This was one of many times I have seen our guys give us a live performance of the songs we all own, play over and over, and still understand nothing. I think when I see them live every time, my heart starts to beat in time with the music and my lungs cannot keep up. I will review my perception of the show, start to finish, to excrete my longings to see them once more before they decide to hide in their caves and shun us from their brilliance. Give me Tool, or give me sensory deprivation.
To start, tickets released 04/16. When I started to look for this venue, the floor was sold out, fuck. Then I found that Ticketmaster was auctioning off the last two tickets (as far as I know) for floor admission. I bid and won them on 4/20, celebrated the holiday as NORML, but with a grin and relentless boasting to everyone, Toolie or not.
The day of the show, I wore one of the only white Tool T-shirts I know, Alex Grey's eyes in a circle spiral tunnel with my infamous silver pants (Thanks for everyone that praised the silver pants.)
Waited in line, baked and sun bathing, for 2 hours. Entered the coliseum, found my floor spot up front 3 rows back from the stage, and watched MB. Lead singer inaudible, guitars too loud and distorted, and the band needed subtitles behind them for translation. Bass player and drummer kicked cock-ayass. Then the roars and screams.
To set all you stadium seaters straight, the floor was not calm one bit. To give you newbie Toolies an inkling, the Lateralus Richmond show was raw, like the kind of mauling these New Metal black T-shirt and camoflauge shorts-wearing, moshers dream the stadium secrurity would allow them do. Imagine the last day of Woodstock '99, without the fires. But the Man thinks he has to protect ourselves from ourselves, and protect himself from lawsuits. Pittsburg last Sept. had fold out chairs for the floor with security patrolling the aisles like a prison showing of Shawshank Redemption. However, the floor for Richmond remained over packed and raw as ever. But, security behind the wall whose sole purpose back with the Lateralus tour was to catch crowd surfers and redistribute to swim upstream. Now, they had warden flashlights to point out trouble areas. A guy put his woman on his shoulders to flash tits as expected, and the security flashed his flashlight at the guy and shouted for him to put her down. The guy declined politely, and security came out on the floor and removed them. Excuse us for having fun. The police state continued to attempt to catch moshers in the act, but failed numerously. Mosh pits broke out up front when us watching the show held the line and kept them from skipping line to the front. I had about 30 or 40 elbows jammed in my back, which I enjoyed. Security is for the public. This was our private way to enjoy our show.
Anyway, on the floor, the show was spectacular. Lasers bounced off the front of the stage and over my head, close enough to grab.
You had to be at the show to appreciate the improvisations made that night. I swore I heard "Sober," and I left thinking so and seeing the video on the back drop. I might have just been tripping and heard pushit, and wished I heard Sober. I should've been sober.
No "the Pot" this time. I was not surprised, as many unaware of Tool have heard and loved the song with all the radio attention they get now. I would rather see them again as I did in '92 with the first EP. Maybe someone complained about the smoke coming from the crowd. I wish people would stop complaining and ruining it for everyone. Tip: Stop complaining, or the government will pass a law that all Americans will be grafted with packing bubbles, global positioning receivers, and catheders with hourly urinalysis tests, to ensure our safety from our own fears of self destruction. Why not allow the rich to do what they want, and we take it up the ass like our forefathers? Submission is so much easier than complaining, you don't know you can have it any better.
Furthermore, for anyone with connections with the Tool show, tell them the Floor cannot hear anything that Maynard says or sings. They are going to have to do better than those same old horned PA's from the ceiling. Great for stadium seating, bad for the floor.
Puscifer hoodies are now coming in blaze orange, and ATF is no longer cool. Pigtails for those with long hair, and guitar distortion with pedals is much better by Justin than MB, which I think they allowed them to open because Tool heard what they are doing with distortion, wanted to use it, but didn't want to get sued.
Left the show that night, drenched in mine and others' sweat, and drove home 5 hours. AC/DC blasting the whole way home. "West Virginia brandy, comes in pretty handy." "Why can't I not be sober?"
Tool recorded gets you through the day without breaking bad on the ones that annoy and erk. Tool live renews life and enters your soul, to feel human emotion and contact, sharing with others an experience that will forever change your life, inducting you to a new level of meditation, self serching, and masterbation until nothing but air comes out.