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Systolic
06-05-2007, 01:10 AM

Its so hard to write a review after other people already have. Its hard to keep from sounding the same, its hard to hold in your Tool fan-boyishness, and its hard to really explain yourself in a way that really expresses the emotions that you felt during the performance. I'm going to go from the start of my trip to the end of my trip, and hopefully by the end of the review you guys can tell ME how the show was.

This was my first Tool show ever... I've been a fan since 2000, but never seen them live. So it should be apparent that I was totally excited going into it.

7:30 PM - I arrive at the arena. My girlfriend and I sit down in, but unfortunately we didnt get seats next to each other, so we have to part ways quickly.

7:58 PM - I'm sitting in my seat in a relatively empty arena, when all of a sudden I hear the sound of feedback through a heavy flanger effect. Out comes Melt Banana, a Japanese Punk/Metal band... well the vocalist looked.. odd from where I was sitting (about 7:00 from the stage, about 50 feet back).. I remember thinking to myself.. "That person looks like a banana in that hoodie!" So anyway, the flanger effect goes into the most horrible sounding mess I've ever heard. The vocalist removes the hoodie to reveal that... its a FEMALE! So, there are 2 females in the band, the vocalist, and the bassist. All four of them were idiots. The band sounded like... hmm... Think Rage Against the Machine-style vocals in the female register backed by a 1970's underground punk band. The guitar was out of tune half of the show (which thankfully only lasted 30 minutes), and most of the time, the guitar wasn't even distinguishable because he was using very weird, "Gradius-like" sounds... There was no melody, no order, nothing even remotely appealing about it. Think about if Meshuggah took everything redeemable out of their music. I found it quite humorous, and I'm actually chuckling at it now, that the group to the right of me, a bunch of goth-like, mulitple piercing-esque, macho kid wannabes ALL were covering their ears with their hands. I probably laughed at that louder than the audience was booing. Yes, booing. I felt bad for the band, but then again... I thought... Maybe if they didn't suck so much..... The last 5 minutes was particularly awful, when they decided just to literally bang on their instruments as fast and as loud as they could. No coherent pitches, no tonal center, just mindless thrashing, with the drummer playing some insanely fast drumrolls. When that mess ended, the front part of the crowd cheered a bit, while the back half booed... I just sat there, in awe. I finally gathered the energy to stand up and find my girlfriend, who looked like she had just seen a ghost when I found her. We laughed about Banana-rama, etc. for a few minutes, and then took a walk out into the lobby.

9:00 PM- I am in my seat, waiting. The arena is beginning to fill up, slowly but surely. The guy who was seated to my left walks in, and we introduce ourselves, sit down, and have some random Tool chit-chat. We both watch the guys in front of us take a few acid hits at around 9:20... and just as we get to talking about whether or not Tool will play Pushit, the lights go out. The boys make their way on stage, Maynard wearing a Cowboy hat, an orange vest, and jeans.

Jambi begins. It seems like they took it a little slower than on CD, as they did with a few songs, but no matter. The band was fucking spot on. Adam has the tech (dressed in a scientist jacket) do a few things to his pedal before the wah solo, which was absolutely beautiful. The song climaxes, and from there, I know that I am in for a treat. Maynard sounds amazing, and the band is totally tight. The song ends, and Maynard steps up to the mic: "HELLLLLOOOOO JEAWWWJUH!" Everyone laughs and cheers, and the ions graphics come onto the screen.

Stinkfist was great. Thanks to the previous dates' reviews, I knew that the band would extend the middle section, which they did... so I simply laughed at everyone who sang "I'll... KEEP.. DIGGING"... I think Maynard tried to make that happen though, because as it got to that part, he kind of leaned towards the crowd as if he was listening. Anyway, the song was fantastic, and Maynard was very lively, swaying in his pseudo-Roswell fashion he is known for.

46 and 2 was also dead on. Danny's drum solo is so fucking amazing live. I mean, I knew it would be perfect, but its just so powerful in context with the song, and seeing it live only exemplifies that.

Schism came next, and it was also pretty perfect. I think they went out of sync with each other for a measure towards the middle, like maybe Adam got ahead by a measure, but it was barely noticeable, and they got right back on. The extended version was FANTASTIC. Danny is a God.

Then Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned. It was so hilarious, and I loved the way the central lights came down... It looked like a UFO. Maynard really hams it up for this song...
"HOLLLLLLY FUUUUUCKKKKINNN SHEEEEEEEEIT!" You can tell he enjoys it as much as everyone else does. At the end, everyone was chanting "Don't know! Won't know!". By the way, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO WAS THERE! The crowd was amazing. Peaceful, yet energetic. Lively, but controlled. I think that Tool noticed how well behaved and responsive the audience was so they gave us....

PUSHIT!!!! Tears came to my eyes the second the song started. I was such a lucky son of a bitch, and I knew it. Words can't describe how beautiful this song is live. I can't see how anyone thinks that Maynard's voice is deteriorating... He was brilliant. "I MUST PERSUADE YOU ANOTHER WAAAAY!" My hands were in the air, I was screaming with him AND the whole audience. There was this wave of energy that I felt flowing through the crowd duing this whole climax. We all were being taken on the ride of a lifetime, and we all knew it. The quote from Third Eye "We are all one consciousness" was running through my head. I felt, for that one moment, that we were all in perfect bliss. The song crashed through its final section, "IT WILL END NO OTHER WAY!" and we all just roared. I think the audience was screaming louder than the band was playing. A truly uplifting and magnificent experience that I will never forget. I was so at peace with myself... and just thinking about that moment gives me the chills.

Next came the Intermission, but the intermission carried its own beauty. About 5 minutes in, people started holding up lighters, then more people, and more people, and next thing you know, the whole arena was lit up with lighters! It was pitch black before, other than the stage lights, but I could CLEARLY SEE all the way across the arena because of all of the lighters. It was beautiful! Then, as the lighters go dim, and the crowd quiets, we hear the gong.

Wings for Marie/10,000 Days was unreal. I don't do any type of controlled substance, but the song, in conjunction with the beautiful light show, and the ambiance of the crowd made me feel as if I were having an out of body experience. I just stared up above at the rotating and shifting lasers, and felt myself drifting. Then the thunder hit, and smoke came up from the stage, and danced its way through the lasers, hazing them. I was barely even paying attention to the music at this point.. I was listening, but I was so engrossed by the beautiful artwork and scenery that I just let the band pull me through the song. It seemed like a lifetime before the song ended, but I was perfectly content. At the songs climax, I was dazed. Everyone around me was headbanging, and singing... I was just standing there, frozen in time, in sound... I was uplifted. Up until this point in the show, I had been very active, and mobile, but I was completely docile and calm by the end of 10000 Days. I love the song on the album, but the album doesn't even do it justice, and I think the band knows that.

Side note - I think I understand why Maynard places himself so far back on the stage. If he were a "frontman", like most vocalists, we wouldn't get the sonic experience that we are supposed to get from shows like these. Maynard steps back and lets the music do the work.. He is just the messenger.

Lateralus - Another one of my all time favorites. I just rocked along with the spiral, and THEN, out came Mastadon's drummer! He and Danny had a Duet, and THEN they traded fours for about 32 measures! It was incredible! The whole time the only thing keeping the beat for the drummers was Justin's triplet figure (The ostinato that he plays through 90% of the song)... Maynard came back, and thanked Mastadon's drummer, and they kept on. The song ended in a bang, with Maynard seemingly conducting the last few measures... another brilliant performance.

Maynard then spoke for about a minute or so... I couldnt make out what he was saying, unfortunately. I did hear "You guys were wonderful, thanks for coming out.", but that was all I could make out for certain. And to close things out came-

Vicarious! The song really kicked ass, and everyone was using every last bit of energy they had to rock this song out. The band seemed like they could go on forever, and they werent even showing a hint of fatigue. At the end of the song, instead of singing "VICARIOUSLY I LIVE WHILE THE WHOLE WORLD DIES!", Maynard flipped the mic around and held it out to the crowd! He then finished off with "Much better you than I!" which seemed kind of like a joke to me, with him letting the crowd say they they live vicariously, and Maynard replying by saying "Much better you than I!", so I got a little laugh out of that. The crowd went crazy, the band gave a group hug, and Maynard quickly exited the stage while the rest of th band threw various things into the audience... water bottles, picks, setlists, etc.
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Old 06-05-2007, 01:10 AM   #9
Level 9 - Obstreperous
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In racist-ville
Posts: 1,369
Bincount™: 862
Re: 2007/06/04 - Duluth, GA - Gwinnette Center

Its so hard to write a review after other people already have. Its hard to keep from sounding the same, its hard to hold in your Tool fan-boyishness, and its hard to really explain yourself in a way that really expresses the emotions that you felt during the performance. I'm going to go from the start of my trip to the end of my trip, and hopefully by the end of the review you guys can tell ME how the show was.

This was my first Tool show ever... I've been a fan since 2000, but never seen them live. So it should be apparent that I was totally excited going into it.

7:30 PM - I arrive at the arena. My girlfriend and I sit down in, but unfortunately we didnt get seats next to each other, so we have to part ways quickly.

7:58 PM - I'm sitting in my seat in a relatively empty arena, when all of a sudden I hear the sound of feedback through a heavy flanger effect. Out comes Melt Banana, a Japanese Punk/Metal band... well the vocalist looked.. odd from where I was sitting (about 7:00 from the stage, about 50 feet back).. I remember thinking to myself.. "That person looks like a banana in that hoodie!" So anyway, the flanger effect goes into the most horrible sounding mess I've ever heard. The vocalist removes the hoodie to reveal that... its a FEMALE! So, there are 2 females in the band, the vocalist, and the bassist. All four of them were idiots. The band sounded like... hmm... Think Rage Against the Machine-style vocals in the female register backed by a 1970's underground punk band. The guitar was out of tune half of the show (which thankfully only lasted 30 minutes), and most of the time, the guitar wasn't even distinguishable because he was using very weird, "Gradius-like" sounds... There was no melody, no order, nothing even remotely appealing about it. Think about if Meshuggah took everything redeemable out of their music. I found it quite humorous, and I'm actually chuckling at it now, that the group to the right of me, a bunch of goth-like, mulitple piercing-esque, macho kid wannabes ALL were covering their ears with their hands. I probably laughed at that louder than the audience was booing. Yes, booing. I felt bad for the band, but then again... I thought... Maybe if they didn't suck so much..... The last 5 minutes was particularly awful, when they decided just to literally bang on their instruments as fast and as loud as they could. No coherent pitches, no tonal center, just mindless thrashing, with the drummer playing some insanely fast drumrolls. When that mess ended, the front part of the crowd cheered a bit, while the back half booed... I just sat there, in awe. I finally gathered the energy to stand up and find my girlfriend, who looked like she had just seen a ghost when I found her. We laughed about Banana-rama, etc. for a few minutes, and then took a walk out into the lobby.

9:00 PM- I am in my seat, waiting. The arena is beginning to fill up, slowly but surely. The guy who was seated to my left walks in, and we introduce ourselves, sit down, and have some random Tool chit-chat. We both watch the guys in front of us take a few acid hits at around 9:20... and just as we get to talking about whether or not Tool will play Pushit, the lights go out. The boys make their way on stage, Maynard wearing a Cowboy hat, an orange vest, and jeans.

Jambi begins. It seems like they took it a little slower than on CD, as they did with a few songs, but no matter. The band was fucking spot on. Adam has the tech (dressed in a scientist jacket) do a few things to his pedal before the wah solo, which was absolutely beautiful. The song climaxes, and from there, I know that I am in for a treat. Maynard sounds amazing, and the band is totally tight. The song ends, and Maynard steps up to the mic: "HELLLLLOOOOO JEAWWWJUH!" Everyone laughs and cheers, and the ions graphics come onto the screen.

Stinkfist was great. Thanks to the previous dates' reviews, I knew that the band would extend the middle section, which they did... so I simply laughed at everyone who sang "I'll... KEEP.. DIGGING"... I think Maynard tried to make that happen though, because as it got to that part, he kind of leaned towards the crowd as if he was listening. Anyway, the song was fantastic, and Maynard was very lively, swaying in his pseudo-Roswell fashion he is known for.

46 and 2 was also dead on. Danny's drum solo is so fucking amazing live. I mean, I knew it would be perfect, but its just so powerful in context with the song, and seeing it live only exemplifies that.

Schism came next, and it was also pretty perfect. I think they went out of sync with each other for a measure towards the middle, like maybe Adam got ahead by a measure, but it was barely noticeable, and they got right back on. The extended version was FANTASTIC. Danny is a God.

Then Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned. It was so hilarious, and I loved the way the central lights came down... It looked like a UFO. Maynard really hams it up for this song...
"HOLLLLLLY FUUUUUCKKKKINNN SHEEEEEEEEIT!" You can tell he enjoys it as much as everyone else does. At the end, everyone was chanting "Don't know! Won't know!". By the way, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO WAS THERE! The crowd was amazing. Peaceful, yet energetic. Lively, but controlled. I think that Tool noticed how well behaved and responsive the audience was so they gave us....

PUSHIT!!!! Tears came to my eyes the second the song started. I was such a lucky son of a bitch, and I knew it. Words can't describe how beautiful this song is live. I can't see how anyone thinks that Maynard's voice is deteriorating... He was brilliant. "I MUST PERSUADE YOU ANOTHER WAAAAY!" My hands were in the air, I was screaming with him AND the whole audience. There was this wave of energy that I felt flowing through the crowd duing this whole climax. We all were being taken on the ride of a lifetime, and we all knew it. The quote from Third Eye "We are all one consciousness" was running through my head. I felt, for that one moment, that we were all in perfect bliss. The song crashed through its final section, "IT WILL END NO OTHER WAY!" and we all just roared. I think the audience was screaming louder than the band was playing. A truly uplifting and magnificent experience that I will never forget. I was so at peace with myself... and just thinking about that moment gives me the chills.

Next came the Intermission, but the intermission carried its own beauty. About 5 minutes in, people started holding up lighters, then more people, and more people, and next thing you know, the whole arena was lit up with lighters! It was pitch black before, other than the stage lights, but I could CLEARLY SEE all the way across the arena because of all of the lighters. It was beautiful! Then, as the lighters go dim, and the crowd quiets, we hear the gong.

Wings for Marie/10,000 Days was unreal. I don't do any type of controlled substance, but the song, in conjunction with the beautiful light show, and the ambiance of the crowd made me feel as if I were having an out of body experience. I just stared up above at the rotating and shifting lasers, and felt myself drifting. Then the thunder hit, and smoke came up from the stage, and danced its way through the lasers, hazing them. I was barely even paying attention to the music at this point.. I was listening, but I was so engrossed by the beautiful artwork and scenery that I just let the band pull me through the song. It seemed like a lifetime before the song ended, but I was perfectly content. At the songs climax, I was dazed. Everyone around me was headbanging, and singing... I was just standing there, frozen in time, in sound... I was uplifted. Up until this point in the show, I had been very active, and mobile, but I was completely docile and calm by the end of 10000 Days. I love the song on the album, but the album doesn't even do it justice, and I think the band knows that.

Side note - I think I understand why Maynard places himself so far back on the stage. If he were a "frontman", like most vocalists, we wouldn't get the sonic experience that we are supposed to get from shows like these. Maynard steps back and lets the music do the work.. He is just the messenger.

Lateralus - Another one of my all time favorites. I just rocked along with the spiral, and THEN, out came Mastadon's drummer! He and Danny had a Duet, and THEN they traded fours for about 32 measures! It was incredible! The whole time the only thing keeping the beat for the drummers was Justin's triplet figure (The ostinato that he plays through 90% of the song)... Maynard came back, and thanked Mastadon's drummer, and they kept on. The song ended in a bang, with Maynard seemingly conducting the last few measures... another brilliant performance.

Maynard then spoke for about a minute or so... I couldnt make out what he was saying, unfortunately. I did hear "You guys were wonderful, thanks for coming out.", but that was all I could make out for certain. And to close things out came-

Vicarious! The song really kicked ass, and everyone was using every last bit of energy they had to rock this song out. The band seemed like they could go on forever, and they werent even showing a hint of fatigue. At the end of the song, instead of singing "VICARIOUSLY I LIVE WHILE THE WHOLE WORLD DIES!", Maynard flipped the mic around and held it out to the crowd! He then finished off with "Much better you than I!" which seemed kind of like a joke to me, with him letting the crowd say they they live vicariously, and Maynard replying by saying "Much better you than I!", so I got a little laugh out of that. The crowd went crazy, the band gave a group hug, and Maynard quickly exited the stage while the rest of th band threw various things into the audience... water bottles, picks, setlists, etc.
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