As Tool leave the stage in Denver, I’d just like to point out a few things:
- Reviews of the show are welcome (no I don’t have any yet!).
- Setlists and other spoilers will not be posted in the main Fourtheye feed. I may and will link to them though, so consider yourselves warned.
- I’d encourage commenters to also consider the thoughts of others before posting Setlists on the main news feed. I may or may not censor/move these depending on what they contain.
Sounds like it was a good, albiet relatively short set (not unusual for a festival), filled with the usual collection of Tool tracks. As I hear it the alleged cover song wasn’t played. I expect any real surprises will surface at their gig in Salt Lake City tomorrow.
I respect everyone’s right to their opinions about the band, the tour, and the setlist.
However, to my knowldge, in several interviews the band has made it clear that their perspective of the presenation of their live art (in concert) is similar to that of a film or a motion picture. The music played live is to be considered a soundtrack to a changing backdrop of visual stimulation. These components combined together (along with the positive energy of those attending the shows) is what creates the Tool live experience.
With the band comparing their art to a film, let me make the following analogy….
Does anyone have a favorite movie or movies? The Godfather, Star Wars, etc.
Everytime you pop that movie in the DVD player the movie is exactly the same. But for some reason you’ve seen that flick many, many times. You love to show it to people who haven’t seen it before. You love to watch it every so often to pay close attention to things you may not have noticed in the past. Your appreciation grows with each viewing and with each person you turn on to that movie.
Really, that’s the idea behind Tool as well. You’re all free to interpret the repeat setlists however you like. But they way to cleanse yourself of those negative feelings is to open yourself up and understand things from a different perspective other than your own…objectivity over subjectivity.
It’s a great thing that there’s an outlet for everyone’s opinion and perspective on the setlists, but perhaps you can trust the band’s perspective instead for a change.
Peace
R
[quote comment=""]I respect everyone’s right to their opinions about the band, the tour, and the setlist.
However, to my knowldge, in several interviews the band has made it clear that their perspective of the presenation of their live art (in concert) is similar to that of a film or a motion picture. The music played live is to be considered a soundtrack to a changing backdrop of visual stimulation. These components combined together (along with the positive energy of those attending the shows) is what creates the Tool live experience.
With the band comparing their art to a film, let me make the following analogy….
Does anyone have a favorite movie or movies? The Godfather, Star Wars, etc.
Everytime you pop that movie in the DVD player the movie is exactly the same. But for some reason you’ve seen that flick many, many times. You love to show it to people who haven’t seen it before. You love to watch it every so often to pay close attention to things you may not have noticed in the past. Your appreciation grows with each viewing and with each person you turn on to that movie.
Really, that’s the idea behind Tool as well. You’re all free to interpret the repeat setlists however you like. But they way to cleanse yourself of those negative feelings is to open yourself up and understand things from a different perspective other than your own…objectivity over subjectivity.
It’s a great thing that there’s an outlet for everyone’s opinion and perspective on the setlists, but perhaps you can trust the band’s perspective instead for a change.
Peace
R[/quote]
Ahhh….very well-put. Can’t wait for the Atlanta show!!!
Ok I just got done watching videos of the show from a front row good quality video. This is by far the most akward performance I have evey seen. It is almost uncomfortable to watch, maynard does not even look at any of the other band members and has his back to them during the performance. He is dancing very sarcactically not the funny way he did in 06 and 07 but in a bored sarcastic way. Sound wise this is the most unrehearsed sloppy tool show I have ever seen. I strongly suspect the band is not getting along, by band I mean the three musicians. There is only one bad apple in this group. Its fuckin obvious.
Slave I
[quote comment=""]Ok I just got done watching videos of the show from a front row good quality video. This is by far the most akward performance I have evey seen. It is almost uncomfortable to watch, maynard does not even look at any of the other band members and has his back to them during the performance. He is dancing very sarcactically not the funny way he did in 06 and 07 but in a bored sarcastic way. Sound wise this is the most unrehearsed sloppy tool show I have ever seen. I strongly suspect the band is not getting along, by band I mean the three musicians. There is only one bad apple in this group. Its fuckin obvious.[/quote]
You did better than me if you can gather all that from a handful of youtube videos. Personally I didn’t really notice a great deal of difference from the 06-07 videos, aside from a few mistakes here and there. Personally, given that they haven’t played together for over a year, and probably had about 2 weeks rehearsal, I think you’re being a little harsh there.
I do agree though that there’s one member I’m not convinced really wants to be there. And by wants I mean actually wants to do it, not wants the money…
I saw them in Denver and wasn’t suprised at all that the setlist was again the same in SLC. People should not be upset about the setlist not changing, as many have mentioned, what did you expect. I’ll tell you what I expected was a great performance with great sound as they have always delivered (not matter what songs they played). To my great disappointment I got neither. This was by far the worst Tool show I have ever seen (10+). Sloppy throughout, the sound was awful, and Maynard barely even sang. His voice is no where near where it needs to be to sing these songs. Not only was the concert short but there were obvious fillers during the set that were put in to limit the amount of singing Maynard had to do. The 4 minute intro to Flood being one example (still one of the better parts of the show though). Maynard pulled off of more lyrics then ever, overused the voice synthesizer, and flat out didn’t even sing some parts. Most notably the end of Vicarious which I’ve seen him not do before but at least come in on the “much better you than I”. He couldn’t even finish the show with that.
I have never left a Tool concert disappointed until this one. Things will sharpen up as they play more over the next couple weeks but don’t expect Maynard’s voice to get much better and certainly don’t expect any songs to be added that require the Maynard of old. Just ain’t gonna happen.
[quote comment=""]
I have never left a Tool concert disappointed until this one. Things will sharpen up as they play more over the next couple weeks but don’t expect Maynard’s voice to get much better and certainly don’t expect any songs to be added that require the Maynard of old. Just ain’t gonna happen.[/quote]
Yeah, I just saw the show in Atlanta last night, and I was completely blown away. Since 2000, I’ve seen Tool play numerous arenas, outdoor festivals, and even their more intimate Atlanta show in 2001 the day Lateralus came out which sold out in 3 mins. I paid $140 then for that ticket, waited for 90 mins for the show to start, and then got my face blown off by the band 10 feet away for what seemed like almost 2 hours.
Yes, last night’s show was short and the setlist wasn’t a big surprise or anything. What I appreciated however, was the subtle reworking of old material, a couple of instrumental jams, the visuals, the extra drummer for Lateralus… all AWESOME.
I didn’t expect some crazy setlist, after all there is no new album or anything. And big surprise, they open w/ Jambi. The fact is… Jambi is F^&*’n awesome and it sounds like F$%^’n earthquake! I paid extra for a floor ticket just to guarantee that I’d be completely rocked. Also, I took a newcomer to the show and she was completely blown away. Sharing the show with someone new makes me see it for the first time all over again.
My advice for showgoers: ()Go with no expectationts, ()Don’t settle for less than floor tickets, ()Take someone who’s never seen TOOL before (or just hang out with event security), ()Get your face blown off by some of the most incredible sound engineers of our generation.
Its 8am, and I’m at work wearing a tie the morning after the Atlanta show. My head feels like its gonna explode. I can’t hear anything. AND ITS AWESOME