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Old 09-22-2006, 06:21 AM   #38
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mercurykeith's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Charleston, WV
Posts: 45
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Re: 2006/09/21 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena

The show last night in Columbus was excellent as always. This was my 4th Tool show and overall 10th Maynard experience and they did not disappoint. My fiance and a couple of friends who had never seen them before were in attendance so it was cool to see them get their cherry popped. I knew Maynard would come out with the "round on the outside, high in the middle" joke and lo and behold, he did. Pay attention stoners. And we did.

Stinkfist sounded awesome but I personally didn't really get going until The Pot. Rag on 10,000 Days all you want, I was there to hear some new stuff, not just a greatest hits. The old stuff rocked but I love the new one even more after hearing everything live last night. Jambi was phenomenal, Maynard's cowboy hat twirling and Adam's talk box solo brought the house down. The visuals were up to par with usual Tool fare, and the way they're using the whole stage as a canvas is really neat. It could actually give you an excuse to catch a show from the upper level if you were going to a few, very cool. My only complaint on this front is that the screens in the center of the arena were lighting things up inside way too much and that was a little bit distracting. I can't complain too much about sensory overload though, that's what a Tool show is for.

Rosetta Stoned was a big highlight for me, I just love this song on the record and they did a good job with it live. Does anyone else think the little CGI guy running in the video at the beginning looked a lot like Maynard? Crazy jamming on this song and our first chance to really appreciate Mr. Carey's excellent drum work. However, the highlight of the night was definitely Wings for Marie/10,000 Days. The night reached an absolute summitt when this epic was played. For the most part people behaved themselves while they worked through this one. I kind of figured it would be impossible to connect with the song because of meatheads but surprisingly everything clicked and most of the audience seemed to appreciate it. The release of emotion for me during this one is unrivaled at a show, possibly ever. The band bowed and took a breather after this one, and thanks guys, I know I needed it personally.

Lateralus, Vicarious and Aenima closed the night out and all 3 brought the house down. Vicarious sounded fantastic, possibly my favorite single from the band and ending with Aenima is a sure fire way to go out with a bang. It was an excellent show and I certainly hope to catch them when they go out again next year.

Final thoughts and a brief complaint, though I'm sure I'm not the first one, even in this thread to mention it, what the fuck is up with the merch prices this time around? I go to lots of shows and understand that this stuff is always overpriced and outrageous but Tool seemed to be taking things to new heights with the $38/43 dollars and UP t-shirts. Not cool guys. I would have loved to pick one up but there comes a point when you've got to have principles about these things. See you next year.
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