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headake30
06-21-2007, 07:28 AM

Where do I start?

Drove down from Chicago. Hoped Maynard wouldn't be sick for my third TOOL show in the last year.....

The Civic Center is nice and small, but the acoustics were horrible. Even the Aragon in Chicago sounds better than the Peoria Civic Center.

Let me rant a small minute on the opening band. Melt Banana. I've seen some bad bands in my day, but this band is easily now the worst band I have ever seen in my entire life. Absolutely horrible. At what point do the guys realize they don't need an opening act? It would be great if TOOL just toured by themselves. No one really wants to hear the opening act anyway, so why bother?

I was high up on the stage right side in the balcony. Great seats for seeing the band closer than I am accustomed to, but right at ear-splitting speaker level. A majority of the time, the whole TOOL sound was one big muddy mess. The bass just dominated everything (aside from a high-pitched guitar note or a snap of Danny's snare/cymbal). At times, the musical instruments were indecipherable from each other in the mix.

Maynard seemed a bit subdued. It was almost like he was "phoning it in". Didn't hit most of the high notes, seemed more concerned with staring at the back screens and being in his own world, etc. You'lll never really get any energy out of Adam, so that wasn't a surprise.

I could watch Danny play drums for hours. The guy is absolutely astounding. He plays effortlessly and with such precision. Kudos to him.

It was nice to hear "Right in Two". I was expecting "Flood" and wasn't disappointed when I didn't hear it.

I also was glad the kids in front of me sat down for a majority of the show (yes I sit at TOOL shows now. There's a reason why I don't buy main floor tickets....). The vantage point I had for seeing the stage light effects was great. Absolutely amazing.

Overall, it was maybe a "C" grade show. The acoustics were horrible, opening band was absolute torture, and I wonder if at this stage of their 'career', some of the guys are just going through the motions. Thank God their music is still amazing, and the light show is incredible.

Aside from "Lateralus", the songs that got the biggest reaction were all off of Aenima. Interesting.

It's sad that when they started to play "Wings for Marie/10,000 Days" a LOT of people headed for the beer stands or just out to socialize. They missed possibly the greatest moments of the show music-wise. "10,000 Days" is a masterpiece.

Few observations:

1.) If you're more concerned with using the text message function on your phone instead of watching the actual show, why the hell are you there? It's scary to see just how many young kids are completely addicted to their phones.

2.) If the acoustics are as bad as they are at places like the Peoria Civic Center, do you really need to make it worse by playing louder than necessary?

3.) Lay off the cigarettes.

4.) The sample of the human genetic makeup that I saw within that Civic Center last night was absolutely frightening.
Old 06-21-2007, 07:28 AM   #18
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2
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Re: 2007/06/20 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center

Where do I start?

Drove down from Chicago. Hoped Maynard wouldn't be sick for my third TOOL show in the last year.....

The Civic Center is nice and small, but the acoustics were horrible. Even the Aragon in Chicago sounds better than the Peoria Civic Center.

Let me rant a small minute on the opening band. Melt Banana. I've seen some bad bands in my day, but this band is easily now the worst band I have ever seen in my entire life. Absolutely horrible. At what point do the guys realize they don't need an opening act? It would be great if TOOL just toured by themselves. No one really wants to hear the opening act anyway, so why bother?

I was high up on the stage right side in the balcony. Great seats for seeing the band closer than I am accustomed to, but right at ear-splitting speaker level. A majority of the time, the whole TOOL sound was one big muddy mess. The bass just dominated everything (aside from a high-pitched guitar note or a snap of Danny's snare/cymbal). At times, the musical instruments were indecipherable from each other in the mix.

Maynard seemed a bit subdued. It was almost like he was "phoning it in". Didn't hit most of the high notes, seemed more concerned with staring at the back screens and being in his own world, etc. You'lll never really get any energy out of Adam, so that wasn't a surprise.

I could watch Danny play drums for hours. The guy is absolutely astounding. He plays effortlessly and with such precision. Kudos to him.

It was nice to hear "Right in Two". I was expecting "Flood" and wasn't disappointed when I didn't hear it.

I also was glad the kids in front of me sat down for a majority of the show (yes I sit at TOOL shows now. There's a reason why I don't buy main floor tickets....). The vantage point I had for seeing the stage light effects was great. Absolutely amazing.

Overall, it was maybe a "C" grade show. The acoustics were horrible, opening band was absolute torture, and I wonder if at this stage of their 'career', some of the guys are just going through the motions. Thank God their music is still amazing, and the light show is incredible.

Aside from "Lateralus", the songs that got the biggest reaction were all off of Aenima. Interesting.

It's sad that when they started to play "Wings for Marie/10,000 Days" a LOT of people headed for the beer stands or just out to socialize. They missed possibly the greatest moments of the show music-wise. "10,000 Days" is a masterpiece.

Few observations:

1.) If you're more concerned with using the text message function on your phone instead of watching the actual show, why the hell are you there? It's scary to see just how many young kids are completely addicted to their phones.

2.) If the acoustics are as bad as they are at places like the Peoria Civic Center, do you really need to make it worse by playing louder than necessary?

3.) Lay off the cigarettes.

4.) The sample of the human genetic makeup that I saw within that Civic Center last night was absolutely frightening.
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