Illuminus

This was my second Tool show. I drove to the Gorge from Boise, Idaho. This show couldnt have been more amazing in my opinion.

I had general admission seating but was right up close against the edge so just about as close as you could get from being in the "golden circle." I couldnt have been more happy with my decision to get general admission seating, the view was phenomenal. The stage looked AMAZING from that view. I read someones post on this thread about the stage not being impressive, I can totally imagine why you felt that way being below the stage. You had to have seen it from above man, it was intense, especially when they started doing the yellow flashing lights all over the stage that went on tempo, WOW. During Lateralus when they lowered the strings of lights, that was a beautiful touch for those who werent on the floor. It all looked very classy and fitting. So basically the stage was bad ass. Im pretty sure I liked it better than the Lateralus tour stage props and light show, but that show is a pretty big blur for me. Plus this was The Gorge, probably one of the most beautiful venues in the U.S.
BallsOfSatan, I totally agree with you that the scenery looked very fake and painting-ish. It was SICK.

As for the performance... perfect. They played amazing, as usual. They are always so tight knitted and always flowing with eachother so well. The sounds that Adam Jones can produce just puts my mind into a blender. Danny Carrey was dead on, but who would expect less? Justin had a very commanding presence on stage. Maynard, well, he was just Maynard. Bad ass, dead on, creepy, funny, weird and extremly confident. That guy can move in the weirdest ways, it just makes you wonder if he is really human under that skin ;) hahaha

All in all, the show sent chills up my spine. Being around 20,000+ Tool fans felt amazing. I believe it was after Lateralus that the entire Ampitheater lit up their lighters and it was a giant glowing ball of light all around, I cant imagine what that would have looked like from the stage. Just turning around and seeing thousands of lit lighters being held up took your breath away. The band even put down their instruments, and all sat down together on the drum platform and checked out the view, then got back up and rocked the rest of their set. At the end they all stood and waved and threw out things into the crowd and you could tell how touched they were by the energy coming at them from this mass wave of people. That show is one to remember for a life time. Best show Ive ever experienced, hands down. (besides the hellish parking lot and sea of people when the show was over hahaha)