The Tool Page: Opinion - View Single Post - 2006/09/08 - Los Angeles, CA

This was my third show and I cannot express how unbelievably jacked up for the experience I was before the show began. I went with a long-time friend who had never seen TOOL play before but is a huge fan of their craft.

We were seated in PR9 and for the first 3 songs or so, I actually thought this was some kind of joke being played on the crowd by a band that resembled TOOL, and then the four horsemen were going to pop out from behind the stage and say "HA HA! Gotcha! Now let's really get this show started." The sound was horrific. Muddled, disjointed and impossible to discern any actual lyrics. I saw the first show of the season at Coachella in April and they were unbelievably tight and the sound was fantastic. Much better stage layout too. It has to be an arena problem. Staples just isn't designed with acoustics in mind. The other thing I noticed was that the first three songs didn't have visuals on the jumbo-tron hanging in the center. I actually sat down as the second song started, feeling completely dejected by how off it felt. I actually contemplated leaving at one point because I couldn't believe this was the same band.

It wasn't until I started walking about outside in the hallway and listening from various angles that I could actually believe it was really TOOL playing. I grabbed my friend and we 'befriended' a bunch of guys in a private box located center stage. From that point forward the show was excellent. You could actually hear the instruments and not just a deluge of unintelligble sound. Maynard's voice was definitely off though.

Overall, it was not the mind-blowing, uplifting, spiritually gratifying experience I have come to count on from their music. Something was just off. I have to catch them again at an outdoor venue on this tour, hopefully when Maynard is at 100% again. I loved the repetition of "fuck all you junkies and fuck your short memory's"....Maynard is hysterical when he wants to be.

Thanks to Jason and the rest of the folks in the box that allowed Jordan and I to share your vantage point and gave us seats front and center! You kick ass! If it wasn't for that saving grace, I would have left feeling somehow cheated.

Thanks to the band for sharing Wings/10,000 Days. Would have like to hear Right in Two, but Lateralus definitely rocked as usual. New visuals are excellent!

09-09-2006, 10:17 AM	#32
Captain_Stupendous Level 1 - Lurker Join Date: May 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 2 Bincount™: 0	Re: 2006/09/08 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center This was my third show and I cannot express how unbelievably jacked up for the experience I was before the show began. I went with a long-time friend who had never seen TOOL play before but is a huge fan of their craft. We were seated in PR9 and for the first 3 songs or so, I actually thought this was some kind of joke being played on the crowd by a band that resembled TOOL, and then the four horsemen were going to pop out from behind the stage and say "HA HA! Gotcha! Now let's really get this show started." The sound was horrific. Muddled, disjointed and impossible to discern any actual lyrics. I saw the first show of the season at Coachella in April and they were unbelievably tight and the sound was fantastic. Much better stage layout too. It has to be an arena problem. Staples just isn't designed with acoustics in mind. The other thing I noticed was that the first three songs didn't have visuals on the jumbo-tron hanging in the center. I actually sat down as the second song started, feeling completely dejected by how off it felt. I actually contemplated leaving at one point because I couldn't believe this was the same band. It wasn't until I started walking about outside in the hallway and listening from various angles that I could actually believe it was really TOOL playing. I grabbed my friend and we 'befriended' a bunch of guys in a private box located center stage. From that point forward the show was excellent. You could actually hear the instruments and not just a deluge of unintelligble sound. Maynard's voice was definitely off though. Overall, it was not the mind-blowing, uplifting, spiritually gratifying experience I have come to count on from their music. Something was just off. I have to catch them again at an outdoor venue on this tour, hopefully when Maynard is at 100% again. I loved the repetition of "fuck all you junkies and fuck your short memory's"....Maynard is hysterical when he wants to be. Thanks to Jason and the rest of the folks in the box that allowed Jordan and I to share your vantage point and gave us seats front and center! You kick ass! If it wasn't for that saving grace, I would have left feeling somehow cheated. Thanks to the band for sharing Wings/10,000 Days. Would have like to hear Right in Two, but Lateralus definitely rocked as usual. New visuals are excellent!
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