I have been a fan of Tool since 1994. This is my 3rd Tool show and my first since 2001. I'll try not to be redundant here. Overall, I was very pleased with the performance and had a great time. We had floor tickets and showed up fairly early. We drove in the back way and was glad that I did, because when we crossed the overpass I noticed that concert traffic was backed up about a mile up Independence Blvd. in the exit lane. Luckily we had no problems with the traffic, so I was able to get a spot close to the front. I ended up about 4 rows back from the rail in front of Adam.

At the previous shows that I attended in 2001, which were outdoor venues (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte and Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh), I had lawn tickets and was fairly far away. Being up front was awesome, besides the fact that my ears are still ringing from being under the hanging tower speakers. It was very loud, but it's always cool to feel the bass thumping in your chest! The vocals seemed a little buried to me, but it may have just been my position under the speakers.

As far as the playlist, I read the reviews of the past shows on the tour and I knew what to expect. Sure there are songs I would have loved to hear, but it wasn't a disappointment. I thought it was a good mix of older and newer material. I agree there were a lot of jackasses at this show, but anytime you get that many people together in one place, it's to be expected. I realize that it's a rock concert, it's crowded, and people want to have fun, but when you start knocking into me and elbowing my girlfriend in the head, that's where I have to draw the line.

There were a lot of cool people there too though, there were some guys behind me that helped me keep the assholes shoved out of our area. At one point some guy came out of nowhere and crashed into the guys behind me and shoved his way to the front, it was ridiculous. I mean, if you want a spot up front, get there early like everybody else did. I was more than happy to help anyone that had to leave to get beer or go to the bathroom get back up front to their original spot, but not these line jumping assholes.

I saw the kid with the laser pointer getting busted and from where I was standing it looked like they tossed him over the rail on his head, a couple of the security guys grabbed him, dragged him by us and carried him out, I thought it was pretty funny. Also, one of the security guys kept running around throwing water on people with cameras when he saw them, I got hit a few times, because a girl in front of me kept taking pics.

Maynard was in the back as usual, which I don't have a problem with, let him stand wherever he wants to and stop reading so much into it already. Danny was amazing as always, a beast on the drums. I saw where someone mentioned that Danny threw some frisbees out after the show, just to clarify, those were actually drum heads. I had a good view of Adam and after the show he seemed very appreciative of the fans and that was cool. I thought the lights and visuals were well done too, different from the 2001 shows. Kudos to the crew.

After the show, I thought everyone was pretty courteous in the parking lot and we were able to get out of there in about 15 minutes, I was expecting at least an hour, so that was a pleasant surprise. The back entrance was definitely the best. Based on my experience at this show, I would definitely go see them for a fourth time. It's always great seeing them live!

BTW, I thought Tweak Bird did a pretty good job, I will definitely check them out. Cool to see a 2 piece band with a sound that big.