| concert reviews firsthand, immediate, from the heart |
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06/05/2001
[all times Central Time; t.d.n is hosted in the midwest] |
Review written by: Patrick (pwinsheimer@aol.com) Review posted on: 06/06/01 00:43:49It´s 7 o´clock in the morning cet now and i have just come home from what i would call a monster trip. From Düsseldorf to Paris 500 Kilometers or nearby 5 hours to go by car. Doin this and drivin back home again within 18 hours was really exhaustin. And thats what i got for it. Everything went great as we (me and Norbert a friend of mine who was with me),arrived in Paris at 6 o´clock in the afternoon, the Zenith was easy to find and as we got in, ligts went out and Alien Ant Farm played. They were Damn good! The venue filled and Papa Roach played, while i decided to wait for the end of their set outside. I happened to talk to Derdon (i´m sorry if i didn´t get his name right, i´m going to know better when the album comes out in Germany, or maybe somebody can e-mail me about it, thanks), singer of AAF, which was cool. So far, so good. Then came the shock. Norbert and me were talked to by three french citizens, first thought was they wanted to sell drugs to us. They really surrounded us, came very close. We had to push them aside, to get away. A few seconds later i knew that i was robbed. The suckers weren´t there anymore, but thanks to the security and a real miracle half an hour later i got my possesion back. Tool played a perfect show once again. When they finished, Norbert told me that Justin was hit by a water bottle right before. Maybe this was why they decided not to play Opiate, and it was the only difference to the Zürich playlist, so my hopes on Eulogy weren´t fulfilled (maybe the italiens were just lucky) but Tool might be in the mood to change the playlist for one song in Düsseldorf, who knows... One thing i could ask myself, if it was really important, is, what the instrument, which Maynard held in his hands like a guitar playin´ Prison Sex and Schism, is for. After all i could enjoy the show, although it wasn´t easy to concentrate on it as the essential thing which i was there for. If i ever go to Paris for a concert again? I don´t know. But i know that Tool are going to play in the town were i live, soon. Looking forward to that makes care less about anything bad that happened yesterday, of course. Till then, Patrick
Review written by: Miami Miam (miami.miam@caramail.com) Review posted on: 06/06/01 01:47:24
I saw Tool yesterday, it was really amazing but just one thing : 2 hours for waiting our band ... Papa Roach and co broke my ears ... it was just shit ... or two thing ... MJK is in the corner during all the concert ... in 1996, he came in front of us ... it was better ...
Review written by: Shinji (crow13@club-internet.fr) Review posted on: 06/06/01 04:25:30
First, I felt ashamed for the behaviour of some people. But it's 'normal' when you share a scene with bands like Papa Roach. I suppose it's not Tool who decided for the choice of this bands. The result was young people bred by neo-metal shit all around me. Anyway, the show was great, and for my 1st concert of Tool all went further than my expectations could be : the mix of music and visual art was just perfect. I was in another world, thanks to Tool.
Review written by: gummie (gummie@easynet.be) Review posted on: 06/06/01 08:04:19
It was quite a trip, driving for 3.5 hours to see Tool and coming back right after the show, but hey, I would do it again today if I could. I 've been visiting underground-rock concerts for about 18 years by now (Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Tool, etc...), and I can sincerely say that what I witnessed yesterday, I have never seen before. I was THE perfect combination of sound and vision (Bowie, eat your heart out). The new video- animitions on the huge backdrop were amazing and were perfectly synchronized with the music. The smaller projection behind Maynard, leaving just his silhouette visible, sometimes gave the impression that it wasn't a human being out there, but one of the creatures from the animations coming alive. I could go on and on describing all the facts that made this such an amazing evening, but it wouldn't make this review very pleasant to read. Let me just say that already during the third song I asked my girlfriend to pinch me in the arm, I couldn't beliefe this was for real... thank you Tool for this performace thank you sound-technicians for the perfect sound thank you Adam for the unreal video art advice to all the tool fans going to see there favourite band on this tour : try to see them indoors if you can; this show will not be the same on a festival in broad daylight gummie, Belgium
Review written by: [wallie] (wallie_inc@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 06/06/01 14:01:54
it's 23 hours later and i still don't know what to say... i'm just too overwhealmed. 8th time i saw TOOL and getting more and more addicted every day. "Positronic art" is what i like to call what you can whitness at a toolshow, a nailgun of brainstimuli. The sound, the visuals, the stageconcept... it's hard for a toolfan to describe how it feels. Fact is we all recognise the feeling, don't we? Keymoments in the show? The tention rising a few moments before the beginning of the show. Being blown away by The grudge... and trying to get back up, hours after Lateralus faded out. Multiple Toolgasms when 46&2 climaxed. Personal favorit Pushit in the original version, topped with a few slices of the slow version. Maynard with a guitar. Adam facing the crowd for minutes ending Reflection... Maynard standing in the back of the stage is just genial: it's a visual challenge and it unites the power of the band even more. Cause that's the way i usually listen to them: four individual instruments joined, creating strong emotions. I wander what it must feel like to see them perform quadrafonic, standing in four corners of the hall (like Kong), surrounding us... French people are not much into moshing, thank god for that... but lots of them were real quiet - although the guy in front of me was getting really excited, judging the movement in his left eyebrauw ;-) Today i'm floating on yesterdays energy, tomorrow i'll start counting down to the WerchterFestival. Unless I can get a ticket for Düsseldorf... damn, i like the beginning of this summer... [wallie]
Review written by: astrid (mackina@wanadoo.fr) Review posted on: 06/06/01 16:36:20
Wooh, what a show! it tooks me a whole day to cheer up! It was so beautiful, the most beautiful show I've ever seen. I can't find the words, it's not words, words are so simplistic, iy's feelings, Tool is pure feelings... MJK was wonderful, he was looking like a shadowgraph, a pantomime before his screen, and the images behind and above him were so hyptnotic. Adam jones was looking so calm and sober... I can still see that powerful image of them on stage, they were four, but they were occupying the whole stage. Theye were in their little world, so did we... Thanks a lot for this unique experience.
Review written by: Thierry (tpoisson@atelier.fr) Review posted on: 06/07/01 01:27:05
My first ever Tool show was a strong disappointment. Maybe I was expetcing too much, but I think that Tool did not deliver the goods at the Zenith. The blame is mostly to be put on the quality of the hall sound, which was far too loud, and left the guitar sound buried behind the drums and bass. I also think that the lack of enthusiasm from the band, as well as the monotonous delivery of the songs made the evening quite a boring experience. The best part was certainly watching the videos, while the music failed to grab my attention. Too bad ... In my book, Tool is now labelled a "studio band".
Review written by: Lastexit (lastexit@gmx.fr) Review posted on: 06/07/01 03:25:00
What to say about Tool's gig in Paris ? Well 2 days later I'm still under the effects of this unique moment. Of course headbangers kids and supporting bands were not of my kind, especially when someone kicked me in the neck while slaming. But when the lights came down after road crew disappeared, I knew everything will turn ok. and then they finnaly appeared, all in a row, reaching their instruments. MJK looked at the crowd a few seconds, all dressed in leather, lights came up and they started to play the Grudge, and my mind left. I was kinda floating and nothing could harm me. They played almost 2 hours, with many of old songs like Stinkfist, 46&2, Pushit, Aenema, Prisonsexx, Sober and even Merkaba.... Performance of Schism video was also a great thing, givin a breath to everyone and givin a new vision of that great little piece. It's just a shame some stupid suckas threw a bottle towards Justin, in fact i was in the first row just in front of him and I was shocked of such behavior. Besides that, everything was more than perfect, sound and images, except Maynard's voice which wasn't loud enough, but I guess it was done in purpose. My friend and I were excepting so much from this gig and we haven't been disappointed. Maybe my best experience ever. Last[xit]
Review written by: Pit-pat (consum@aol.com) Review posted on: 06/07/01 08:46:22
How about the set list Frenchy?
Review written by: Madklikor (Madklikor@aol.com) Review posted on: 06/07/01 15:09:43
Someone asked the setlist : 1 the grudge 2 Stinkfist 3 46 & 2 4 Prison sex 5 Schism 6 Pushit 7 Disposition 8 Reflection Pause 9 Sober 10 Parabol 11 Parabola 12 Aenima 13 Lateralus Amazing show. You've got to see it.
Review written by: g047-80y (deth_roc@mindless.com) Review posted on: 06/07/01 15:32:17
Paris, 5th of June, 2001 E.V. If anyone remembers some strange looking American kids with glowsticks, well I was one of 'em. Had red and green. ---The Story--- This was my first Tool show, and being a longtime devotee of Danny, Justin, Adam, and Maynard (albiet not OGT...I'm circa '96), I was naturally hyped. A friend of mine, Jesus, and I had originally planned this jaunt for six since mid-April. When the tickets were ordered and the hotel was reserved, things were starting to fall into place until four people dropped at the last second. We managed to pick one more up by the name of Dreamhawk. Two weeks before the show, all we said to each other every other sentence was, "Hey...Tool...huh..." Jesus had already seen them live, but Dreamhawk and I hadn't, and I had a good idea of what to expect. After taking the train from Kaiserslautern, Germany to Paris (listening to Bill Hicks over and over - "that damn fetus got more airtime than I did!"), we checked into our hotel and dropped our shit off before trying to figure out the damn RER(B) suburbia metro to go pick up our tickets at the Stade de France. There, we learned a neat little trick. If you find a French person who speaks English moderately poorly, act snotty and put on your worst French accent when you talk. They'll understand you better. We almost got arrested for trying to get to the office which held our tickets. So we went back to the RER(B) station, jumped the turnstiles and rode back into the city, where by obligation we had to visit Virgin Megastore before the show. We're military kids so our local music stores suck ass when it comes to carrying stuff from labels like Relapse, Hydrahead, MIA, Equal Vision, or what have you. We got some good stuff, including the European version of Ĉnima with the silly fake album covers on the inside. Little things. ---@ Le Zenith--- As we exited the Porte de Pantin metro stop, we were almost instantly greeted by several French folk asking if we needed tickets. We knew the Zenith was close. Off in the distance, the reverberations could be felt before the music hit your ears. As we flocked to the concert hall, the anticipation grew and grew and I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face as I stood at the Zenith's entrance. What we didn't know is that we ultimately missed Cortizone and Alien Ant Farm, both of whom I'd never heard. No big loss. We went inside and got to sit down and take a nap while Papa Roach played. That is, until Last Resort, to which we screamed our alternate lyrics... "My sex life is in pieces/This is my last resort/Masturbation I'm seeping/Don't give a fuck if I nut in my draughs" and... "Cuz I creamed in my jeans/Got hairy palms/Wish somebody would fuck me tonight" The highlight of that was getting to see that lead whiner guy stick a mic in his ass, then sing in it. He finished the song with, "Wow. This mic tastes like shit." He tried to be punk and get in the pit with his mic, too. Too bad his roadies (yes, that's plural. there were two of 'em) were cutting him slack on the cord and none of the people in the pit bothered to help surf him back up to the stage until the end of the show. What's worse is they tried covering a Faith No More song, which I can't remember the name of at the moment. We gave them the finger. ---The Show--- As soon as those dumb white pussies got kicked off the stage, we jumped up from our balcony seats and ran downstairs to the main floor, pushing up against the guys who always seem to be twice as tall as you whenever you go to a show. At least six guys around us were smoking hash, so there wasn't really any need to get any firsthand. The crowd went crazy when the stage guys took the cover off Danny's kit. About forty minutes later, our knees were all dead, but the lights went out and everyone went nuts. Maynard, looking like Billy Corgan, took his place on a platform, about as high as Danny's and to his right while Adam and Justin were out in front. The visuals throughout the entire show were very disturbing, but I thoroughly enjoyed letting my physical self get raped in the visual cortex as much the audial. They mainly consisted of parts of the videos when they played songs that have videos (except Sober) being played back and forth and entirely new art for the rest of them. I specifically remember the Disposition/Reflection sequence including a toilet and some pictures in frames, and kept rewinding itself. It got bullet fast by the time Maynard belted out, "And we will come to find/That we are all one mind". I'm sure you've seen the setlists for the rest of the European tour, and it didn't change much, with the exception of Opiate missing, as noted in previous reviews. The order in which I typed these songs up is what I can remember. I know it's not chronologically correct, but if you find that it seriously offends you, well you can just go fuck yourself. The Grudge - great opener while the techies worked out a few kinks. Or at least tried valiantly. Stinkfist - unfortunately, the crowd got a little crazy with this one and tried to mosh to it. Otherwise, a great little tune. No 1998-style changes to the words/faster breakdown. Forty-Six and Two - If there was one completely solid song these guys played, it would have to be this one. Especially that 7-8/4 solo that Danny pulls off right before "See my shadow changing..." So damned technical. Schism - "This song is about survival." The one thing I didn't understand is why they didn't play along to the video. There was a generally slower feel to all the songs they played, though. Or maybe that was the hash. Definitely cool song. Prison Sex - Tight as fuck. And then (I think this was the song they were playing when it happened) some ASSHOLE threw a water bottle at Justin and nailed him in the head towards the end! He took it pretty lightly, kept playing after about two seconds, and thanked whoever threw it at the end of the song by holding it up. Pushit - After hearing the Salival version of Pushit, I was kinda hoping that they'd do the same thing here. Danny, in his Modern Drummer 6/01 interview said that he had much of Aloke's playing already programmed into his Simmons SDX pads. They didn't, but Maynard did that note elevation at the very last line of the song, "There can be no oTHER way..." where THER is sang at a slightly higher note. It gives the closing a more monumental feel to it. And it caused me to break down. Disposition/Reflection - Ah, yes, the 20-minute epic. Enough by itself to trip on. Plus, Maynard had his guitar out. The one he had when he took pictures in Guitar World with Billy and Troy from APC. Then again, Maynard had his guitar out for a few songs, but it looked like he was actually playing sometime during Reflection. They didn't finish it up with Triad, but rather with Adam repeating the last five notes for at least three to five minutes before taking a break and playing... The Schism Video - I don't watch MTV, mainly because I'm not cool enough, and I have a slow modem and computer at home, so this was a godsend for me to finally see it. Blair was right. Adam's gonna be very disappointed with hell. Sober - pure fucking orgasm. And I'll leave it at that. Parabol/a - what I got to hear of it was cool. The reason I didn't hear the whole thing is mentioned below. Ĉnema - heavy as hell. Not much else to say, actually. Lateralus - excellent closing song. The finale was twice as cool as on the album. It was kind of depressing just watching all the French people funnel out of there like lemmings after they left the stage, though. If I was still on the floor, I probably would have been standing there with my jaw on the floor for a while. ---Post-Show--- We were really dehyrdated after Sober, so we spent four bucks each on some shitty, iron-filled water, sat down at the stairs closest the entrance and tried to flow with the song shaking the glowsticks. After the show, we sat outside the fenced off area where all the buses and equipment trucks were. Once or twice I screamed that Danny owed me five bucks, and the people sitting around us got a kick out of that. About an hour later, we noticed a bus light on and we were pretty sure that Maynard was standing in front of a table with some food on it. Cookies, perhaps? It didn't really matter, especially when he turned the light off. I know that Jesus wanted to ask him about where he got the influence to write the lyrics to Parabol/a because supposedly, Maynard ripped the idea off from him. We razored a glowstick, then went back to the hotel with a fellow Tool fanatic who was much more experienced than any of us (over two dozen shows). To Shay, the Iranian chick, thanks for the company if you're reading this. You kicked ass! Hope Europe is/was great for you! Back at the hotel, we talked about our lives, got somewhat philosophical, and drank Bailey's and ate Easy Cheese. Or at least I did. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I wish I could have heard some of the changes that I've heard about, too, like the Prison Sex extra verse, or some of the covers like Stranglehold and Demon Cleaner. And, of course, the Maynard-isms, which were probably due to the language barrier. Nevertheless, it was a very deep experience for me and something for which I've been waiting over five years and will remember for many more.
Review written by: Chris from Florida (cygnify@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 06/08/01 04:34:59
Well, it was worth the trip over the ocean _ actually I was lucky enough to be on vaca in France during this tour and my wife was kind enough to fit in this show! and what a show it was!!! (now if i could just figure out this dqmn french keyboard!!) I absolutely cannot understand anyone that would complain about the sound = it was immaculate! The drums were punchy, the cymbals crisp, vocals came through amazingly clear (how many shows could you say that you understood every word?) The mix was such a perfect balance that when they showed the video, my french friend remarked how close the mix was to the studio - just f'n great!!! Between the music and video, I was transported to another universe and actually found myself scarred during reflection; it was truly a mind bender (w/o any external help) This drummer was floored by Danny's performance - the guy nailed every part and allowed some new things to develop; he is so sure of every stroke Finally two questions: What was that cool music (techno and frippy soundscape) played before tool went on? Does Danny always trigger the jacobs ladder before Stinkfist or was this an electronic SNAFU? peace!