Damn the luck, the forum seemed down most of the morning and then I couldn't remember by password. Finally... I'm here to weigh in. Third Tool show, and not the best Tool show I've seen. My first and unequivocally the best; the '01 Lateralus show at Reunion Arena. I don't think that show can ever be outdone. Truly a life altering experience. The '06 10K Days show at AAC was also exceptional.

Alrighty then, picture this if you will... first big thanks to my neighbor who works for AEG for the AEG hotel suite rate and the comped parking. Arrived a little early for some tailgating; too damn hot. Wanted to get inside to see Tweak Bird anyway. First complaint... you would think Nokia would have opened a few more doors on the front entrance (they finally did open like one or two more). Took almost 40 minutes to get in. Glad we decided to head in when we did. Spent 20 minutes in line at merch. Finally, on to our seats. 203 EE, phenomenal seats! Tweak Bird is playing, we're ramped up. Someone in our seats! Compare tix. Same row and seat. Them = hard tickets. Me = E-ticket print out from broker. Mind racing... "Damn, I got fucked!" I didn't bother to check the section on their tix. Damn hydro clouding my logic! Turns out they were in the wrong section. So, missed all but one song of Tweak Bird's set ensuring that I didn't get the hucklebuck from the ticket broker. On with the show.

Jambi dropped and it was ON. I was a little disappoited with Maynard's recycled stage act. But his "Sorry about the Alamo." comment was classic. Setlist, no surprises. I was surprised that there wasn't something unique about this show though, as Blair touted on the band site. Danny's performance was impeccable as always, and he was "clutch" in putting things back together following Adam and Justin's inconsistencies. The guitar technical difficulties during Vicarious, and Maynard's "chicken clucking guitar beatbox complete with record scratching" impromptu was great. He even laughed at himself. My wife and I enjoyed the show immensely.

To all of the naysayers... yes, this wasn't their greatest performance. Give or take a botched measure or two and Maynard's vox being low in the mix; this band still impresses and they possess an insurmountable talent. When it was all over and lights were on the crowd, they received a lengthy resounding ovation worthy of the gods. They deserved it and appeared very appreciative. To me that was enough.