STINKFIST
THE POT
46 AND 2
JAMBI
SCHISM
LOST KEYS
ROSETTA STONED
SWAMP SONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LATERALUS
VICARIOUS
AENIMA
Awesome show, I will post a full review later. I just wanted to be the first one to let you know they played Swamp Song.
ow that was an awsome show. but there was one stupid guy that had a laser and shined it in the fase of maynard...stupid kid
Just got back.
Maynard's reaction to the laser incident: "Stop it or I will break your neck".
"Using lasers is for fags".
The person in the audience used his green laser during a pause in which all four sat down on Maynard's stage. One of them put his lighter in the air and the audience followed.
Strangely, the song after that was Lateralus, full of green lasers.
lol
Great fucking show, for me the best one of all Belgian TOOL shows so far. Killer venue, great audience, and a really fucking KILLER TOOL. Maynard was in very good spirits (except when that asshole pointed his faggy laser beam at him). Picture this: he sang Rosetta stoned while lying on the floor and moving his legs in time with the rythm - amazing how he pulled that one off. Adam was livelier than the day before yesterday, and Justin and Danny were once again spot on. Swamp Song was played flawlessly - amazing. Maynard was also more talkative than in Leuven; he thanked us for the chocolate and again promised us that they would be back next summer.
This was the show to end all shows. My seventh TOOL-show and it ranks with the best.
1. The green laser was probably someone from the Tool-crew. It was kinda cool of maynard saying that lasers are for fags, and then starting a huge lasershow the song after that. I could have been some kid, but I don't think so.
2. The lighter-thing was a reference to Leuven. There, Adam put his lighter up first. So there were some guys who've been to Leuven aswell, and put their lighter up before he had the chance.
Swamp Song was amazing. Again an amazing sound. Visuals awesome.
But I'm still heavily dissapointed in the setlist. Tool used to be a band where you would never know what you'd get. Now they just changed one song in a country where probably half the venue was packed with people who saw 'em 2 days before.
But then again, Tool is probably the only band who could get away with it. Even though I was dissapointed in the set, they still rocked, and it was an amazing show.
For people who don't check out the internet for setlists, and who saw them for the first time, this must have been an amazing experience.
1. The green laser was probably someone from the Tool-crew. It was kinda cool of maynard saying that lasers are for fags, and then starting a huge lasershow the song after that. I could have been some kid, but I don't think so.
I'm sorry to say it was just some dumb fucking kid. He was standing right behind me and I almost punched him for it.
Here's my full review, this was definitely the most memorable Tool show I've ever seen.
First was mastodon, and to be honest I liked them more in Leuven. Funny how they went through exact the same motions during their set. I think they're an above average band. But not just there yet...and maybe a new sound man would help...
Then came Tool, opening with Stinkfist. I believe Maynard couldn't sing the first line because he was blinded by a flash light of a press photograper. Maynard came to the front of the stage and yanked the photographer(immediately escorted out by tour manager). Damn scary to see a dude wearing a huge mask storming right at you I guess. The rest of the song was spot on, as usual.
During The Pot, 46 and 2 and Jambi it became evident that the guys seemed even more interested then in Leuven. Maynard was actually interacting with the crowd, doing some waving and stuff and said "Hi, good to see you a-gain". Schism came with the fast middle section that I love more every time I hear it. Justin again rocked like he always does.
Up next was Lost Keys and Rosetta Stoned, maynards dancing during Rosetta Stoned was awesome(btw he didn't use hiss megaphone untill the last part of the song). He was laying flat on his back while glancing at the crowd and his legs lifted up in a 90° angle. To put it simple it was HILARIOUS. He "danced" like that for some 6 minutes of the song and then reached out to his megaphone put it to the ground and sang while allmost ritually shuffling around it. Wow that's 6 lines of typing but still not a great description. You had to see it. Adam allmost had a little laugh on his face if I saw well.(He was in top form all the way baby)
I guess next was Danny's drum solo, Danny reminded me of the squid drummer in the Spongebob band, funny to think about 'Bob when watching Tool.
Following the solo everyone exepted the Sober riff, but we got a tasty little treat in Swamp Song(I thought it was a little extended even, not really sure). When it started I thought it was going to be Opiate but Swamp Song not in my wildest dreams...For everyone out there they can still play it like it was 1996 ( not that I know though, I was 10 at that time).
The rest of the night was one hell of victory parade, except the Laser incident, Laser mist Adam and Maynard's eyes by well not much I dare say. That would've been end of show...(break your fucking neck)
Maynard made some notions of how Tool would sample "our" chocolate and said they would come around next summer and thanked the crowd that from my standpoint was way more into it then the one in Leuven (Venue off course being a huge factor).
Lateralus, Vicarious and Aenema were all highlights for the night.
Thank you Tool for blowing everyone away once again, and people everywhere complaining about the set, I respect you're opinion, but hey this is Tool and that beats everything else, keep that in mind.
See you next summer.
Maynards voice was in excellent condition, by the way. Every note was spot on, and unlike Leuven, I didn't hear him struggle with some high notes (which he sang correcly in Leuven, but you could hear that is wasn't going easy). Especially during the Pot, which was clear as glass this time.
But it is kinda true. Maynard's voice doesn't sound as strong and powerful like it used to. Which is normal after being the best lead-singer éver in 2 rockbands, almost touring and/or recording all the time.
Brussels was one of the best indoor Tool shows that I have seen. (2nd after Groningen 2002). Out of six shows this year, this one tops with Roskilde.
Yesterday in Rotterdam I was in the first 10 rows and in Brussels I took a seat in the back which has a way better visual effect. (And no ass hole security with flash lights. Who are you to wave your finger, huh?)
Swamp Song was a very nice surprise! Maynard's voice was way better than in Rotterdam. Overall sound was better too.
Don't know if they had actual lamps from the floor up in the US, but in Brussels it was just a shiny white floor reflecting the lights from above.
Vorst Nationaal is a better venue than Ahoy anyway (especially concerning the wardrobe and sound quality, and more types of beer and food). We were back in the car 15 minutes afterwards and drove back 150 km in 1,5 hours, 140 km/h on the highway :)
A tip for those who are about to see them yet: take a seat upstairs in the back ! The visual effect is so much better then!
This was my first "full fledged" Tool concert. I had experienced them at Werchter this year and my senses cried out for more. So I went to Vorst/Forest Nationa(a)l Brussels to give my eyes and ears the "VIP" treatment ;-)
Man, what a treat that was... Great show, great sound!!! I'll definitely be around next summer.
Too bad that the idiot with the laser pen almost f***ed things up. Luckily he stuffed his laser pen away quickly or the rest of the public could teach him a thing or 2 about invasive rectal laser surgery...
And I'd like to convey a message for Mr. Keenan (should he ever read this): If you think our chocolates are a treat for the tastebuds, please try out our variety of beers. A real (third) eye opener, I'll guarantee!!!
Seated all the way up, cause we're late, at first anxious but it was a great x-perience for the same reason Hans just gave. Great to see the white stage (btw all stage-techs wear "socks" over their shoes while building up the stage) with the lights and visuals on it. Compared to Rotterdam way better sound (even up high in the venue) and a better TooL for that. Security were insane with their Maglights, didn't even want to be on the floor... Crowd ten times better than in Rotterdam, praise the Belgians! Therefore, also a better TooL because I got the feeling they didn't connect with us in Ahoy'. "It was an absolute pleasure", yeah right.
Highlights:
-the charge at the photographer
-RS laying / crawling
-"Put that thing away or I will break your fucking neck"
-Swamp Song
-the triad at the end...
Points of concern:
-it seems really hard (I'm not a guitar player) to get the feedback right on Lost Keys (Justin on the bass) and the Rosetta Stoned guitar solo same shit, they didn't nail it in Rotterdam the night before and the same tonight..... (they were better in Lux on the warmup tour)
-MJK's voice
2. The lighter-thing was a reference to Leuven. There, Adam put his lighter up first. So there were some guys who've been to Leuven aswell, and put their lighter up before he had the chance.
This was my best concert ever! Strange though, because they played (almost) the same setlist in Leuven and for me it didn't sound half that good (on my Tool ranking off course) as in Vorst. That's why I don't mind that they played the same songs.
Really amazing when they played Swamp song. After three notes I recognized my favorite Undertow song.
I got there a little late (missed Mastodon, but I didn't bother), so I got stuck beside an emergency exit without a seat. But as I was standing behind the pa, I could see that they were filming the whole concert. But in my experience with tool, they always forbid this. Did anyone else see this?
Vorst Nationaal is a better venue than Ahoy anyway (especially concerning the wardrobe and sound quality, and more types of beer and food). We were back in the car 15 minutes afterwards and drove back 150 km in 1,5 hours, 140 km/h on the highway :)
A tip for those who are about to see them yet: take a seat upstairs in the back ! The visual effect is so much better then!
we were back in the car 5 minutes afterwards and back in Bruges 1 hour later.
I was also seated upstairs in the back and the view was indeed excellent. totally overwhelming.
As many of you already said, great light show. From my point of view, lateralus was the greatest moment.
I didn't read all the previous comments (sorry i'm lazy) but i think you forgot to talk about danny's drum solo joined by some strange guitar noises from Adam. I don't remember exactly when it has happened. But danny has shown to us how he can kick ass of many nowadays drummers.
Really great show and people from the public were in great mood.
Also funny to see the roadies dressed in white like mad scientists.
As many of you already said, great light show. From my point of view, lateralus was the greatest moment.
I didn't read all the previous comments (sorry i'm lazy) but i think you forgot to talk about danny's drum solo joined by some strange guitar noises from Adam. I don't remember exactly when it has happened. But danny has shown to us how he can kick ass of many nowadays drummers.
Really great show and people from the public were in great mood.
Also funny to see the roadies dressed in white like mad scientists.
Good night.
The drumsolo was the intro to the Swamp Song. Fantastic moments, they were, all of them.
Well, I can't do anything but agree with most people here, however, after seeing this show I realised I'm no longer a Tool fan.
I had never seen them live, now I have, and I must say I didn't feel any of the magic I was expecting to feel. If I had seen this show 2 years ago, I probably would've thought it was the best thing that ever happened to me, back then I thought Tool was the best band in the world and nobody even came close, I still enjoy their music as much as I did back then, but now I've discovered other bands that do come close to Tool, and in many ways even are better imo.
They played the songs I like and played them flawlessly (was especially glad with Swamp Song, still think Undertow is their second best album), but that's about it. The light effects and CGI stuff on the screens was very impressive, jawdropping almost, but thinking back now, it's all a bit over the top, and I think they really need all those fancy gizmo's to keep an entire crowd entertained for almost two hours. I mean, thinking all of the fancy stuff away, what you have left is a very tight band, but one with almost zero stage presence and crowd interaction, and from what I read above, it seems like Maynard talks even less to the crowd on other shows. Justin and Adam just stand there the entire time, and Maynard is tucked away in his own little world back there on his platform, the only guy who acts like normal musicians act on stage is Danny imo. I know their act probably makes them even better live to a lot of you guys, but to me, it's just snobby. I feel like I went to a light show, not a music concert.
To me it isn't about the music anymore. I'm kinda fed up with all the anti-social, let's act like we hate the press and do things different just because we can attitude Tool has.
Aenema still is in my top 5 albums ever, and probably always will be, but I don't think I'm ever going to a Tool show again, unless for the next album, they decide to act more like musicians and less like, well... I don't like to use the word, but... douchebags.
Lorre expresses exactly the same thing that my friend said after Ahoy (and what I felt myself after Ahoy before I went to Brussels). Tool suffers from fear of failure, they want to play this selection of songs perfectly and probably are afraid to fuck up other songs from their back catalogue. And to cover that up they give us this fancy lasershow.
I guess I enjoyed Brussels because Rotterdam was such a disappointment for me and it couldn't be worse. But if they come back next summer with this same setlist, I won't pay another 40 euros.
Aenema still is in my top 5 albums ever, and probably always will be, but I don't think I'm ever going to a Tool show again, unless for the next album, they decide to act more like musicians and less like, well... I don't like to use the word, but... douchebags.
that's a bit harsh ain't it ?
I mean I totally respect your opinion and everyone elses but the arguments you use do not add up at all.
You say they don't act like musicians but apparantly you expect musicians to be crowd pleasures above anything else. I define musicians by the way they play their notes. If the artist' attitude is so important to you and all extras such as lasers seem irrelevant, you might as well go see a public political debate or something.
Last edited by ZeroPointEther; 11-12-2006 at 04:34 AM..
Hmmm, interacting with the public... or performing songs to the best of your ability. To me, the first job is something more for a politician than a musician. You're saying that "being more of a musician" is "interacting with the public". Sure, give them some pointers like... perhaps saying "you're the best crowd we've seen" every single concert? That would really be something I'd pay 37 euros for (yeah, right). I'm going for the music and not for some crowd pleaser who uses smarmy platitudes like there are 13 in a dozen.
As for other groups surpassing Tool's musical ability, that's your opinion. De gustibus non est disputandum...
I was really enthousiast about the light-show, and the whole performance ... untill a friend of mine said : "you know what they should do? Maynard should get his ass back to the front of the stage, and they should just play a normal rockshow like they used to do in the early days".
And although I think it's great what Tool does with lights- en sounds (it's a whole experience - like someone said, it's nog "just" a concert), I agree it would be very cool to see them perform like back in the days.
Just a backdrop, some lights and maynard doing his thing on the front of the stage. What is normal for 99% of the bands, would be kickass special for Tool!
I was in leuven and in Brussels but i liked the leuven show a lot more.
The Voice:
It was first of all my first indoor tool show and if you ask me, i thought maynard voice was a lot better then! i don't know, but when i heard him sing at brussels he used a lot more of variation in his voice, not like he sings it usually (not a problem for me, but i just thought it sounded more perfectly in leuven)... Also it was weird that maynard was this interacting with the crowd!
The Sound:
After a lot of trouble i managed to get in front of the stage, i stood like 20 meters from the stage right in the middle and i couldn't help it but i thought the sound sucked after the concert 2 days ago! Too loud, not clear... The brabanthal sounded almost as if i was listening to a cd. Vorst wasn't that clear, too loud from where i was standing (loud in the sense of: you missed other sounds cuz it was all too noisy)
The Location:
De brabanthal is a much more pleasant location if you ask me, we didn't care for mastodon so came in while they were allready playing and there were only seets left, no standing anymore... After i left my friends at the upper top floor of the building because i wanted to try to get in front of the stage i missed the whole mastodon concert but got in at the second floor and jumped over the fences. What a problem for just standing in front of a stage!!!
But there were some things that made the show also unique:
-swamp song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! just: AWSOME!!!
-a hole other atmosphere, the interaction from maynard and the crowd was really weird an added another atmosphere to the show if you asked me, less tool
-the reaction from maynard at the laser kid
-the first lighter in the show that went up (atleast that i could see) = mine :p
Wow, I'm glad I didn't got totally bashed, thanks to you guys for respecting my opinion.
I'll try to clarify my thoughts a bit, and I understand some things don't really add up, but that happens when you're having mixed feelings...
I'm not saying they should act like every other band out there on stage, but in my oppinion, the essence of a live gig is watching a band that's enjoying themself, and gives the impression that they're there to intertain you, neither was present at the Tool concert.
Actually, Danny and Justin were cool imo, and you could really see they were into it, Adam however looked like he'd rather go back to the tourbus or hotel, he looks like he doesn't enjoy playing in front of a crowd one bit, and Maynard, well, to me, in contemporary Tool, he acts like the people he hates so much in his lyrics. He has this "I'm too good for my fans and the rest of the world" attitude around him, like the gas mask to keep the smoke away, please... he's like the epitome of anti-social.
I still think it's all just an act though, on the live footage of early Tool or APC I have seen, he looks a lot cooler and down to earth guy, still weird, but not as elitist. Too bad those days are gone...
Somebody noticed Maynard danced a lot less than he normally does ?
It probably has something to do with the oxygen mask, I even heard him panting heavily a few times.
About wings, I was a little disappointed too, but we are lucky we got swamp song !
And to everybody making remarks about Maynard, Adam and Justin's attitude and stage performance ... I can only say one thing, you don't know Tool at all ! (if you saw them live 10 years ago you would know what I'm talking about)
Oh, and while I'm a Yankie, I will admit to the ignorance of many of my fellow citizens. But, I've also been to Europe. There are a few assholes there as well! Nobody has a monopoly on dickheads. I enjoy reading posts from non-native English speakers. You impress me very much!
I didn't really like the Leuven-gig, but was very impressed with what I experienced in Brussels. And the weird thing is: I don't really know why. It was great to hear Swamp song, but apart from that, it was the same set list and I still feel they are playing safe.
i saw Tool for the fifth time last friday and it was a great concert, but not as great as the Lateralus-concerts I saw; and maybe for one important thing: Maynard did connect with audience during the Lateralus-concerts.
i saw them at Ozzfest and before playing Lateralus then he said something like 'thank you for coming, I hope this experience has helped you.. heal in some way'.
Maybe this tour is lacking some earnestness, some real connection between the band and the audience. maynards performance and attitude in leuven and in Luxembourg, gave me the impression he didn't really want to be there. Maybe he is fed up with all the touring. But he gave a great performance in Brussels, so thie fire is probably still burning, but maybe there's just more draft: more sales, more interviews, more exposure, less room for reflection and less possibility to communicate the complexity and message of the band.
But still: no disrespect. Tool is one of the best bands around. They've made some wonderful albums and even the not-so-great concerts were good enough to attend. On the other hand: they set their own standards, and it really must be hard living up to them. I hoped they could top the lateralus-shows I saw, but maybe that was a bit too much to expect...
It is unfortunate that you said you weren't a fan anymore because of only ONE performance. It's your choice, and I respect that, but it is unfortunate IMO.
Trust me, the concert isn't the reason I stopped being a Tool fan, it's just when I realised i wasn't one anymore, and everything started falling into place.
I've had the feeling something was wrong with Tool lately, something that caused me not to like them as much as I used to, now I know what it is.
I'll still buy evry single album they release on release day however, and I'll never stop listening to their music, but that's just it, one of the many bands I appreciate a lot, but I don't worship them any more so to speak.
I'll still buy evry single album they release on release day however, and I'll never stop listening to their music, but that's just it, one of the many bands I appreciate a lot, but I don't worship them any more so to speak.
I thought that was just what they're after... They don't like to be idolized. They like to inspire. And that's what they do, they inspire me and boost my spirits. And that's about it. No sorry, it takes a greater power than that for me to worship anyone.
Pope Benedictus XVI, now THERE'S a man I could truly worship... ;-)
7th time is see Tool and by far the best show !
What a difference between this one and the Leuven gig two days ago !
Perfect visuals, perfect sound and perfect audience !
Too bad they did'nt play "Wings" - hope to see that in Paris next month...
Unfortunately, there are two things that temper my enthousiasm : the first is the behaviour of the security guys: what the fuck are they doing with those flashlights ? You can't even move or jump without being flashed in the face !
The second thing is the lack of spontaneity and improvisation. The show is so well mastered that I think they cannot get out of it except for one or two songs.
I really thing Forest National deserved a "real" comeback but they just couldn't...
What vibrations at the end !!!
Fantastic show anyway....
Enjoy and "watch things from a distance"... http://stashbox.org/5082/Tool Forest.jpg
