saw tool last week..

imissyoualways

i know a lot of you are tool fans and i was just curious to see how who has seen them and what they thought. I love tool and have been a longtime fan so i checked them out for the first time last week in san diego. I was a bit disappointed, however, to find that Maynard hardly spoke to the audience. Sure, i'm not expecting him to tell stories as Vedder, does but he didn't move from the same four by four foot space the entire show until it was time to go back to the bus. There were no encore(s). In addition, tool has a strict cell phone policy- you basically cannot use it. Whatsoever. I was also surprised to see the majority of people sitting down, including the front row. With that said, the sound quality was great and i still enjoyed myself. Who has seen them and what did you think of the show?

Gardenparty

that's a tyipical Tool show.

He enjoys standing in the shadows a bit. Saw them a few times live and never heard him talk. I've lost interest in the band since then though. The live show certainly didn't help their cause.

but...they do sound great live

AiCPearlJamWeen

I saw them in Albany in the last seats back against the wall, one of the best shows I've ever seen. Just seeing the crowd below us with our backs against the wall of the Pepsi Arena and enjoying a joint line with the fellow Tool fans around the back. Maynard danced, threw his cowboy hat up and caught it on his head and during the Lateralus drum off between Danny Carey and the drummer from Big Business Maynard stepped off stage and started bringing exotic potted plants/bushes/mini trees out and started surrounding his area next to and in front of Danny. All well dressed in a newly acquired scientist lab coat which the roadies and stage crew wore.

After Lateralus and before they started the last song, Vicarious, Maynard thanked us all multiple times about us being there for him and his exotic plants.

Some video I shot from my seats:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQFMPPI_h4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u201Opjc ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f43efvP8 ... re=related

imissyoualways

thanks, very cool videos! I always had friends tell me they are the best live show. i think maybe they changed their shows significantly over the last few years.

PJFAN13

hey imissyoualways, i too saw TOOL last Thursday @ Viejas...
I have always heard TOOL was a "must see" gig and a great friend of mine is a TOOL tool Went with him and had a blast!
Apparantly their setlist is the same every night - my buddy hooked me up with a disc 3wks prior and I was familiar with most...

The drummer was outstanding as was the bass player...the lasers and videos, etc... to me were unneccesary distractions to a really tight band...

I commented to my buddy that the crowd was tame and Maynard stood next to the drummer in the back all night...he said its that way every show...

Great night - I'd see them again in a heartbeat for their drummer alone - he was easily one of the best I've ever seen live.

imissyoualways

PJFAN13 wrote:

hey imissyoualways, i too saw TOOL last Thursday @ Viejas...
I have always heard TOOL was a "must see" gig and a great friend of mine is a TOOL tool Went with him and had a blast!
Apparantly their setlist is the same every night - my buddy hooked me up with a disc 3wks prior and I was familiar with most...

The drummer was outstanding as was the bass player...the lasers and videos, etc... to me were unneccesary distractions to a really tight band...

I commented to my buddy that the crowd was tame and Maynard stood next to the drummer in the back all night...he said its that way every show...

Great night - I'd see them again in a heartbeat for their drummer alone - he was easily one of the best I've ever seen live.

haha yes the drummer was awesome. im glad you had a good time when i was there i wondered how many ppl there were pj fans or 10 clubbers...but then again i wonder that at any show i go to hehe

its_ok

I was lucky to catch them in LA 7/19. Being from Sweden I just got lucky they were touring California when me and three friends were on a three week roadtrip on the west coast.

This was my third Tool show, and I consider them my second favorite band after PJ. The LA show was fantastic! They opened with Third Eye which i sometimes consider one of the best songs ever made, its incredible, and in the encore they played Lateralus which also is a favorite song, just love Danny Carrey's drumming in it. And they finnished with Aenema. Being in LA and seeing what kind of city it is made me really understand Aenima...the only way to fix it is to flush it all away The US has so many cool cities, LA is not one of them.

Regarding Tool live, Maynard barely says anything, complete opposite to PJ shows where the interaction with the audience is a central part of the show. Ive just accepted that Tool isnt like other bands, they do things their way, not much talk from the band, no big changes in the setlists, none or one short encore and so on. Its more focus on the music itself..Theyre still awesome live though, but its a different kind of performance than what PJ puts on.

catefrances

its not the maynard show. he doesnt want to be the focus.. he wants the music to speak for itself. and it does.

mr bungle

They are on my must see list whenever they come the Northwest. I saw the Vancouver and Seattle shows this year and was blown away as usual.

rhcpjam1029

saw tool last year...one of the best experiences ever. witnessing rosetta stoned live is just...no words.

VINNY GOOMBA

I've seen T00L 4 times, twice on the Lateralus tour, twice after 10,000 Days. They were great each time-- I preferred the song selection and energy during the Lateralus shows.

Wolf At Bay

imissyoualways wrote:

i know a lot of you are tool fans and i was just curious to see how who has seen them and what they thought. I love tool and have been a longtime fan so i checked them out for the first time last week in san diego. I was a bit disappointed, however, to find that Maynard hardly spoke to the audience. Sure, i'm not expecting him to tell stories as Vedder, does but he didn't move from the same four by four foot space the entire show until it was time to go back to the bus. There were no encore(s). In addition, tool has a strict cell phone policy- you basically cannot use it. Whatsoever. I was also surprised to see the majority of people sitting down, including the front row. With that said, the sound quality was great and i still enjoyed myself. Who has seen them and what did you think of the show?

No cell phone policy? I actually think that's awesome - but how do they enforce that?
I personally think people should turn off their phones and just enjoy the show.

imissyoualways

Wolf At Bay wrote:

imissyoualways wrote:

i know a lot of you are tool fans and i was just curious to see how who has seen them and what they thought. I love tool and have been a longtime fan so i checked them out for the first time last week in san diego. I was a bit disappointed, however, to find that Maynard hardly spoke to the audience. Sure, i'm not expecting him to tell stories as Vedder, does but he didn't move from the same four by four foot space the entire show until it was time to go back to the bus. There were no encore(s). In addition, tool has a strict cell phone policy- you basically cannot use it. Whatsoever. I was also surprised to see the majority of people sitting down, including the front row. With that said, the sound quality was great and i still enjoyed myself. Who has seen them and what did you think of the show?

No cell phone policy? I actually think that's awesome - but how do they enforce that?
I personally think people should turn off their phones and just enjoy the show.

true, it's annoying when ppl text and stuff during a show but you should be allowed to use it if you need to. I think this article sums up how serious this policy was enforced.

http://www.earcandybeat.com/?q=node/753

Of The Aggie

The policy of cell phone camera use and banning other items by Tool was ridiculous. I went to one of the Red Rocks shows in late June and had a run-in with the security people over a small compact umbrella that just happened to be in the bottom of our backpack. We had no intention of using it and it actually is on the approved list of items let into Red Rocks. The venue had attempted to tell everyone what was going to be banned; cameras, cell phone camera use, recording devices, and coolers (which are normally allowed in). However the umbrella thing was never mentioned and despite our protests, my husband had to walk all the way back to the car to put it away. The security people were extremely rude and basically soured my first Red Rocks experience.

Before the show, the security people were watching the crowd like a hawk telling people not to use cameras and even marking an X on someone's hand as a first warning and then I assume, if you already had an X and you got approached again, you were gone.

I was so mad at the experience I had that I emailed Red Rocks management and got a response pretty quickly. The manager stated that Tool kept changing their minds about what was going to be let in even as close as 5 minutes before gates were to open and that Red Rocks had no way of getting the word out about everything.

I think this was horrible on the part of Tool's management. You need to give people early warnings about these things, especially at a place like Red Rocks where they have a pretty liberal policy of what you can bring in. And banning the use of cell phones completely is totally unrealistic. I really like Tool's music and have seen them several times live, but the band needs to get over themselves. Pictures and video of your performances are going to get out. If you don't want that, then maybe you're in the wrong business.

Brisk.

He has always been like that.

I saw them in 06 at a festival and they played the perfect set for me, such a good band.

They don't need a guy yacking about and jumping around. The music speaks for itself and if you wern't aware all the musicians are just incredible on their own rights! Not to mention when they come togetherr.

twisted thoughts

I saw Tool in 2007. I have learned to lower my expectations for all concerts that are not Pearl Jam to avoid being let down.....better to go in with no expectations. Maynard is not talkative, or friendly toward the crowd. He basically stays in the back of the band, and is merely a silhouette all show. The crowd isn't as into it as a Pearl Jam show, and there isn't that feeling of togetherness with the crowd that you get from Pearl Jam (this I have found to be common amongst all other bands not Pearl Jam) the fans just aren't as connected. The show feels short, you pretty much know what to expect in terms of the set list and you damn well better respect Maynard if he plays Wings for Marie and not yell, shout or take pics.

All that being said.....It was one of the best shows I have seen, and would see them again in a heartbeat. Danny Carey is the man...his drums shake the whole venue. Maynard's voice sounds great. If your looking for a band that is gonna improv songs, extend songs or play something out of the ordinary...this is not the show for you...If you like Tool records and like songs being played the same way live, you will love a Tool show. And because the band isn't very engaging....the visuals they provide help keep you involved.

I think we as PJ fans we are completely spoiled when it comes to live shows, and people should do some research before seeing a new band so they can at least have an idea as to what to expect.....otherwise, I can understand how people can be disappointed.

DewieCox

satans kitchen wrote:

I saw Tool in 2007. I have learned to lower my expectations for all concerts that are not Pearl Jam to avoid being let down.....better to go in with no expectations. Maynard is not talkative, or friendly toward the crowd. He basically stays in the back of the band, and is merely a silhouette all show. The crowd isn't as into it as a Pearl Jam show, and there isn't that feeling of togetherness with the crowd that you get from Pearl Jam (this I have found to be common amongst all other bands not Pearl Jam) the fans just aren't as connected. The show feels short, you pretty much know what to expect in terms of the set list and you damn well better respect Maynard if he plays Wings for Marie and not yell, shout or take pics.

All that being said.....It was one of the best shows I have seen, and would see them again in a heartbeat. Danny Carey is the man...his drums shake the whole venue. Maynard's voice sounds great. If your looking for a band that is gonna improv songs, extend songs or play something out of the ordinary...this is not the show for you...If you like Tool records and like songs being played the same way live, you will love a Tool show. And because the band isn't very engaging....the visuals they provide help keep you involved.

I think we as PJ fans we are completely spoiled when it comes to live shows, and people should do some research before seeing a new band so they can at least have an idea as to what to expect.....otherwise, I can understand how people can be disappointed.

I think Tool generally has a better crowd than PJ. PJ crowds are pretty hit and miss. 4 Tool shows in different locations and every time the crowd has been berserk. 10 PJ shows and only a few have had the same feeling and 1 of those is a big PJ town(Chicago).

Danny Carey does some improvising. Stinkfist, Schism, Lateralus are all extended versions different from the albums.

Almost every band I've seen(30-40 shows) are roughly as good as PJ live without having to play 25 songs. They're different kinds of shows and more than one band has found the perfect live vehicle to fit their band.

guacamolejoe

Of The Aggie wrote:

The policy of cell phone camera use and banning other items by Tool was ridiculous. I went to one of the Red Rocks shows in late June and had a run-in with the security people over a small compact umbrella that just happened to be in the bottom of our backpack. We had no intention of using it and it actually is on the approved list of items let into Red Rocks. The venue had attempted to tell everyone what was going to be banned; cameras, cell phone camera use, recording devices, and coolers (which are normally allowed in). However the umbrella thing was never mentioned and despite our protests, my husband had to walk all the way back to the car to put it away. The security people were extremely rude and basically soured my first Red Rocks experience.

Before the show, the security people were watching the crowd like a hawk telling people not to use cameras and even marking an X on someone's hand as a first warning and then I assume, if you already had an X and you got approached again, you were gone.

I was so mad at the experience I had that I emailed Red Rocks management and got a response pretty quickly. The manager stated that Tool kept changing their minds about what was going to be let in even as close as 5 minutes before gates were to open and that Red Rocks had no way of getting the word out about everything.

I think this was horrible on the part of Tool's management. You need to give people early warnings about these things, especially at a place like Red Rocks where they have a pretty liberal policy of what you can bring in. And banning the use of cell phones completely is totally unrealistic. I really like Tool's music and have seen them several times live, but the band needs to get over themselves. Pictures and video of your performances are going to get out. If you don't want that, then maybe you're in the wrong business.

I went to the Tuesday Red Rocks show. Felt like I was at an Eddie Vedder show with all the camera & phone security . Although it was great not to be bothered with people holding up their cell phones to take terrible pictures from far away .

Of The Aggie

guacamolejoe wrote:

I went to the Tuesday Red Rocks show. Felt like I was at an Eddie Vedder show with all the camera & phone security . Although it was great not to be bothered with people holding up their cell phones to take terrible pictures from far away .

Yes it was nice not to see everyone holding up their phones but I still think it is a ridiculous policy that in order to be enforced causes undue pressure on the security people who should be there to keep order in the crowd and not have to spend all their time worrying about someone taking pictures of their friends or the beautiful scenery of the venue.