From: "Berger, Robert" (RBerger@activision.com)
Subject: Tool's LA show


So I am bored and thought I would send you a review of last night's show 
at the Universal Ampitheatre rather than work. You can post or not. It's 
not all positive. I just find that writing my impressions to something 
like music which, in my opinion, doesn't lend itself well to description 
gives me new perspectives on it: 

In some ways the show seemed like the last show of a long tour. Not that 
the music didn't sound great. It did. Maynard's voice was surprisingly 
strong, and the band was very tight. But there seemed to be a weariness 
or lack of energy (emotional rather than sonic) that prevented the crowd 
from really being enveloped by the music rather than just listening to it 
(with the exception of the guy next to me who kept yelling 'fuckin nice' 
every few minutes and clearly would have been entertained by Maynard 
reading a TV guide). In part I think this was due to the play list, which 
was inexplicable. They played every song on Aenima except Hooker with a 
Penis (the most powerful song on the album, in my opinion, certainly the 
most raw), but played only Sober from Undertow. No Bottom. No Undertow. 
No Flood. Ultimately, very little moshing. That in itself didn't bother 
me. I don't go to mosh anymore. I'm too old, too soft, too fond of having 
my pancreas stay where it is. However, the main reason I enjoy Tool 
(although not the only reason) is for the grotesque, deafening rage of 
those songs. Not that all of their songs don't contain these elements to 
a degree, but those few songs are the ones that would make Kathy Lee 
Gifford's brain (such as it is) bolt out her ass like a hunted animal and 
hide in the basement. 
Those gripes aside, I must admit they are an impressive act. I really 
appreciated how well crafted their songs are and how well they are able 
to reproduce them live. There are very few bands, particularly few 
hard-core bands, that have real subtlety and complexity to their music, 
that have the talent and motivation to really experiment with sound and 
form. These types of songs are typically not as immediately accessible as 
more conventional song styles. Helmet, for example, I liked from the 
first time I heard them because they have a great sound, but that is 
pretty much the extent of their appeal. Bands like Fugazi, Jane's 
Addiction and Tool demand some effort to explore the music, but once you 
have taken the time to sort of learn the songs, to become familiar with 
the way they build and evolve, they can effect you in a very instinctual, 
visceral way that is one of the most powerful, engrossing sensations in 
life. Maybe the second most.