This was my first ever Tool show. I remember hearing of Tool back when I was in school, then from my plumber, but I never really checked them out properly. Someone here mentioned Isis - I know that many have discovered Isis through Tool, but I think that I was able to "get" Tool thanks to Isis. I seriously got hooked about a couple of years ago, and now they are one of my favorite bands.

Anyway, it was an awesome experience. I avoided reading any reviews prior to the show, as I wanted to be surprised. First of all - the projection and all that stuff in the background was phenomenal. I know that all you Tool veterans are used to it by now, but it was just fantastic. If you were, god forbid, deaf and showed up to a Tool concert, I think that you might have a decent time. I had a great seat - dead center, third row, right behind the GA floor. Tweak Bird was a very good opener. I picked up their cd afterwards (it kind of has disturbing cover art - I've never done this, but I might actually toss the booklet).

The show rocked - the highlights for me were Jambi, 46&2, Aenema and Vicarious. Although 10,000 Days is a great album, it is not my favorite, but it seems to me that the material from the album rocks live. Maynard nailed 46&2, and he seemed in good spirits. As someone mentioned earlier, Patriot Center is very underrated, as far as large venues go.

As far as MINOR complaints - I too would have preferred something else instead of Rosseta Stoned and Lost Keys. Maynard's voice was quite low in the mix, and I didn't even realize that there were problems. The bass was turned up too loud in the middle of the show, but I think that they fixed the issue. However, the overall vibe in the arena and energy more than made up for everything.

Overall, great first concert for me!