It seems protocol is to say how many times you've seen Tool live when posting; all I'll give away is that it's a number less than six, but more than four. So how did tonight rank?

Well, nothing compares to your first Tool gig which, for myself, had the added bonus of a performance of "Pushit" (now nearly a decade ago when I was a teenager), but I think tonight was the first truly "different" Tool show I had seen. It seemed a more spacey, relaxed, atmospheric night with them. I think this was due mostly to the inclusion of the trio of "Intension", "Right In Two" and "You Lied". It really made for a long reflective middle part in the show. The closing duo of "Aenema" and "Stinkfist" was powerful. With a god-awful cyclone about to hit North Queensland, "Aenema" actually became more resonant rather than serving as a cruel reminder and although only a small addition - the arpeggio Adam played at the beginning of the second verse of "Stinkfist" just took the entire piece to another level of me. I can't be bothered ranking it amongst their other shows - as with all Tool performances it was worth everyones time who attended. I mean they're not a bunch of thirty year olds anymore (their median age at the time they first toured Australia) so I'll excuse them for perhaps not wanting to become parodies of themselves by digging into their angrier more explosive period of song writing (though I'm only guessing here as to their reasoning). So yeah a night without any Opiate or Undertow on display I won't begrudge and just finish by saying they did really well as per usual :)