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Old 06-25-2006, 08:23 AM   #46
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Poland
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Re: 2006/06/24 - Katowice, POL - Spodek Arena

Here's my long 2 cents after seeing TOOL live in Katowice, PL.

PART 1

Got home at 4 am (Katowice to Warsaw), slept until 1pm today. Still have a slight buzzing/ringing sound in my ears which occasionally switches to a jackhammer-type pounding when I hear something loud.


This was my first TOOL show ever. the one major disappointment for me was our crowd. Some of you people were an utter disgrace.

1. I had people around me surprised that ISIS wasn't opening though this has been a widely-known fact for over 2 months now, so those people whom I told this were all like "aaaaaawwwww, what the f*ck?! They better make this the best, longest show ever!" which posed yet another problem...

2. ...The fact that the european dates are also warm-up shows. Literally NOBODY knew this. Every time, the conversation between another fan and me looked like this:

"gee, I hope they play Sober"
and I was like "they will"
they were like "how the fuck do you know"
and I'd be like "cause I know the whole setlist by heart, cause it's the same in every european country..."
and they were like "no way, how?"
and i'd be like "yeah, it's a warm-up tour, the show is only gonna be 1.5 hrs..."
and they were like "REALLY?!?!?! bullshit, I don't believe you..."

3. Because of that, the show ended, the lights came on, and people literally booed! I don't know where people pick up that kind of attitude, but those manners are totally unacceptable by standards of modern day ethics. It's just sad.

4. If it took a lot outta your wallet to pay 145 zł for the floor (yeah, it's a lot for Polish standards), then next time you may as well not go, because the argument that "I paid too much money for such a short show" is no justification for your behavior. You gave every other fan a bad name in front of a band whose life's work you SUPPOSEDLY appreciate. Next time, do the math, there's a bunch of english/polish forums and message boards where you can find information on shows, concerts, organisational changes and on the current state of setlists, average duration of a show, etc. They played Aenima, then left, the crowd cheered for more, then the lights came on and everybody went "AAAAAW! BOOOOOOO!" The nerve of some people. If it's too much for you to pay that sum of money to see a band and appreciate them, four words:

TOO BAD, YOUR LOSS.

I'm astounded at how much NEGATIVITY you people showed. After seeing TOOL. That is like the biggest paradox ever. You all know how positive the overall message of TOOL's music is, yet you're able to COMPLAIN after a decent TOOL show (because it was, at least decent, though I personally thing it was good). How does that work?!


Another party at fault was the organisational crew at METALMIND PRODUCTIONS. No partial cash returns after calling off ISIS, as well as hardly any information about the gig. First they said it was gonna be ISIS supporting, then, on their site, they changed it to "TOOL + special guest" and then they changed it to "An Evening With Tool". The floor at the Spodek Arena floor section was meant for 4000 people so guess what? They let 5000 people on the damn floor. I was WAY up front, right by the front metal bars, opposite Danny, the view was a DREAM. Justin came out ALONE in jogging pants and a navy polo T and went into Lost Keys, mostly messing with some knobs while on his knees. Then, out came Adam in an I *Rolling Stones Lips and tongue Logo* LA t-shirt, then Danny in a red LA Clippers uniform (the man could fight a bear, holy sh*t) and then, after a long wait, Maynard looking just like he did during every other show. The cowboy hat came later on.

Justin came out and that's when ALL HELL unleashed. 5000 people started pushing like crazy, I felt my ribcage was about to crack a couple of times, it was really dangerous. At one point, the bars started tipping over, at which point the security had to hold them up to keep them from tipping all the way. You've probably felt that at some concert where the venue was over-packed and every time people leaned up to one side, you wouldn't fall cuz people on the other side were like an elastic wall holding you up, and then that wall pushed back the other way. it's not even like moshing, it's worse, it was people pushing and shoving just for the fuck of getting to the front, it was pathetic, and I saw some guys having to LITERALLY brutally shove and punch people around them ON PURPOSE just to desperately pull their exhausted girlfriends/wives out of that hell-hole. I fully sympathise with you dudes, and I can understand that kind of aggression, because it was justified. Respect for saving your women, there was nothing else you could have done. Rosetta Stoned was a HORROR up front, could barely enjoy the song, I was busy fighting not to get killed. When it ended I thought "fuck this, I'm here for the songs not the view" and fought my way through Stinkfist just to get to the mid-rear section of the floor. The view was still okay, but the sound was much better and at least I was safe. I mean, I'm not that small, I'm 5"11 and 75 kg, but that was just TOO MUCH. I have a huge, bloody bruise on my back that's like 3cm wide and 30cm long (as if I got hit by a metal pole or something and I didn't even get hit by anything, it was just from the sheer force of the people pushing against me. I did get elbowed in the head a couple of times, which I still feel now, so to everybody intentionally chucking their elbows at my head, thanks a bunch. The floor was NOT a safe place to be and I am not going to think twice about getting good seats next time TOOL comes to play in Poland. I always mosh at like a Dillinger Escape Plan show or something like that, it's normal with them, but seriously.... BRUISES? AFTER A TOOL SHOW?!

--------- '']['' [{}] [{}] ][,, ---------

As for the show itself, the setlist was obviously the same and the DID NOT play the Pot. The sound was at about a 7 out of 10. Maynard never fucked up, he hit every note, the sound dude just didn't expose him as much as he should have in some parts.

The beginnig riff for Jambi was a bit off rhythm by Adam half way, but he got back on track for when the vocals come in. No gestures, no nothing, he just played, like always.

Justin is Justin, he had that whole "Me? Oh, just humping my bass, nothing much..." thing goin' on, lots of energy, awesome playing, nailed everything, absolutely KILLED the uber-fast Schism brigde, as did Daniel.

Dan was on fire, everything was played perfectly, didn't notice any mess-ups, though some things need to be mentioned. In plus, his kick drums were more audible than on any record, though at the same time, in minus, his snares were a bit too guiet and a tad "flat-sounding". The tabla part in Right In Two turned out great, and over-all, can't say anything bad about the playing of all 3 guys and the same goes for Maynards singing. Dan threw out some stichs and drum tops after the show.

Maynard changed up some parts to throw in a little variety, sang some bits with a different intonation than on the records. Basically, the arena's sound system is what needed polishing, not the band's execution of the music.

The visuals were far from stunning, because aside from the videos, they're just a bunch of colorful morphing effects like the ones in Windows Media Player except higher resolution and better quality. The Indian/Asian lady in Jambi with the zombified eyes and the flame on her forehead wasn't as breathtaking as I though it would be, and the blinking white lights when Maynard sings "black and white are all I see" in Lateralus, followed by red and yellow lights when he sings the "red and yellow" part was kinda cheesy. In conclusion, the visuals really did seem like a warm-up setup, just basic computer generated visual processing, and were far from being as stunning as what I've seen on bootlegs of the LATERALUS 2002 US-tour.

Maynard left out a significant part of Sober for the crowd to sing and as far as I could hear around me, everyone sang the words perfectly.

What rattkin said is worth mentioning again, the jams in between some songs were really beautiful, especially the mellow one before Vicarious, cause the one before Right In Two was just a short, no-lyrics version of Intension. Adam and Maynard both played on their keyboards. I think there was one before Stinkfist too, and the one before Sober was not one that resembled Merkaba, but rather a heavily distorted droning that was AWESOME for me, though hard to bear for some people around me (covering their ears) as it was really loud and all it was was a slowly pulsating HIGHLY distorted sound that lasted about 2-3 minutes. It was played by Justin, because it went dead a second before he started the bassline for the beginning of Sober.

Also, I agree very much with what rattkin said in that some people didn't get the whole 5 minute sitting break that the guys do 3/4 through the show. People were surprised, and reacted curiously, which could have been avoided if they'd just done their homework and checked that this is what the guys do every single show.


PART 2 below.

Last edited by Chuck_Of_Wah; 06-25-2006 at 12:38 PM..
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