From: A74dart@aol.com

TOOL
December 4 @ the Ritz, Raleigh,NC

Maynard- 
 Clad in only a pair of tights
 Tatoo of a spine on his spine, with drawn-on (?) extentions of the spine
over his bald head and down the bridge of his nose, as well as down his
arms
Adam-
 Long hair
 Mysterious circular emblem attached to his forehead
Justin-
 Mini-devil's horns on his forehead
 Many blue dots about his chest
Danny-
 Normal looking I guess
 
Stinkfist was first, and boy did they come out raging. Loud is an
understatement. They used a completely different bridge towards the end of
Stinkfist, right before the final "Elbow deep within the border line..." 
surge... it was more powerful than the original...  Maynard's voice was in
full swing, which was a relief given the recent cancellation of a show in
PA due to voice problems. His body convulsed with every guitar chord,
every bass line, every crash of the drums...  Behind the band were two
large projection screens, and with each song came a new and equally
surreal vision towering above like some sort of riot-inciting strobe
light. Stinkfist had the cover art animation as a back drop...  Sober and
Prison Sex prompted the use of the corresponding videos, with a little
revamping to match the look of the other scenes used. One of the songs,
�nema I think, used what appeared to be a loop of Zulu warriors jumping up
and down as a background, with camels screwing mixed in here and there. 
While some of the images made sense in some weird way, some just didn't
seem to have a meaning. For example, 46&2 simply had an abstract vision of
turning cogs... or the endless tunnel showed during Swamp Song (I think).
But dispite the eye candy on screen, Maynard and co. were a sight to see,
in and of themselves.  Onlookers on the balcony were not only witness to
an awesome show onstage, but a throng of moshers on the ground level keyed
into every nuance of the set list. Exploding with energy with every surge
in the music, especially during Stinkfist, Eulogy, Intolerance, and
46&2... I wouldn't have missed the pit for the world, because that's where
Tool's effect on people's emotions is most evident...  Before "H.",
Maynard spoke of the cartoons in which the main character would be caught
between a devil on one shoulder, and a angel on the other, and how they
both had the character's best interests in mind, but not the best methods
for reaching that best interest. The answer lies somewhere inbetween... 
and about "46&2", he simply said, "this is a song about change."  As best
as I can remember (and out of order at that), they did Swamp Song, Eulogy,
Undertow, Opiate, Prison Sex, Intolerance, Sober, H., 46 & 2, Pushit, and
then �nema as an encore (which took very little coercing from the crowd,
though he taunted us with a "you're not showing much enthusiasm").  The
set, lasting 1 &1/2 hours, remained true to the originals in spirit, while
still bringing new ferocity to them... and I wouldn't have it any other
way. 

- Adam