Originally Posted by tritech

"Tool? I-I-I don't think so." My wife's more of a Smith's kind of gal, you see. She was terrified. I was giddy, yet skeptical. As soon as we arrived all of my fears began to run through me like an out of control pathogen. "Not good." I said to her. I just knew. I tried looking past the fake tits and Affliction t-shirts, I mean after all, this is Dallas. Onward and upward, I told myself.

First the venue, Verizon. Not a bad seat in the place. Parking expensive but everything is. Usually very good sound quality. Not so much last night. From not being able to hear MJK, to extended periods of unintelligible bass "noise", this missed the target. Mediocre at best.

Now to the things that kept me up last night and have broken my black heart.

The guys. Sloppy is the only thing that comes to mind. They seemed confused. Mistakes, timing, everything. From a band that I've always admired as being technically sound and unapologetic in their rigidness, they disappointed. It was either irreverence or rust and lack of preparation. I would like to think it was the latter.

Which transitions into the disturbing side of what I witnessed.

This was/is a transparently obvious and painfully blatant money grab of the highest order. It's derivation is moot. However rationalized this was a complacent punch-the-clock-and-go-home. Totally mailed in.

The end is upon us. I'm glad I was here to see it, but there is something dignified about burning out. I don't want a graceful aging. These gentlemen that opened a virtual Caligula in our minds of what it means to be Tool are quickly and sadly becoming a walking Rolling Stones, late night TV orchestrated punchline. A small, albeit incredibly dear to me, section of my psyche was irreparably damaged the evening of January 20th. A very humbling night for all of us.

I am truly sorry. Feedback is not only welcome but encouraged. I'm seeing words of description like, "epic" and "blown away". What am I not seeing? Am I expecting too much?