Quote:
Originally Posted by Renegrenade
Ok, I'm going to have to play devil's advocate here.
This was my 6th time seeing Tool and was the second worst show I've seen, the worst being my previous show in Houston where Maynard was too sick to even sing. Does that mean this show was bad? No. In fact, my friend who had never seen Tool before thought it was amazing. But those that have seen Tool prior to the last few years will notice a significant decrease in quality from the band. The video/light show is top notch, but there doesn't seem to be any passion in the music anymore.
Most of this falls squarely on Maynards shoulders. It's pretty clear that he checked out a while ago and is just going through the motions. His dances, which once seemed to him just really feeling the music, have seemed to change to almost a mockery of the music. Like he knows that the audience expects it so he does silly moves instead of the intense dancing of old. The worst offender is his voice though. I used to think Maynard had the best voice in rock but it's either shot or he just doesn't try anymore. He sings in a higher/quieter voice than he used to and relies way too heavily on his megaphone. He also never does any of the powerful screams that are present on the albums or in their old concerts. It makes the songs much less powerful. I also found it kind of insulting that he didn't sing the last few lines of Vicarious, instead just half heartedly olding the megaphone thing out to the audience and then quickly walking off stage.
The rest of the band did ok, but the whole thing sounded muddled and sloppy. If you weren't intensely familiar with Tool you may not be able to pick the songs out. And yes, Maynards vocals were very low.
I've been desperately trying to recapture the experience of the first couple of times I saw them, but I have to accept that the Tool of old is gone. There is no more magic at these shows.
I also have to say that Tool fans (hopefully not you guys) continue to be the worst fans I've ever witnessed. I've been to hundreds of shows and the crowds at Tool are terrible in comparison. There were fights, tons of jocks with tribal tattoos and backwards hats moshing, people too drunk or stoned to function, and a guy behind me on the floor actually peed in the middle of the crowd. Yes, I got hit. I was peed on last night.
Thanks, Tool.
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1. The acoustics at the SBC Center suck dick, at best.
2. Maynard is in his 40s... they've been going for almost 20 years. Don't bitch, it's just part of the maturation of a singer. Robert Plant was nowhere near the vocalist in '79 that he was in '69, and we're only talking ten years.
3. The music was far from sloppy. Danny, Adam, and Justin were completely on, not to mention adding in improvs for almost every song. See number 1.
4. Fans have nothing to do with the band. Is it unfortunate that a lot of douche bags hear Forty-Six & 2 on the radio and automatically snap up Tool tickets? Yeah. But there are just as many fans (I knew plenty personally) at these shows that truly appreciate and understand the complexities and nuances of Tool
I understand your frustration, dude, but keep it all in perspective. Less than quality venue, two decades into a career, and it's 2009, the year of Clear Channel, MTV, Affliction shirts, and Twitter. Intelligent fans, nay, intelligent people, are an endangered species. Trust me, I told my buddy last night that I'd give my left nut to have seen them in their Opiate days, but I'll consider myself lucky enough to be able to tell my kids I saw Tool play multiple times, regardless of when it was in their career.