A Review of the Fall 1996 Tour

Date: November 8


From: Patrick Ressler (pressler@ocean.tamu.edu) Review of Tool Concert, Houston, Nov. 8, at International Ballroom Great show, one of the coolest concerts I've seen in awhile. It was the first time I've seen them play live. I didn't think the opening band, the Cows, were anything special. Standouts in the set for me were Cold and Ugly, 46 & 2, and Aenima. Maynard was an incredibly bizarre and dynamic presence on stage, but when he talked to the crowd he was quite lucid and had some interesting things to say about the meanings behind some of the songs (my paraphrases follow). Prison Sex: it's about identifying the cycles of abuse around you and within yourself, and starting to work through them Hooker w/ a Penis: about how screwed up it is to be in a band with everyone judging who you are and what you do Opiate: all religion isn't bad, in fact the core ideas are good; this song is about the assholes who ruin it for everyone else Aenima: metaphorically, it's about flushing things out/working things through from the soul/bottom/source upward (aenima is Greek for soul; it's also a term in Jungian psychology) H.: has to do with the choice between right and wrong, and how it's not always clear-cut and easy Finally, a note about the crowd at the International Ballroom, Houston. Some of you seem to have paid very close attention when MTV was teaching you how you were supposed to behave at a concert. Maybe next time you people can all get together someplace, play the CD, and beat the crap out of each other in private, so the rest of us who actually came to experience Tool in concert can enjoy ourselves. pressler@ocean.tamu.edu