1993

I have been an avid Tool fan since about 1993 and I think this was my 7th show. All seven were amazing compared to any other show I have seen from any other band and they sounded good at this one once again, especially considering the sickness and the fact that the sound wasn't that great - especially for Stinkfist. I thought the stage being the visual effect was a great idea and made for a better visual show than probably any other. I don't care if Maynard dresses up like a girl, a preacher, a cowboy, a sheep, a pony, or a normal guy. I also don't care if the all stand still, do cartwheels, or tap dance throughout the show. The only criticism I have of this show is the same criticism I have of every other Tool show I have seen since the Lataralus album was released....lack of creativity in the setlist and playing the songs themselves. I do like both albums quite a bit so don't get me wrong. I was happy to see that some other "old school" fans pointed out the same disappointment in previous reviews. Don't mis-read or mis-understand me. Everything everyone said about how "they didn't miss a word" or a note or whatever about how they sounded just as good if not better than the album was correct. They ALWAYS play that well and, by the standards set to any other band, that would mean they kick ass live. I am talking about the standards they set for themselves in the late 90s tours when they not only played better than they did on the album, but DIFFERENT than they did on the album. The best show I have ever seen from anyone live was the one here in 98. Almost every song was different from the album or extended in some way or at least a song you were not expecting them to play. I remember them opening with Cold and Ugly (not a single), playing the extended version of Stinkfist with the Elvis verse, playing You Lied (an unexpected cover song that had everyone confused and debating the origins), the bad ass slow version of Push It and long winded intro to Sober (both of which some of you heard many years later on the box set), and wrapping up with the super-kick ass extended version of Jerk-Off followed by that weird Hooker With a Penis outro. Almost every song they played then was out of left field in some way and it was incredibly creative.

They still do a little of this. They played the extended version of Stinkfist (minus the Elvis lyrics) and the people around me who did not know it got really fired up. Unfortunately, I have heard it live for 8 years so it was not exciting to me in the same way. There were some ever-so-slight modifications on some other songs, but they were hardly noticeable.

They played almost all of the new album, which they did on the Lateralus tour as well. They are both good albums and I know the tour is to promote those albums, but I wish they would re-visit some older stuff as well. I understand the avoidance of Opiate material because I don't think they still have their 20-something year old angry outlook on the world as much anymore. I am definately happy they finally took the Sober training wheels off their show and realized they could put that 6 minutes to better use with something we all had not heard at every show. But why not Prison Sex or 4 Degrees which are my two favorites from that album and I have NEVER heard either of them live? From the third album, why not scrap 46&2 and Aenema (even though it makes for a nice sing along) and play H or the slow version of Push It once again? Hell, throw in Hooker With a Penis for kicks - even better sing along.

Why not scrap Schism, which is played at every show and probably most people's least favorite from that album, and play The Grudge or Parabola or The Patient? And finally, Tool played almost every second of the new album except for Right in Two. Raise your hand if you would have liked to have heard the drums on that live - perhaps instead of the silly 20 minute rosetta stoned song?

I also miss the days of the cover song being thrown in. Rather it was No Quarter, You Lied, Comando, Stranglehold, or one of the others, it really gives something for you to run and tell your friends about. That is the complaint I have about the last several Tool shows I have seen. It isn't even a complaint because they always put on a great sounding show. It is just that, like someone mentioned before, you have to have something memorable to say about a concert to make it special. I could ramble on about the details of the show in 98 forever and how original and creative it was. All I can say or remember about this show a week later is...'They sounded just as good as the album and that is basically what they did - play the new album - note for note."

Tool is a better band than that. They got the reputation for being a great live band because they put more into their show than that. They dug down deeper than that. When you tried to sing along with them they would take you off on a tangent and you would not know where they were going. That is the exciting, goose bumps part of the
Tool experience that has been missing the last few times I have seen them. I hope they will go back to that creative, different aproach the next time around. Either way, I will be there...