From: "Jason St.Aubin" (staubin@oven.ccds.charlotte.nc.us)
Subject: Concert Review: Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, NC, Dec 6 

I had been anticipating this moment for a long time. I bought my tickets 
30 min after they went on sale, and I had driven a total of 5 hours from 
the wrestling match which I had at Asheville earlier that night. When I 
finally reached the G.C. center, Tool was just starting to come on stage. 
They couldn't have picked a better place to show a concert. Since it used 
to be the Hornets Training Facility, there were only about 3 rows of 
seats, and the rest was just a wide open basketball court, perfect for 
moshing. I watched, helplessly enthralled by Maynard, who lunged onstage, 
painted half black and half white. Danny Carey was the only remotely 
normal looking person in the band. Both Adam and Justin were painted up 
in strange designs. They went right into Third Eye, which was not what I 
expected, it was kind of too mellow to start with for Tool. But from the 
first song to the last chords of the closing song Aenima, I was in 
heaven. They played all the better songs of Aenima, such as Push It, 
Stinkfist, 46 & 2, and Eulogy. But what really made my 20$ worth was when 
they went straight into Undertow, and played Prison Sex, Sober, and 
Undertow. I don't think I've ever been into the music as much as that 
night. The chords played seemed to flow through my veins, each song like 
a familiar friend. The moshing was constrained most of the time due to 
the fact that the show was sold out. Nearing the end though, little 
pockets began to clear out, and when there was room to mosh instead of 
sway, it was incredible. I lost three pounds as a result of sweating in 
the pit. The inter-song chatter was minimal, but just seeing Tool made my 
night. The sound quality was great, and if I didn't know Tool was such a 
great band I'd swear they were just like NIN and not playing insturments 
and just singing. I was most amazed by Carey on the drums, being a 
drummer myself. He played with such fluidity that I could barely see him 
move, just the pounding of the drums and the occasional crashing cymbal. 
It was definitely a better concert than Rancid, although I'm sure 
Psychotica wasn't half as good as the Suicide Machines. All I have to 
say, is that if Tool comes anywhere near where you live, GO IMMEDIATELY. 
By the way, I forgot to yell Chickenweasel. Damn.