tool show i've seen. it was number five for me, first bonnaroo. my only issue was that tool didn't love their audience at all. that pained me. i also wanted some older tunes other than flood to manifest themselves. but i'm not gonna lie, it was by far the best show i've seen. i just wished they loved us more. instead they were like the friend who tries to freak you out while you're tripping face, which is still fun. because at least they were playing along. i also do suppose that they had to do they stuff from this tour because it is so dead on at this point that all the people that are not hardcore tool fans need to see what's up. flaming lips was not musically supreme, but they loved us. tool was fucking majestic in their musical supremacy, and yet...no love. but i'm done complaining because that was the biggest mind fuck in the world, and i really have no right.

[geoffsparky]

i'm just going to say haha to those who missed it because it was great

[chiselsdreams]

TOOL at BONNAROO...
1. Ragged on Hippies the whole show.
2. Lasers during Wings/10,000 days worked in the dope haze.
3. Was the ONLY band playing at the time.
4. Brought A LOT of people to ROO' that were not hippies.
5. FLOOD came out of no where.
6. Cool to see Tom Morello redeem himself after his less then up to his standard "One Man Revolution" stint aka. "THE EAGGGALLLESS CLAW".
7. Perfect atomosphere for TOOL fans... the more outdoorsy types of us were in our element.
8. For those who tripped balls during the show I hope your trip took you FURTHER.
9. They were a relief from all the CRUNCHY HEADY bands.
10. They were not the only highlight :).

[pyrofreakcm]

The more I think about that show the more I loved it. I should've been tripping on shrooms during it but those were a bust. Either way that show was amazing. Was disappointed that they didn't go 'til 11:30 but then I just thought "it's fucking Tool, they can do whatever the fuck they want in my mind." Flaming Lips were cool but the sound quality was shit, went to Galactic for a much better change. Sasha and John Digweed were incredible! I was a raving metalhead, it had to look interesting. Note: They didn't stop until around 5:45-5:50. I was at Centeroo until 4:40ish and could hear them keep going from the campsite.

About 96% of AEnema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI7bOzMYAv0
Tom Morello's part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqpWNhhLeWM

[insaner]

some good pics from roo-

http://auburn.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2147045&l=2f076&id=7002491

[fenningenarius]

This is my first post on this board.

I have to say that I was slightly disappointed in the show. I did think it was a great show, but after seeing Tool for the first time in Greenville a few weeks ago, the Bonnaroo set paled in comparison. Perhaps if I had seen the Bonnaroo show first and the Greenville show second I might have felt letdown after the Greenville show, but I really don't think that's true.

The band just didn't seem nearly as into it at Bonnaroo. Maybe that's because in Greenville they were playing to a sold out crowd made up exclusively of Tool fans instead of a bunch of hippies with some Tool fans mixed in. Whatever the reason, they seemed like they were really into putting on a great show for the fans in Greenville while they seemed like they were sort of rushing through the songs in TN.

In Greenville it seemed like there was a segue of noise-type stuff between most of the songs. I wouldn't have thought taking that part of the show away would make a big difference but it did. It seemed like in Greenville they wanted to put on an amazing show, a cohesive set of music more about the entire set than the individual songs, while in TN they were just up there playing this song and then that song until their set was over and they could be done with it and leave the stage.

I had planned to never go back to Bonnaroo (I went in 2003 and 2006), but after seeing Tool in Greenville my girlfriend and I both agreed that we must go see Tool on a huge soundsystem in a crowd that large. Both aspects were somewhat of a letdown at Bonnaroo.

The sound was good, but not great. Not nearly as good as a lot of other acts I've seen on similar large soundsystems. The sound during Jambi was horrible. I guess that's to be expected when the bands don't get to soundcheck, but I couldn't believe how bad it was. There was a horrible echo on the drums, which were turned up much too loud. By the second song they had the sound mostly fixed, but it never got as good as I had hoped it would. I was sitting just to the left of the front of the soundboard.

Another thing I thought would be great about Bonnaroo was the large crowd. It wasn't great. They absolutely sucked. I assumed even the people who weren't fans of Tool would have their minds blown and get very energetic. They mostly just stood there lifeless. In between the songs there was hardly any cheering/yelling/clapping. The crowds at every other set I saw, even in the tents with MUCH smaller crowds, were exponentially louder.

I wasn't bothered by the fact that the setlist was mostly the same as Greenville or that they didn't play for 2.5 hours. I pretty much expected that and it didn't bother me at all. What bothered me was that they just didn't seem to play the songs with the same fire and passion that they had a week earlier. Even still, it was a great show imo, but the Greenville show was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I can't say that about the TN show.

One other thing that was better about the Greenville show was the Lateralus. The set there had such good flow and Lateralus was the climax of the set. And the climax was so strong, so amazing. At Bonnaroo that wasn't the case at all. It was cool to see Morello come out, but the song didn't serve as a climax to the set at all with the much different feel that his performance gave it. His solo seemed like way more of a novelty act than good music. I was really excited when he first walked out but pretty letdown after his solo.

Greenville was an amazing show from start to finish with really good flow and it worked really well the way the set slowed down during wings>10,000 days and then climaxed really hard during Lateralus and Vicarious. In TN it just seemed like Tool was up there playing songs. They were good performances of good songs, but it wasn't nearly as good as what I saw in Greenville. There wasn't good flow. The set as a whole didn't work like it did in Greenville.

[queenoftears]

It's taken me a week to gain energy to even post about the show at Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo changed my life and Tool at Bonnaroo just made my life a little better. This show was my 7th time seeing Tool and by far the best. Dirty hippies and all! They sounded more on that night than any other time I've heard them. I don't know if I had such a good time just because I was seeing Tool, or if it was the vibes at the festival in general. Everyone was so eager to get to know each other, I met people from all over the WORLD, absolutely amazing. I was a little twipsy during the show but I remember all of the wonderfulness. Danny was off his ass good even more than usual. He is the best drummer in the f*n world, mark my words. Maynard sounded GREAT, his voice tends to go flat sometimes but not once at the 'roo. The fuckin patchouli comment got me laughing/ahem reallllllly hard and I knew from that moment it would be stellar. I traveled on a Greyhound bus, alone, for 23 hours and walked 6 miles to find my friend's campsite dragging my luggage on gravel, but the funny part is, I had a smile on my face the whole time. I knew within 24 hours I'd be seeing my favorite band of all time, and that was all that mattered. The rest of Bonnaroo was just an added bonus, lots, LOTS of good music, lots of good people, LOTS of gooooood pot (among other things), good times.
Would not change any of it for the world, except the Dustaroo, shit! Still coughing the 'roo out of my lungs.

Thank you Tool, Thank you Bonnaroo, my life is one step closer to total enlightenment.

[mosvar]

What a fantastic show.....was also at evansville.

[gabe_angelfire]

Another awesome Tool show!

I was about three rows back from the barricade on the far right facing the stage. I would have enjoyed myself more had the dude who was high/drunk/tripping off his ass not puked on the guy in front of me. This was after slamming into me for a good fifteen minutes in an attempt to get the mosh pit going. I had told the guy in front of me several times to help surf the guy out of the crowd because I could tell he was going to be sick, but he didn't listen to me and alas was thrown up upon. The crowd was so tight I had nowhere to go but backwards and given the circumstances... well, I had to get out of there and get some fresh air before I too lost my lunch.

So, I spent the rest of the show with my friends wayyyyy back in the back. The sound was great. I have no complaints about the song selection either.... and the light show was spectacular. I just couldn't see the stage, what a bummer!!!

I was kinda sad that they ended the show so early, but what do I know, maybe they were tired or someone had to go pee... I'm not going to pretend I know what goes on in the minds of people I don't know. But I wasn't disappointed and I feel like I got my money's worth.

I swear I distinctly heard Maynard say something about enjoying the rest of the weekend on the ant farm. Am I the only one who heard this??? Yeah he was a bit of an ass, but honestly, I think he gets up there and doesn't know what to say to us... He tried though! Besides, I would never expect MJK to stand on the stage and kiss my ass (or anyone else's for that matter.) If you wanted roses and ponies and happy little what-nots... The Flaming Lips was where it was at... But that's THEIR THING! As many of you have pointed out, to compare the Lips to TOOL is quite absurd. Personally, the two bands have put on the two best shows I've ever attended, but I wouldn't dare lump them into some category and attempt to compare them side by side. Apples and Oranges, a show is not just a show. A Tool show is intense, meaningful and thought provoking. The Lips are fun, trippy, and happy.

Sidenote: Did anyone catch Gogol Bordello? That show was awesome as well!

This was my first Bonnaroo and I enjoyed it for what it was, but honestly I prefer a more intimate venue. That's why I'm off to see Tool in Huntington in a few weeks!

[WookieeBlaylock]

Well, I'm back to Canada from our trip down to the south for Bonnaroo. Firstly I must say that that festival is bloody amazing; lots of great music, SO many great people coalesced there... goin' back next year (unless the lineup totally blows alpaca nuts).

The "What Stage" saw a fair gathering... probably a little less than the Police saw the following night, but still the vast majority of the 'Rooers. I was quite impressed with that particular venue/stage, as the sound was rather pristine, and there was plenty of space to see the band from essentially anywhere one so desired. I feel sorry for those who didn't have an absolutely mind-blowinglingly epic experience (well, particularily Tool fans anyway). Some people I met following that night exclaimed that it was pretty much "the best experience EVER!". I can think of maybe one or two other nights of my life that possibly rivaled that night of the 15th.

During soundcheck... well, I personally was going through some mad gut rut due to the psilocybin and so on, and not to mention the dehydration which had especially taken it's toll by that point... so my memory of the hour before the is bit hazy. What was it that Maynard was saying during sound check? I ask, 'cause other things he said following that were good for a chuckle. I know it was a bunch of goofy "check oooone" lines among other things. The sound of the low toms and such being blasted, cutting through the otherwise fairly quiet pre-show air like thunder, added to the insurmountable anticipation. Then they took the stage. Prior to seeing Jambi as an opener, I doubted the awesomeness of it's placement within the set, but it killed. Somehow it was damn near the highlight for me. Everyone shines in that tune... I really like what Justin does. FAWK what a feeling thinking back to it all. Was disappointed for abooouut a half second when they avoided the extended section of Stinkfist, as I really love it, but ah well. Saw them them do it in Calgary and Edmonton last August, so.... I found the Pot to be great as well (mind you, I LOVE the new album, whereas if one didn't, I can understand the frustration over the lack of older tune rotation in the setlists). I especially dug Rosetta Stoned this time... their energy never relented, well, during pretty well the whole show it seemed. Flood wasn't a big deal to me, in fact, it's the one part of the show that I remember the least. Still, they tore it up. Admittedly, Pushit, or especially Right in Two would have been preferred (or The Grudge, The Patient, or THIRD EYE!! for that matter). The Wings/10,000 Days suite miiiight have been the most awesome thing I've experienced live, musically. But then of course was Lateralus... which was amazing itself, along with Danny's wicked drumming during the "breakdown". By the time Tom Morello began doing his thing, I had most certainly gone to an remote alien world, and feeling really fucking good about life. The rest of Lateralus was impeccable too. I realise now that I'm attemping to write a review for something that requires thousands of words to describe, and for some things which are perhaps beyond words. I guess you had to be there. And if you were there, and are actually pissed off, well, that's your loss. I realise it's all subjective, but still. Anyway, perhaps I'll try to write more than just crap after I've had more than three hours of sleep....

The whole flew by too fast... there's so much to take in. Thank-you Tool for the grand time. This was my third show, and once again it's going to take six months to really digest all that happened that night. And once again I'm feeling very inspired. I appreciate what they do so much. I hope they keep touring, or tour again. If everything else at the border, during the drive, during the remainder of Bonnaroo would have sucked balls, I'd still be happy, for that night of Tool was worth crossing the DUSTY trail for alone (luckily everything went really well). Oh, forget to mention how awesome Mr. Jones was as well. I personally really dig the visuals, though for this show I had my own visuals whilst having my eyes closed half the time.

[plymoynihan]

[QUOTE=Gregmas;2008151]I went to Bonnaroo with the sole intention of seeing Tool. This was a big deal for me since I have a seething hatred for all things hippy. As a 30 year old tool fan, I can say that i have to agree with previous posters on the set list issue.


Amen- i have a similar tool concertography. It doesn't matter what the setlist is- I just love to see those guys play. Bonnaroo was my 4th on this tour, one more in July.
My friends and I drove 14 hrs from NYC, inhaled massive amounts of dust, have been sick for a week now- all to see our favorite band play (amazing sound, set, etc...I might add) and we'd do it all over again.
It's just a treat to be able to see Tool as many times as possible- all shows are different in their own way. Bonnaroo was memorable for different reasons than the others over the last 14 years I've had the chance to witness live Tool shows.
Get over the set list issues- these shows are all distinctively different, no matter what songs are played.
I'm still amazed at the sound system there. Flood was a real surprise. I also like Aire's review above

[elmorld]

Bonnaroo was awesome and Tool FUCKING ROCKED! I was glad to hear Maynard so talkative, think he had a good time.
What about Tom? He is right up there with Jimi Hendrix! I didn't see this during the concert, but have looked on youtube and does anyone know why Maynard handed Tom the phone while he was in the middle of his solo?
The lightshow was out of this world (and so were we:) Couldn't have asked for more...ok...well maybe John Paul Jones would have iced the cake, but no complaints here.
Thanks TOOL!

[Outie]

Wow what can you say about Bonnaroo except that. This place, this festival was about as close to a Art/Music Utopia that I still get cold chills thinking of it all. There was so much to see, smell, take in...it was overwhelming. Friday started out so damned hot like the rest of the days there, cold at night, and brainbakingly hot by 900am. We took off for What stage or the main stage and got there about halfway through The Roots playing, I had never seen or heard these guys, but they really blew me away, such talented guys all of them, and they played alot of hip/hop, R&B, and even covered The Police's Roxanne, and some Bob Dylan. After they ended, here came the crowds, an ocean of exhaused, some strung out and stinky folks(myself included). Looking out over the crowd was a awe inspiring event, just incredible. The lights went down and the crowd goes apeshit to Maynards usual festival opening statement of..."I smell Patchulli" and boom right into Jambi, by that time my shroomies were peaking and I was on fire with anticipation. Tool was schedualed to play from 900pm to 1130 which I knew would never happen, and it didnt. But they made up for the lost time by coming out and just pouring everything into the show. Adam had his hair braided in kind of a pigtail fashion, coming down on each shoulder. Maynard and the rest of the boys were very very animated during the show, he was throwing out jokes like, I had a hot shower this morning, in my air conditioned trailer, even had soap....Jealous? Next was stinkfist, not extended but incredible of course. The Pot was kickass, then 46&2, one of my favorite songs live,Schism extended, then Maynard says, "So Im guessing most of you guys are on the Marajuana, maybe the LSD, well your all under arrest, heres a song about ya'll". No lost keys intro, just right into Roseta Stoned. Maynard says..."Were going back awhile with this one, all the way to 1996....this song is dedicated to Deputy Sheriff David Cross, then right into Flood, my face flushed red as the energy poured toward me and out of me, one of the most impressive songs of the night that I had never seen before live just awesome. Next was Wings and 10000 days, Maynard asked the crowd not to use flash photography, and at that point I realized my bladder was gonna explode if i didnt find a portolet really soon, So I headed for it, there was a small line of about 6 ppl in the vip area to the right of the stage, the area is for the venders that work the show and lady in front of me preceeded to tell me her life story, I tell her im from Cincinatti/ northern ky area and she goes on to sing a song that she sings with her son about Cincy, she went on for at least 2 minutes making sure I missed even hearing alot of Wings, we chatted a bit more and she went in, came out, intoduced herself as Jenn and said her goodbyes, she grabs me and hugs me tight, running her hands all down my back, I kissed her on the cheek then she faced me as if she wanted more(I had told her that I was there with someone, apparently she didnt care...see what Extacy does hehe?). She finally went on as did I. On the way back my lil area on the handicap pavillion(ive got a few busted disks in my back) and spotted a couple underneath our pavillion, just fucking each others brains out lol, it was uhh unnerving/sexy/ a lil disgusting all at the same time. I got back just in time to catch the end of 10000 days damnit i was a lil pissed but oh well. Lateralus began, and at the break of the song, Maynard introduces the king of the gaywad guitar solo, Mr. Tom Morello, he came out and did alot of Rage sounding soloing it was incredible, then Maynard walked up to him handing him a phone signaling it was time to go, he finished and left, kickass experience, that will prolly never happen again, and I was so happy to have been there, Maynard says.."Thank you for putting up with our cynacal attitudes, Police are tomorrow, damned fine, have a good weekend" then just kicked Vicarious ass, after he said have a good time again, then it was"Hey Hey Hey Hey" into Aenima. They thanked everyone in their usual way, throwing out waters and drumheads, and just like that it was over. Im still reeling from it all, and that was nearly a month ago. All id like to say is if you ever get a chance to go to Bonnaroo, Tool or not, DO IT, the experience is something that I will never forget and a real highpoint in my life. Ok enough of my ramble, you guys take care, Spiral Out...Keep Going......much love....Outie

[dlightphul]

refer to bennytude for an excellent review.
just wanted to make a slight edition...i'm fairly certain that what maynard was saying (i guess before rosetta stoned) was something to the effect of:
hey, how are all the cops doin out there?
how's it feel to be around your marijuana, or your LSD...??
you are all under arrest.
here's a song about y'all

obviously i could be mistaken, but i could've sworn that he was talking a little shit to the fuzz
let me know what you guys think...

[dlightphul]

well i was just looking at cutie, and i see what she is saying...
i suppose that could've been what he said...(i confess that i was on a little of the LSD myself)

now that i'm here, i might as well add, rather redundantly, that tool's performance at bonnaroo was absolutely the sickest thing i've seen in my life...i'm still high