Considering this was only my third Tool show and my first in a music-fest setting I was more than pleased with it. The last show I'd seen was their 10,000 day gig up in Seattle @ the Paramount(?) when the album was released. Back then they hadn't dialed in the light show so this time around I was treated to something of a more refined product and had absolutely no complaints. From the ever shifting backdrop imagery along with the sweeping banks of lasers and the two side-screens I think it was a choice addition to the tunes. I'm guessing the white coats that folks on the stage were wearing was intended to not disrupt the the visual effect of the lasers.

I was squished like a happy sardine in the crowd about 30 feet back from stage center and near the middle path leading to the lighting stage and enjoyed a decent view of all the band members at various points of the show. As they finally took the stage and the first notes of Jambi started up there was a mad rush of people from the back of the crowd that crushed everyone further towards the stage. There was a bit of shoving as we recoiled and shoved everyone back. Talk about fighting my herd instinct....I was just a bit smokey and had a nice 'shroom body-high at stake and once the crowd stabilized and got into a good vibe it was a blast.

There's nothing better than being a tool head and singing along here and there (I know, to some people's annoyance, because I wanted some folks to shut up, too) and working up a good head-bang as lateralus moved from the simply melody and bust into the main riff. It was contagious because about 5 people deep all around felt the groove and started into it, full body, as well. I couldn't help but grin over the rush of it all.

I liked some of the extra instrumental the guys put into a couple of the songs. The work that Danny did on his old electronics along with Justin toying with the feedback and Adam putting in the rhythm was a fun build up into Rosseta Stoned (correct me if I'm wrong but I wasn't jotting notes at the time).

Yes, there was some flubs here and there and I find hit hard to believe that some people would actually be pissed about that. If it was a freaking trainwreck of a screw-up yeah, that'd suck, but they kept going and marched on through the show. I really enjoyed some of Danny's drumming. The dude is a freaking power house of an ox behind that kit. I got a good laugh at the sight of Justin with his hair waving by the blast of the fan. He looked like some latin, beach-bum version of Jesus rawkin the bass. The drummer from the Black Keys seemed a bit out of place and probably a little more than intimidated with Danny drumming behind him. I don't blame him for running off. I found Maynard's interaction not that much more than what I've seen in the past couple of shows. I would say he was a bit more restrained than normal. There were times during some of the songs where he was practically inaudible amongst the rest of the music and going back to those folks singing along, it would've been nice to catch some of the songs with just mjk doing the singing.

The circular symbol mentioned earlier is used frequently in their shows and normally hangs in their studio. I'm surprised it wasn't recognized as such. Blair jokingly refers to it as a 'devil-board' in one of his 2006 newsletters. I believe it's a play off of the Sigillum Dei Ameth popularized by John Dee.

Anyway, maybe I'm fortunate not to have over-watched a live Tool show and end up bitter that their setlist wasn't flexible. For me it was a great audio and visual treat made even better since I got to meet up with my Toolhead buddy Callie, her buddy Reggie from down under and her peeps from Colorado Springs. Of course I wanted all my personal favs to be played. Of course I wanted that encore that I never get. But considering it was their first show of the summer I'm sure they just wanted to ensure they put out a solid performance and get a feel for the crowd. Chances are folks going to their later shows will get treated to a bit more than we did on Saturday. That being the case, then I'll start whining about what I didn't get. and in closing...Flood live was a nice treat.
~meep out.