Jambi
Stinkfist
46&2
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Wings I & II
Lateralus
Vicarious
DO NOT POST IF YOU WERE NOT AT THE SHOW

If you have a review of the show, post it. Back and forth bitching at each other will be deleted along with everything else that is not a show review.

Any other questions? Look here.

The concert was quite amazing, definitely better than the show back in September at the Target Center. Partly due to the fact that the sound was just plain better in Xcel. The drum solo during the end of Lateralus that ended up being 5 minutes in itself was really cool and intresting. But someone besides Danny Carey was also playing a smaller set of drums during this. I am not sure who it was because of the seat I was in. My guese is that he is the drummer from the opening act Big Business. Is anyone not impressed with the opening bands for this show and the last one at Target Center? Isis and Big Business both were not at all enjoyable to me. Its like Tool either thinks its funny to make us listen to it, or that in comparison to that it makes them look even more amazing. I would usually say it was just me but the people next to me were openly booing Big Business while they were on stage. And the drums for Big Business was really the only thing you could hear coming from them. The lasers were nothing new, nearly the same stuff from the September show. They did use some interesting light effects during the "black and white.....red and yellow" segments in Lateralus. I was suprised to not hear The Pot,
Ænima, or Sober. Especially when it came to The Pot because it was one of the 3 better known songs off of 10,000 Days (the other two being Vicarious and Jambi.) Before Stinkfist a segment of (-) Ions was used as an intro which I thought was really cool. And last but not least Maynard talking about having to discontinue playing music for us because he had internet porn to get to. Over all the best concert that I have personally seen (out of the unbelievable 4 that I have been to.)

Jambi
Stinkfist
46&2
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Wings I & II
Lateralus
Vicarious

The sound was atrocious for this show... Maynard was mixed down to the point of being almost inaudible until Lateralus. That said, the visuals were absolutely amazing. I didn't fullly appreciate Rosetta Stoned until seeing it this evening. Decent crowd.

Kick ass show... this was my second time seeing Tool in concert. This show was much better than last years that was played in Minneapolis at the Target Center last September. Xcel is a great venue overall for all events. Highlights for of the night were Jambi (Favorite Tool song and that they opened up with that), Flood, and the ending with Vicarious was awesome. Videos and the lights were amazing.

Half way through the show, the guy and girl next to my wife and me starting messing around and my wife informed me that the guy was fingering the girl next to us. He was on his knees with his hand up her skirt.... so that was cool, tried to get pictures of that also with my night vision... but they didn't turn out.

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS AND 3 VIDEOS FROM THE SHOW

PHOTOS

http://tsdrake.com/tmp/main.php?g2_v...&g2_itemId=501


VIDEOS

46&2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrQ9Ln3I0FE
Lateralus - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdLpcZN33_w
Vicarious - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNz38tNmWSw

Section 106 Row 14 Seat 13

2nd Tool show, the last one being last year at Target Center in Minneapolis. Above setlist is correct. Sound was fine once Jambi was halfway through, but once again Rosetta Stoned is inaudible except for some parts. MJK gave us a "Hello Minnesota", and nothing else until the "Internet Porn" comment after Lateralus, btw, anyone catch what he said before that comment? the crowd was insane after Lateralus. Xcel was at full capacity to my eye.

I completely agree with you on this. This show was MUCH better than the target center show back in september.

And as for Isis and Big Business, they all go back to when tool was touring in the early 90's. All somehow connected through The Melvins. Isis's singer owns Hydrahead Records, which has a lot of similar music to the Melvins, and Big Business is signed with Hydrahead. So I'm sure that's how they got involved with tool. Also it's not that tool thinks it's funny for us to watch less known bands before they play, it's that they believe that their audience will enjoy sludge metal, which for the most part I think is true. As for Isis you really have to listen into them to enjoy them, check out their recorded albums Oceanic, Panopticon, and In The Absence of Truth.

The drummer was the guy from Big Business, his name is Coady Willis. I think it's awesome that he was playing the same, if not better on his little drumset compared to danny on his amazing set.

Favorite part of the show, for sure, was the extension of lateralus. Coady Willis is amazing, and so is danny carey, them together for a fucking 5 minute drum solo was unbelievable.

Best show I've been to, but the sound was a bit sketchy, as all arenas are.

I have to disagree. The Minneapolis show last year was better. There was too much "screwing around" with this show. I know that a lot, if not most people liked this but I didn't because they could have used that time to do like 4 more songs. But I guess that's Tool. And was it just me or was Maynard's mic just not loud enough? Is it always like this? I couldn't even hear him on half the songs. But overall it was 8/10 where as last year's was 9/10.

BTW, the opening band sucked, although the drummer was quite good. It just seems like another generic metal band to me but whatever. I didn't go to see them anyway.

here we go

Pre Show: Big ups to piston390 for recommending Patty McGovern's. I had a bacon blue cheeseburger and it was delicious, not to mention that all the women that were employed there were frickin hot. Thanks mate

Big Business: didn't get to see them, hopefully my blue cheese burger was worth it.

Tool:

I can't say whether or not this show was better than last septembers (due to the fact that i was so fucked up at the target center that i don't really remember it), but I can say that this show was fucking amazing. I thought the sound was fine, Maynard was buried at the start of Jambi but seemed to level out towardsthe middle, as well as being almost inaudible during rosetta stoned and wings 1&2, but other than that i could hear all the boys rockin out.

I thought Jambi followed by stinkfist was a great way to start the show, they were definitely the two most aggressive songs of the night, and were a great setup into the more "trippy" songs like 46&2 rosetta etc. My favorite moments of the night were lost keys (how the fuck does justing get those sounds to come out of his bass?)/rosetta stoned (it just kicked ass, and had some amazing visuals) and lateralus. However i didn't really enjoy the drum solo portion of it, it had some really cool moments but from where i was sitting i could here justin plucking away at that one note more than i could make out the drumming. Shit I almost forgot.....FLOOD!!! Holy fuck did that song kick ass live. The visuals for flood were a-fucking-mazing. At times it looked like the water was actually flowing over the stage, and sometimes like it was raining (I was in section 210 so i had a sweet view of the floor projetions as well).

Low point/hilarious moment:

The three drunk old dudes sitting next to me and my two friends singing and high fiveing each other all night long, so fucking annoying. But it was fucking hilarious when i noticed that one of the guys was airguitaring (and sometimes air drumming) even though he looked like he had never picked up a guitar in his life.

Oh one more thing, I really wish schism wasn't in the set. I'd much rather see something like eulogy.

God damn did that fucking rock! And Maynard can still fucking sing better than most modern rockers and hes in his forties! Can't wait to see them again....sadly it would have to wait until a new tour comes round.

EDIT:

Setlist:

Jambi
(-) Ions intro
Stinkfist extended
46&2
Schism extended double time
Lost Keys/Blame Hoffman
Rosetta Stoned
Flood............HELL YEAH!!
intermission
Wings For Marie pt.1
10,000days (Wings pt.2)
Lateralus extended/drum solo
Vicarious

SECTION 105 ROW 23

Jambi
(-)Ions
Stinkfist (Extended)
46 & 2
Schism (Extended Double Time)
Lost Keys/Blame Hoffman
Rosetta Stoned
FLOOD!!!!!
Wings For Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus (Extended Drum Solo w/ Cody Willis)
Vicarious

This was my 9th Tool show dating back to Ozzfest '98. Big Business was the opening band, and I'm quite glad it was them and not Melt Banana. Big Business didn't get a huge response from the crowd, but I thought they were awesome. As for the mighty Tool, all I can say is "Holy fucking shit!!!!". I've seen them on each leg of the 10,000 Days tour and they were truly at 100% form tonight. The extended versions were spectacular for each song, especially Lateralus. The post earlier said the dual drum solo lasted 5 minutes, which I would like to correct. Closer to 7 or 8 minutes sounds more true. Cody Willis is one hell of a drummer by the way, he teams up very well with Danny. Visuals this time around were probably the best I've seen so far, a highlight being for Flood. The way it was playing made it appear as if the stage was a body of water and the lights made it look like it was raining on the band. Overall, great show. Every song was played amazingly! I guess the only complaint I can give were the drunken idiots behind me screaming "Maynard!!!" over and over during Wings For Marie. A message to the fellas in Row 24: Next time you wanna make asses out of yourself, do it at a bar. You spent sixty bucks for a ticket to do what? Drink and yell? Hmmmm...

I was two rows in front of you and those drunk idiots almost ruined the show for me and my wife... She wanted to knock them out... haha

It was a good show, I enjoyed the show last September more though... Better setlist last time I think, and yeah, something was off about the sound at the Xcel...

This was my first Tool concert, and it was amazing. The use of lights with the music was perfect. Vicarious was a great end to it all.

I also thought Big Business was pretty bad. I would have rather listened to a recording of Tool music instead of those guys.

The only thing that could have ruined this concert for me was my drunken girlfriend. She is so fucking irritating. TOOL put on an amazing show. Flood was awesome. I did not think that they were gonna play the long intro to Flood, but they did. It was fucking awesome. The music was spot on. They show was great. I just did not have any fun, because of the bitch that I call girlfriend. To the person in SECTION 105 ROW 23, I was in that same section and row. You may have heard us bitching at each other, unless it was drowned out by those ass holes screaming during wings for marie.

Great show. 4th show for me, and I took a friend who had never been to a Tool show. We had a blast.

Flood, Flood, Flood, and I'll say it one more time: Flood

Personally, I thought the sound was quite good, better than the Target Center and Orpheum last year, and better than Peoria last week; i was on the floor dead center about 10-20 feet from stage depending on the fucking crowd swell and they all sounded great. A tip I can share: since I started wearing ear plugs at shows, I can hear everything better, especially Maynard. They seem to get rid of the extra noise.

The band had more energy tonight than in Peoria. No douchbag threw anything on the stage so we got a fully engaged and active Maynard and he sounded really good tonight.

Danny seemed to be having a great time during the Lateralus drum section: he had a big smile on his face the whole time and it looked like he was excited to be playing that song with a really good drummer. Pushing each other.

A small funny note: someone taped a cutout headshot of Danny onto each one of his kick drums and I'm not sure he knew about it until after because he had a good laugh when he came down off the riser after the show and doing the hug and clap thing saw Justin take one off and stick it on his face for a few minutes.

Anyways; I thought the floor crowd last week in Peoria was bad, but they were way worse tonight. People started pushing almost 10 minutes before Tool went on and didn't stop till the last note of Vicarious. I just don't get the need to push and jump into people in order to have a good time. They have no intension of getting the full experience from a Tool show and by that I mean the visuals. And the fucking asshats who talked all the way through Wings/10k I just don't get it: the fuck did you come for if your're going to talk through almost a 1/4 of the show? At least the band got some of their money.

The highlight was definetly Flood. It sounded soooo good. And the visuals were amazing. It was also the only song of the night that the area around me was mellow so I could actually enjoy it fully. All of the band seemed really into the song as well which added another dynamic.

Overall if this is the last time I see the boys I will be happy with it. Although Maynard did say he would see us soon, whatever that means.

Section C27 Row 5: Maynards voice was hard to hear and the visuals were not as impressive as being infront of the stage, but I had an amazing time.

Good little write up in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_6237343?nclick_check=1


And one from The Star-Tribune:

http://www.startribune.com/457/story/1270634.html

In my opinion, this show was definitely not as good as the one back in September. Maybe it was because I had foor tickets at the Target Center, but this show was not nearly as fun. The acoustics were bad for where I was (103), and the whole time I couldn't really make out anything Maynard or Justin was doing.

I brought a friend of mine this time who isn't really a Tool fan, but I figured he'd like it cause the September show was the best concert I'VE ever been too. What he had to say about it pretty much sums up my feelings; "The first fourth and the last fourth were amazing, but that whole middle chunk with those really longs songs, I was bored out of my mind! It's like good god play a fucking note or something!"

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Tool, but it just wasn't as good as last time.

Weak.

This was my fourth Tool show, and my least favorite. I did not see their show at the Target Center, because you couldn't pay me to see a show at the Target Center. Saw The Cure there in 92, and never, ever went back. Anyway, having seen Tool at the XCel twice before, I can say that yes, the sound did suck. Vocals were mixed way down. Now granted, I had terrible seats. Section 217. I've never been that high at the XCel before. I ventured down to the first level during the last song, and the sound was noticeably better, but I didn't linger there to do an in-depth analysis.

Other than the sound, the performance was....predictably perfect. And perfectly predictable. No surprises, as usual. The absence of Aenema really hurts the set, in my opinion, but I was there for Lateralus, which never disappoints. I have to say, in the end, that I was bored through most of this show. The setlist just isn't what it could be. Honestly, 10,000 Days is my least favorite album to date. Yes, Tool, you're technically proficient in your craft. We know that. 5 to 10-minute instrumental segues are great on the albums - they really set the mood. But when surrounded by drunken fools, you're not going to accomplish that same mood. It's just boring. It was kinda the same at their Orpheum show in 2005, but it was still thrilling, because they were at the Orpheum. At this point, they might as well just send a tape of Maynard along on tour. He really doesn't do anything anymore. He Sings for three minutes or so during every 2nd or 3rd 10-minute song (which was pointless, cuz we couldn't hear the vocals anyway). He plays keyboards nobody can hear. And as usual, he is mostly invisible. Just put Danny up front center, and Adam and Justin on either side. Maynard's silhouette only serves to block one of the video screens.

Wow, reading this over, I'm a little more disappointed than I originally thought. Maybe it's the $115 I paid for my gf and I to see this show, in the worst seats imaginable.

There were some good parts. My most enjoyable moments, in this order, are:
a) Lateralus
b) the drunk guy falling down a few rows above me - he must have rolled down at least 3 rows, over the people who were sitting there. idiot.
c) flood - having missed the pre-lateralus-era tours, this was a treat.

This was my 4th, and probably last, Tool show.

I have mixed feeling about this show. This was my 4th (3rd on this tour). As far as the performance, it was flawless. These guys continue to get better and tighter every time I see them. Very musically gifted.
The crowd SUCKED where I was. We were right next to the sound board, and most of the people around us were standing with arms folded the WHOLE time. BTW if you have a girlfriend who is 4'2" don't bring her on the floor! Nobody knew what was going on when Flood started ,and that song stole the show as far as I'm concerned.
Not saying it was a bad experience, just didn't have the same electricity the Target Center and Orpheum had.
Sound was really good where we were. For about the first 4 songs, you could hear Maynard clearly. I then remember thinking "it's not loud enough", almost immediately I looked at the tech and saw him messing with the board. At that point it was really good volume for all but Maynard. I think Schism was the last song we could make out what he was saying.

All in all very solid show.
Lasers were very cool, but people, Rush had lasers like that in 1988 it's not that new. Tool did however incorporate them perfectly with their music.

Tool is still the best out there. I hope they continue to create great music so we can see them again.

Peace the fuck out!

That was absolutely amazing. So much better than the Target Center, for me at least because I wasn't way in the back and was actually up near the band on the floor this time. Only a few gripes, mainly it was hard to hear Maynard at times, and the crowd on the floor, good god, grow up you morons. Do you really need to mosh to almost every song and shove your way to the front? I went to see Tool play, not fight to keep my balance as the entire crowd is falling over. Whatever, that mellowed out after the second half.

The visuals were extremely cool, had a hard time seeing them last year. I was really happy when Flood started, would have rather heard Pushit, but I would take either over Right in Two. Didn't seem like anyone knew what song they were playing at that point, not surprised really, might even be a reason they play it, to throw off all the new age Tool fans. Regardless, Flood is completely awesome live. Definitely my favorite song of the evening. Wings & 10k Days were much cooler then I remember last year, and Lateralus was pure awesome. The laser lights were much cooler from the floor.

Big business was cool, the sound was a little muddy what with the screaming, but I will at least be checking them out. The drummer's solo during Lateralus was a ton of fun, you could see the grin on Danny and his face throughout the whole thing.

And did I hear right when Maynard said "See you soon" ?

Completely awesome.

Oh yeah, did Danny have pictures of himself on his bass drums?

Gentlemen, please stop bringing your girlfriends to shows because they don't want to be home alone. We had some ladies behind us who were talking on cell phones the entie show. They also sat the entire time, which I believe they could have done at home...for free.

Great show with the exception of Maynards vocals not being very clear.

That was full on metal.

Floor seating at the Xcel is much better than upper level at the Target Center, that's for sure. The only problem is I was caught in the mosh pit for the first two songs, which sucked cause i'm trying to make sure my girlfriend doesn't get beat up by some assholes while at the same time trying to enjoy the incredible show in front of me.

A benefit of the floor is the sound is good. People are saying they couldn't hear Maynard but I could. For some reason he didn't talk as much as he usually does.

Once you see Adam playing guitar, the reality hits you that those trippy, other-wordly sounds are all coming from him and his guitar, an impact that you don't fully get from listening to a CD. He's a creative genius (and the whole band).

Highlight of the show: Lateralus. Hands down. Best drum solo I've ever seen.
Schism and Stinkfists' extended versions also rocked, I love when they improvise because it's slightly different every time, and it sounded like Adam was using different effects than last time, making every show unique.

I just wish it was longer...cmon some bands play 2 and a half hour shows, Tool 0only goes 1 and a half, whats with that?

This was my 4th Tool show. Three at the Xcel and one at the Target Center. I had never seen a show at the Target Center before the Tool show in Sept 06 and probably everyone in Minnesota who appreciates music knows this but the sound in the Target Center is absolutely horrible, I would much rather be at the Xcel. Anyway on with the review.

The energy of the band and the crowd together was unbelievable...I don't think that I have heard a crowd roar like that since the Twins won the World Series in 87. I finally got to see Danny Carey do a live drum solo and it was awesome. Maynard left the stage, Adam and Justin turned around to face "the kit" and Danny & the drummer from Big Business went on a spree which seemed to last for a half-hour...fantastic.

They had a great setlist. All of the above are correct. I was really hoping to hear Right in Two but we got an extra special treat instead...Flood - Completely unexpected. I was in sec. 105, row 4, seat 15 and I could hear Maynard's lyrics just fine - He was right on as well as the band...perfect. I've read some other reviews for other shows stating that the band sounded slowed down - well this was untrue for last night. I still have yet to see a band out-perform Tool live. I'm not just saying that because Tool is my favorite band either - it's just that no one compares to their live sound.

One thing that I found amusing was that no one around me seemed to know what song they were playing when Flood was on. Even after the show I was talking to random people about Flood and the overall response was: Huh, oh yeah. Who are these people??? Sad really, you don't even know the band's older music. And to everyone out there who goes to Tool to mosh...Go home! Or go join the army if you really need a reason to kill people. Tool is not moshing music. It is very intricate, precise, artistic and meaningful music that you should respect and be greatful that you get the chance to hear the boys play their music live for you. Thank you, TOOL, for yet another outstanding performance. You left me leaving once again with goosebumps.

I'm not posting a long review. It's all pretty much been said already. Suffice to say it was a great gig. I procrastinated on buying tickets a mere four days and I ended up in the upper deck. Oh well. You see everything from up there. Get retinal wounds by lasers on occassion too.

Best shit that happened all night was the chick that puked over the railing onto the seats below. Plus the dude that called her out. "Look at that bitch! She's spewing all her carbohydrates out!!"

Worst shit that happened all night was the total douche trying to mimick the Maynard Dance the whole set.

hey thanks, and you're welcome! glad you enjoyed your meal. me and my pals actually arrived a little too late so we decided to go over to Cosetta's across the street instead. kinda bummed about that, but it was good nonetheless.

the show was amazing! i was pretty much dead center of the huge mass of people on the floor. the crowd was awesome. the people around us were great. Light show was incredible! The best was during 10K Days when the smoke in the lasers looked like storm clouds. amazing.

Lateralus and the 5 minute drum solo was my favorite part of the show. Actually... it's the best song I've ever seen live. It was that good.

Maynard: "We'd love to stay and chat but we have a lot of internet porn to get back to."
lol

Awesome show, good sound except for the vocals as everyone has said, but overall much better than the Target Center show.

This was my 7th Tool concert, going back to 1997. 3rd time since 10,000 days hit the shelves.

I will agree with some other posters that even though, overall, the concert was kick ass, this was not the "best" Tool performance. But it's hard to explain why I feel that way, because even a weaker Tool concert is 9 times better than anything else out there right now. Maybe it's the lack of interaction between Maynard and the crowd (either just hamming it up, or telling us to cheer louder 'cause we sound like Green Bay or something). Maybe it's 'cause of the quiet vocals (although they usually are low in the mix, when he's not yelling). Maybe it's because Maynard wasn't quite as spastic with his crazy Maynard Dance, as I've seen before. Whatever it is, it's different for everyone attending, I'm sure. And the next time I see them, they'll probably do a 10/10 show. I'll give this one a 8/10 (which is totally subjective).

Rosetta Stoned and Lateralus were my favorites. Flood was a treat too, of course! The show was unquestionably an assault on the senses, and I'm already looking forward the next time they come around. Hopefully Maynard wasn't joking when he said "see you soon."

Well there's not a whole lot I can add in contrast to the above posts. I really enjoyed this show, its absolutely amazing how powerful flood is live, much better than anticipated. And is it just me or was this show...quiet? Maybe it was where I was sitting (C29).
I remember practically getting my eardrums blown out at the orpheum theatre. Anyways, I guess the overall sound quality was good, except for Maynard being a little on the quiet side. I also appreciate the people in front of us sitting for most of the show, I dont need to fucking mosh and beat the shit out of people at a tool concert to enjoy myself. Aenima would have made this concert "complete". Peace the fuck out.

^^^
The crowd at the target center was definitely louder. I thought my eardrums were gonna explode at that concert.


and I just remembered something from the concert. Did anyone alse notice maynard doing the napoleon dynamite hand butterfly thing at the very end of vicarious? LOL!!!

I don't have that much to add to all of the above, except that I am still, after my seventh Tool concert, so very appreciative of this band and what they do. Yea, the vocal mix was off at first. Not the end of the world. The show totally rocked though. I LOVED Rosetta Stoned. I was definitely pumped to hear that in concert, and it did not disappoint. I just really look forward to their concerts, and after seven shows, they have still never disappointed me. Thanks guys.

Awesome as usual. Sec. 117, Row 6. I was still shaking an hour after the show from all the adrenaline. This was my 3rd TooL show. I did like the setlist from last fall's show a little better. This one still kicked ass too, don't get me wrong, loved the Jambi opener and Vicarious closer. Wish they would've played The Pot. It was great to hear some older stuff too. The only downer for me was the long instrumental part in the middle of the show when I kept waiting for them to break into a song. That seemed a lot longer this time.
Wonder what Maynard meant by "See you soon"??? Liked when he lit his lighter and then everyone else followed. I just looked around to soak up the moment. The screens playing the videos and the lasers really have an awesome effect. The drum solo between both drummers was great. Their group hug at the end was so cool it almost brought tears to my eyes. I will definitely go to another show again, possibly Milwaukee next week!

I was pretty pissed when i read the one from the star tribune earlier. it seems like he was forced to endure yet another tool concert and had to write his little ditty so he could get his pretty penny. apparently he is no tool enthusiast...yea some songs were a little longer but thats whats so amazing about seeing them. if i wanted a carbon copy from the albums, i would have saved myself 600 miles on my car and the hours and hours of driving on the awesome MN highways/interstates!

This was my first (hopefully not my last!!!) tool show!!! I am from sioux falls (SD) and had bout my tickets for the sioux city show the minute they went on sale and wouldnt you figure...cancelled (damn you canada!) so natuarally i exchanged them (wouldnt have missed them for the world!!) I actually brought my boyfriend-huge tool fanatic, he exposed me to their amazingness. I have nothing to compare it to so i thought it was the most amazing thing ever! its one of those things everyone should see before they die in my opinion.
i was in the 3rd row of 201 which was way better than i thought it would be. we were far away but could see EVERYTHING. (except the pics of danny on the drums :-( ) the only sucky thing about sitting up there was that no one seemed to be into it. i was totally rocking it out (sitting ofcouse, steep ass seats!) well, there was the underage girl who got ahold of beer and was creating her own personal mosh in her seat..but the effort was appreciated (damn avril livene wannabes...)
lateralus was absolutley amazing! i was tickled during the drum solo how adam was just plucking away and messing with stuff at the same time..he did pretty awesome (me and my bf play that part; him guitar, me bass...loved it!)
i agree with runnergirl - i teared up when they all hugged. i mean, its good to see such a strong relationship after so long. they are sooo amazing together!
TimDrakeMN-awesome pics! thanks alot

The Show was good… Not great! If you’ve seen TOOL in the 90’s you’ll know what I’m talking about. Expect to see a completely different band. Before the synthesizers and special effects, you had Maynard front and center putting his heart and soul into each show. Now Maynard sings at the very back of the stage with his back facing the screens, his mic isn’t audible at times, he’s not even visible during the jam sections of the songs, and the tempo of the show is way off. It seems like as the special effects keep getting better, the band puts less and less effort into each show. Maybe I’m just expecting too much because I hold TOOL to a much higher standard than most bands, not sure…. If this is your first show, or if you’ve only seen them live from the Lateralus album to present, then you’ll love the show and totally disagree with me. All in all this was a good show, but not up to TOOL standards!!

I think it is true that they have changed their style of on-stage performance over the years, but I still get a lot out of the shows they do today. Yes, they were much more animated and in direct contact with the audience in their earlier days, but I can see how things would change over time. I get the feeling Maynard might be kind of burned out on touring and on performing live. I also think he seems to be acting more like he wants the music appreciated for itself, rather than trying to put on a stage show for the masses.

I don't really know if I am right about any of this. It's just an opinion.....a feeling I get. But I still really enjoy and appreciate the band, and their live performances make every other band pale in comparisson, so I am definitely not complaining.

Ion -intro-
Jambi
Stinkfist
46&2
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Wings I & II
Lateralus
Vicarious

Section 105 Row 9 Seat 3
Just an amazing fucking show.. One comment for steaknuggets. If you knew Maynard and the boys well you would know why he chooses to stand in the back. So people would concentrate more on the music when we all know the lyrics by heart. As he says in his interviews he's only a 1/4th of the band and people need to stop looking at just the lyrics to their songs and judging them just upon that when it disrespects Adam, Justin and Danny.
Oh let's not forget the technical aspects of all the feedback that Adam and Justin use in the show and how it effects Maynard's mic if he stands in the front. If your a musician this should make sense.

Amazing sound quality, lights, lasers, LCD floor.
Can tell Maynard's getting sick of the tour though. Read reviews from Chicago and during Wing intro when Justin lit his lighter and the crowd followed, during Danny's and the drummer from Big Buiness solo Maynard tosses them both gummy worms then walks back to his mic, later throws one again at Danny, to even what Maynard said all night about going back to watch internet porn was exactly the same besides the setlist. Like a carbon copy of our show. Just tells me they're a lil sick of it but still put every bit of energy into the shows.

First Tool concert ever. Missed both last year.

Section 103, row 2...just above the crowd about 75' from Justin.

The sheer impact was incredible. However, like many have commented so far, Maynard's vocal was crap. I thought to myself 'this would be REALLY awesome if they turned it down and let the guy sing!'

This band is a well-oiled machine. I was awe-struck but their ease of operation up there. I practically watched Danny the whole time. The dude works his ass off, but makes it look extremely easy in the process. Naturally, he didn't miss a beat.

The highlight for me was WFM part 2. All time fav Tool song and they did it justice for sure! I hoped they would play it, but was nervous that it would come off kind of dull. Nope, it was fanfuckingtastic...if you ask me.

I got a whole new respect for the contibution Justin makes to the band. The way he puts everyone in a trance during "Lost Keys" is pretty incredible. I'm still trying to figure out how he does that.

Can't wait till next time....if I'm lucky!

Mix Magazine, March 1st 2001
"The band's stage positions were also somewhat
unconventional; Keenan actually stood behind the backline,
on a raised platform, in front of the flat-panel display. The
reason for this was actually a practical one. Tool's legendary
stage volume, and in particular Carey's drum kit, have always
caused problems with Keenan's vocal mic. Consequently,
Jones and Chancellor stood at the front of the stage, and
Carey was positioned on a second riser. This setup kept
bleed to an absolute minimum while preserving the volume
and fidelity that the band requires."

This was the second Tool concert I have attended. The first show was at the Orpheum in Minneapolis on 5/12/06. Both times were amazing. I posted a picture on flickr in the tdn group if anyone is looking for pics.