guitarpete987

Sorry for not posting this sooner, as I've been out of town and away from many computers since the concert.

It's great that there is so much of a positive response to this show on here, because wow it was a great concert. Not everyone is going to like every show, of course, but I just wish we could keep the negativity to a minimum and lets not egg on the people who just seem to acting negative so they can get under people's skin.

That aside, this was my fourth Tool show, and the energy was incredible. I was immediately reminded why I love this band. Much better than BOTH shows they had previously in the metroplex, this definitely had the momentum of an Aenima-era show but with the mood and aura the band has made for themselves in these present times. Before the lasers showed up, though, I thought this show was lacking a bit visually, especially when compared to the awesome Alex-grey-inspired artwork and giant backdrops they had during the last tour. The lasers really gave the show an incredibly retro vibe and seem to solidify this band's place as this generation's Pink Floyd, at least in terms of visual spectacle.

The crowd was great and very responsive. And they had good reason to be -- from the moment Maynard introduced Stinkfist by saying "shazbot," I knew this concert was going to hit all the right notes.

And it did. And so did Maynard. He told us he was sick, but I couldn't tell. He started off a little bit stationary, but as the show moved on, he really started getting more into the show, just as others have mentioned. I was ecstatic that we got to hear the Wings duo. It was definitely the highlight for me -- other than the otherworldly (no pun intended) rendition of Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned, which reaffirmed it as my undisputed favorite tune on 10KDays. The visuals to accompany the excellent performance of the Judith Marie tribute were great. I think we got the best of it on the balcony though, expecially those of us in the balcony directly in front of the stage.

The instrumentalists, especially Adam, believe it or not, were spotless. Each of the other shows I've been to, Adam has hit something or other sour. But this time, wow, it was flawless, other than a slight sound malfunction in Jambi right before the outro that I don't think was his fault (EDIT: the apparent sound malfunction was actually on Vicarious, right after the first chours... funny how your memory plays tricks on you). Danny isn't human, I'm sure of it, and Justin's incredible talents were marred by what seemed a lacking bottom end, which was a shame because it seemed, from what I COULD hear clearly, that he was really having an "on" night.

And on that note, the only drawback to the show seemed to be the sound. Not of the band's fault, it seemed to just be a symptom of the arena. Way too big for a band with as intricate a sound as Tool's, a lot of the nuances were lost. Would be perfect for something like Motley Crue, but when each little note of feedback and every last tom hit matters, well, sometimes a huge, cavernous buidling just isn't the right fit.

All in all, an excellent Tool show where it just seemed like the guys were enjoying themselves and were definitely feeding off the overwhelmingly positive crowd's energy.

I hope they swing back on a second leg cause I'd definitely be seeing them again, and hopefully they'll play Right in Two and a few more of their classics.

I'd better stop writing now, 'cause I've...

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