2nd Show ever. First was in August '98 and I've very sadly been unable to attend one since. That show was a mixed benchmark, except for showmanship, as the sound in Fair Park Coliseum was PAINFULLY loud and completely muddled in the bleachers by the venue's acoustics to the point that I couldn't tell what was going on in several songs and was holding my ears, something which depresses me to this day because the set list was EPIC. So I have to say I was disappointed not so much in the songs for this tour (haven't heard most of them live) but the length of the set and the lack of songs I wish I had heard on previous tours. The sound was pretty good at Nokia. It could have been a little less loud overall for the sake of clarity, but for the most part I could hear all the instruments pretty well including Danny and they were nicely balanced. Maynard's vocals were a bit overwhelmed in the mix though and it seemed they could have simply lowered the instruments slightly and raised the vocals slightly and it would have been perfect. I think all sound engineers are deaf.

Gripes out of the way, this was Tool and I could hear it so it was AWESOME! The sightlines from upper inside 205 were wonderful. We had a great view of everything, and it's amazing what I've missed out on for 11 FUCKING YEARS, including the visuals that Junior puts together. It's such an integral component to the experience, there's nothing like it. Thanks for all your hard work!

I've been nervously following the reviews for this tour and here are my observations with that in mind:

I could usually hear Maynard's voice pretty well, especially if I flexed my "yawn" muscles in my ears to cut the bass mud, and he sounded very strong. He might have held some screams a little longer, but I wouldn't say he pulled off or seemed shaky or off pitch, and I felt like he was giving 100%. I would have preferred if he'd sung Vicarious through the mic instead of the bullhorn though-- it would have been more moving and he certainly could have handled it that night. As for his attitude/mood, he seemed as real and appreciative and happy and engaged as I've seen or heard on any concert video or in '98. Yeah I miss the extended stuff like his Reverend Maynard bit, but things change and he's still fun. I think the crowd being so energized, responsive, and able to sing along to the old stuff really gave the band something to feed off of-- so many real fans.

Adam and Justin seemed as on as can be from where I was standing, but it's possible I missed some things mentioned by pit fans due to acoustics and not being close enough to watch their fingers and faces in detail.

AEnema: Holy shit, as one of the songs in '98 I could hear OK, it all came flooding back. Hahahah... sorry.

Jambi kicked ass (though the talk-box solo was a little hard to follow in the mix) as did the fast breakdown and Danny's superhuman drumming in Schism.

Stinkfist sounded great, Maynard and Danny rocked it.

Flood= greatness, sung beautifully

46 & 2 has always sounded a bit "commercial" to me but it does have a great climax and is a very solid song, they played it as well as anything this night.

Had no fucking clue what Maynard was saying during the fast bits in Rosetta Stoned (and I'd LOVE to know, lol) and the mix wasn't helping, probably just too loud in that regard since I don't THINK the megaphone is even mic'ed (anyone know?). But the visuals were great and the ending was intense.

Lateralus was sung very well and the drum-off was a lot of fun, as was watching Maynard write the Tweak Bird drummer a ticket. That song is plain and simple a spiritual experience and even more-so live.

Vicarious: We all know how that went, Adam had a serious tech problem and the timing couldn't have been worse, major anti-climax, but hey shit happens and they handled it with good humor and some funny improv by Maynard so it's just something to remember. Would have liked to leave with more of a crescendo, but short of playing an extra unrehearsed song to compensate whattya gonna do?

It was great to see Maynard get down to his shorts after hearing he wasn't really consistent about that on this tour-- it just gave that raw, nostalgic feeling I'd missed by not seeing them again for so long.

All I know is I CANNOT miss their next tour, and if they're at Nokia again I'm going for the pit.

The love of the music and knowledge of what they can do leads me to make the few critiques I do because we all want the upsides of the live experience without anything lost, but this WAS TOOL and it WAS AWESOME and I'll take them ANY DAY over anyone else's faultless performance in an acoustically perfect venue. The music is just too damned good.

See ya'll in about a year and a half.