| concert reviews firsthand, immediate, from the heart |
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07/29/2002
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Review written by: toolfan (bananaco@ifyouknowwhat bananacoisur cool) Review posted on: 07/29/02 17:50:50 ETThis was this reviewer's 420 Tool show
Hey Tool: If you read this...please come back to houston soon and play again cause we all need to see you again in full health or energy so as to see a full show! By the way T o o L if you came back and only played the song flood wed all be sufficiently contented. muchas gracias al mejor grupo del mundo!!!
Review written by: dick smitty (clarkstar_20@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/29/02 21:09:35 ET
This was this reviewer's 3.14 Tool show
Dick Smitty is waitin' in Chattanogga. Ahh, yous wise guys better not be screwin' us around. I'll set up an exciting tour of the South. We can go camping and have beans, taters, n' cornbread fer supper. Hell, we can go to my church and possibly receive the great gift of the holyghost. I don't have it, but would love to receive it. If you don't no much about this holyghost I speak of, I can explain. It's real, one of a kind, and a true treasure of life as well as a life changing expierence. Reply if you wish.
Review written by: Sparxxed (edr@cajunnet,com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 00:33:22 ET
This was this reviewer's 5th Tool show
One word to describe the show.......orgasmic The setlist: sober the grudge stinkfist 46&2 Aenema schism parabol parabola the patient "cosmic sounds" reflection eon blue apocalypse disposition long version of triad w/ mike patton playing doctor and dj big bad john playing the patient and the drums lateralus I will have to say the stage and visuals was excellent. Several reviewers from Houston said Maynard looked sick, well not tonight. He sang and moved around as always. The sound was incredible. Danny's new drums are exquisite. They sound incredible. The show seemed short, but after their 2 hour show at Voodoo Fest, everything seems short. I will post another review on Wednesday when they are at UNO.
Review written by: Lance Liberto (sheetylogik@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 01:49:18 ET
This was this reviewer's 2nd Tool show
The Shreveport show was so AWESOME, it was so flawless, Maynard was healthier than he was at Houston i Heard, Good for me i guess =) But The set list was so good and everything from the lights, stage effects and images were so great. Tool are fucking GODSs
Review written by: daraeon (onepeacestudio@sport.rr.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 01:56:38 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st? Tool show
Just got back from the show...so incredibally awesome. it was totally magically visual, extremely metaphysically captivating. Sound was absolutely excellent, just indescribably great. one of the most wonderful experiences i've had in my 46&2 year life span.why can't this last forever...it's a miracle that we were blessed with their presence in this town (shreveport. la). unforgetable. i want more
Review written by: Jeff (TuralyonW3) Review posted on: 07/30/02 02:28:18 ET
This was this reviewer's 2nd Tool show
The above setlist wasn't correct, this is how it was. sober (-)ions the grudge stinkfist 46&2 Aenema schism parabol parabola --(intermission) (cesaro summability)-- disposition reflection small snippet of third eye long version of triad w/ mike patton playing doctor and dj big bad john playing the drums lateralus First of all, Tomahawk isn't as bad as everyone says, I'm not even a fan of Mike Patton but I really enjoyed their set. They were all dressed as cops. Patton tore apart a plastic deer on stage, and he called us a bunch of spicy cajuns and said he was gonna pour some water on us, which was funny. Nobody booed at tomahawk at all. No rev Maynard, unfortunately. Tool of course was fucking incredible. Maynard was painted white with a blue line in the middle of his face and wearing a black speedo. He did not seem sick at all like in houston, but he did down like 10 bottles of water, and threw them into the crowd at the end of the show. I was very glad to hear 46&2 and Aenema, while I was disappointed that they did not play flood before the grudge. Triad was very cool, they played about two minutes of third eye and then flowed into triad, which they have changed alot since the last time i heard it. During disposition, the red confetti fell over the crowd. Before lateralus, maynard gave the "do something positive with this experience" speech, and then added "while you're at it, get naked and fuck each other." During lateralus, Adam had to switch guitars right in the middle of the music at the end of the song, i'm pretty sure it was some technical problem. The lights and stage art have to be seen to be believed. The show was great except for some horrible moshing near the front. One girl got her nipple ring ripped out, and she curled up crying on the floor. Remove your fucking piercings people. Overall, an incredible show, better than the one I saw in Houston last october. The guys seemed really happy at the end as they embraced and grinned out at the roaring crowd. Tools the best band around today, and if you haven't seen tool then you're really missing out. -Jeff www.angelfire.com/rock3/tbe <---- go here
Review written by: Nate (NothingfaceDEP@krock.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 12:29:06 ET
This was this reviewer's 3rd Tool show
Tomahawk was amazing, glad to see the crowd here in Shreveport accepted them well. Tomahawks setlist Flashback 101 North God Hates a Coward Malocchio Pop 1 Laredo Jockstrap Point and Click The setliast may be slightly out of order. Mike Patton during Tomahawk's performance said something like "did you see the protesters outside?, they were protesting this song, they don't want you to hear this, do you want us to play it tonite?" Later during the set Mike Patton said "They also don't want us to play this song" Toward the end of the set he said "If you all would shut up, so I can tell you that this will be our last song."
Review written by: Russ (rupayer@aol.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 14:47:38 ET
This was this reviewer's 2nd? Tool show
The show in Bossier City last night was the shit! I didnt really care for Tomahawk but I'll sit through anything to see tool. The new visuals were unbeleavable and I think they sound better live than on CD. I drove 600mi to see them because N.O. is sold out, worth every mile.
Review written by: Morpheus (Morpheus@blameus.org) Review posted on: 07/30/02 14:59:58 ET
This was this reviewer's 5th Tool show
I think the last guy got the set list pretty close except that I don't think there really are names for the segueways that they played last night. Sober The Grudge Stinkfist Forty Six & 2 Schism Parabol/Parabola ænema Disposition Reflection Triad Lateralus That took almost two hours. Good stuff. One thing that bugged me though was that they didn't drop the confetti. I was looking forward to that. I even brought a plastic baggie to take some home with me. Any word on why they didn't?
Review written by: musick (eraofx@yahoo.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 16:12:58 ET
This was this reviewer's 2nd Tool show
Setlist is as follows: Sober The Grudge Ions (Maynard: Good evening, thanks for sharing this moment with us) Stinkfist - Extended 46 & 2 Schism (new intro, extended) Parabol Parabola Disposition Reflection Triad Lateralus After seeing tool with a short setlist at voodoofest last year, they totally blew me away. A long intro to sober was first...then maynard steps out and is a shadow due to the black backdrop. Sober was followed directly by the grudge. When the first note hit, the backdrop dropped and unveild an awesome Alex Grey painting. The way the lights bounced off it was just amazing. It was almost as it was like 4 painting in one. When Ions was playing, there were electrical wires directly up spraking. Stinkfist rocked the entire place, the energy was amazing. Everyone was caught with the extended part. I just laughed. When the first notes of 46 & 2 hit, I almost fell down. This song is awesome live..maynard hit this perfect. When parabola hit, and the Alex Grey Sacred Mirrors came down, I almost cried. The entire triad was so moving, there were people tearing up and just moving with the music. Lateralus was dead on, overall a great show...No patient, no flood, no 4 degrees. I was sad, but it didnt really matter. See you in New Orleans!
Review written by: Matt (bornagaingod@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 17:03:09 ET
This was this reviewer's 2nd Tool show
Excellent show, to both bands. Thank you all for a great, relaxing show. "Thank you for sharing this with us. I hope that we have been a source of inspiration or enlightenment for you tonight. And we hope that you take this feeling, over the next few days.... over the next few weeks, months, even years... and use it to create something positive........ "And while you're at it, everyone take off their clothes and fuck each other." As always, Mr. Keenan, thank you for the inspiration, perspiration, enlightenment, and humor.
Review written by: stephan (cornfedtrailertrash@yahoo.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 17:45:06 ET
This was this reviewer's 7th Tool show
Hmm... what to say that hasn't been said already? Prolly nothing. Good show, Maynard's back up to par although the show was still short. Mike Patton was in real good form tonight. The crowd was dumbfounded by him. 4 shows in 7 days... TooL... i hope you come back through soon. Austin is still best show so far!
Review written by: columnboy (columnboy@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 18:17:39 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st? Tool show
Hey you! Read reviews already posted for your show to see if somebody already posted the setlist. The show was reviewed in the local paper, with a photo. Go to www.shreveporttimes.com and click the headline "Review: Tool's complex music, mixed imagery wows crowd at CenturyTel Center."
Review written by: Scott Cruse (BigSLC@jam.rr.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 22:53:13 ET
This was this reviewer's 3 Tool show
Hey you! Read reviews already posted for your show to see if somebody already posted the setlist.
Review written by: ambient narcosis (Third_eye@stigmata.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 23:17:54 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st Tool show
i have nothing to say that would describe my experience last night that hasn't been said. my words would...and are, i'm sure...bore you. know this...it was better than anything i've ever experienced. and Maynard...my aunt thinks your hot.
Review written by: Scott Cruse (BigSLC@jam.rr.com) Review posted on: 07/30/02 23:43:26 ET
This was this reviewer's 3 Tool show
First things first, Tomahawk wasn't to bad, the band sounded pretty good, Mike Patton on the other hand, well if you where there you know what I mean. As for Tool the experience was much more than I even hoped for. Every show I attend is accompanied by that wiseass dissing the band and he always sits right behind me, two words for you buddy-FUCK YOU!!! Now back to my concert review, the visuals where even better than ever, lights everwhere. There was a huge backdrop behind the stage with a Lateralus type design and two huge screens above each side of stage with that "tripy" artwork, Tool Videos, naked people swimming, the whole nine yards. Maynard was wearing black shorts and had on face paint(couln't quite make out the design), Danny, Adam and Justin were dressed as usuall. This concert sounded better than the last I attended in Houston but, people say Maynard was at 100%. There where also black tapestries that dropped down and hung from the ceilling midway through the performance, I could only see the skeleton and half of the human body. I've reviewed some of the setlists and the first three songs where-Sober, The Grudge and Prison Sex which some people always seem to forget to list. After that, I so mesmerized by the whole experience I completly lost track of the rest of the set list, but I do remember those three. I am definetly going to the next Tool concert at the Century Tel Center(got my fingers crossed they will return there, it's closer to my house). Finally, a word to Maynard, Danny, Adam and Justin, you guys make great music together, hope to see you again soon. TOOL FOREVER!!!
Review written by: Carolyn (carolynpurnell@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/31/02 17:05:51 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st Tool show
i dont have much to say that hasnt already been said, but tool was amazing. i have been to other concerts before, btu this was my first tool show. i was in the second row, right in the middle with a lcear view of maynard the whole time. in another post a guy said they had technical difficulties and adam had to switch guitars, and that was because he broke his A string. he kept playing for a while after that and the whole switch took about 30 seconds. They did drop the confetti, but there wasn't much of it. Maynard was really awesome, and i was impressed with the way that he held that scream in the grudge. no problem at all. he didnt even strain. while waiting outside before the show we got to hear soundcheck and that was really cool. overall, it was a great experience. all of the guys were awesome to watch, but due to a really tall guy in the front, i could mainly see only maynard. but it was still awesome! i cant wait for my next tool experience!
Review written by: microphonefiend (microphonefiend5) Review posted on: 07/31/02 22:45:13 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st? Tool show
Hey, this was my First tool concert i've ever been to an i just want to say that it was so awsome. I've been wanting to see them in concert. Sober was awsome an anema an 46 & 2 but they didnt play my favorite song Hooker with a penis, but it still kicked ass
Review written by: toologist (TOOLTOOLTOOLTOOLTOOLTOOL) Review posted on: 08/01/02 04:30:59 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st Tool show
Simply mesmirising. Tomahawk wasnt bad, but nothing to set me in the mood for tool. Once tool stepped out, and broke into sober, i was instantly in the mood. Just the whole experience, and feel of the music that night, and the visuals, would just put you in some sort of trance or something. i really dont know if i am making sense, because there is clearly no way to describe how that concert felt, it opened up a new door for me. that was the best show that i will probably ever see.
Review written by: Josh (thesickness662aol.com) Review posted on: 08/01/02 22:59:30 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st? Tool show
The show was Awesome, no word can explain the feeling it gives you. i was with Carolyn right beside her. i got 2 pecies of confetti! and i almost got one of the water bottles Maynard threw out but i didnt. i'm so ready for another show! The set was unbelieveable, the lights, the screens, and Alex's art work. And if you didnt know on Maynards amp head there is a Sponge Bob sticker, it was cool to see Maynard play some guitar and bass. His dance was really cool. i'm still in shock, i couldnt believe how close i was. i think the last set list is correct. Tool is magnifyed 10 times live TOOL is GOD
Review written by: Josh (thesickness662aol.com) Review posted on: 08/01/02 23:00:38 ET
This was this reviewer's 1st? Tool show
The show was Awesome, no word can explain the feeling it gives you. i was with Carolyn right beside her. i got 2 pecies of confetti! and i almost got one of the water bottles Maynard threw out but i didnt. i'm so ready for another show! The set was unbelieveable, the lights, the screens, and Alex's art work. And if you didnt know on Maynards amp head there is a Sponge Bob sticker, it was cool to see Maynard play some guitar and bass. His dance was really cool. i'm still in shock, i couldnt believe how close i was. i think the last set list is correct. Tool is magnifyed 10 times live TOOL is GOD
Review written by: kevin (messiah57@charter.net) Review posted on: 08/02/02 18:09:15 ET
This was this reviewer's 4th Tool show
ive read all of the reviews from the shreveport show and nobody mentioned the phrase maynard added during stinkfist "white lines...running through my mind." either i heard it or im going insane. anyone else????
Review written by: kevin (messiah57@charter.net) Review posted on: 08/02/02 18:10:28 ET
This was this reviewer's 4th Tool show
ive read all of the reviews from the shreveport show and nobody mentioned the phrase maynard added during stinkfist "white lines...running through my mind." either i heard it or im going insane. anyone else????
Review written by: optimistic-pessimist (alanca1@lsu.edu) Review posted on: 08/04/02 19:09:42 ET
This was this reviewer's 15th Tool show
Well, I know a lot of people have already posted a lot about this show, but I'll see if I have anything to add, and of course my experience is different from everyone else's so I'll share that. The drive from Baton Rouge took about 4 hours and wasn't too bad. This is actually very short compared to some of the distances I have traveled to see my 15 TOOL shows. My girlfriend Jill, my friend Curtis, and I had floor tickets, so we wanted to get directly up front and center for this show. We were the first people to stand in line for the floor. While we were waiting, I began talking to this couple, Duane and Mae, that came up not long after we did. As it turns out, Duane was the very same TOOL fan that I had been reading about on TOOL Army the day before and that I had been telling Jill and Curtis about on the drive up to the show. Twice he has taken a month out of his life and followed TOOL around for 18 shows. In addition, I had seen Mae on an episode of the game show Street Smarts that was filmed at VoodooFest last year. At that time she and Duane were on one of their big TOOL jaunts across the Southern US. As it turns out, meeting them helped make this one of the best concert experiences of my life. I have no doubt that I have made two long term friends. We talked the whole day while waiting in line (7 hours) and then we all got front and center for the show. Afterwards we got some food and split a hotel room between the 5 of us. We'll definitely be getting together for future tours. Anyway...the last pre-show thing to mention is that I got to hear TOOL's sound check through the bathroom wall inside the venue. They played broken versions of Sober and Stinkfist as well as little bits and riffs of other songs. It was interesting to hear a song decay into almost just noise and then seemingly reform at a different place in the song. After having seen Tomahawk 3 times on this tour, Tomahawk was starting to grow on me. However, I still wore earplugs for their set to help with some of the screeching and ear-piercing sounds they were sometimes capable of producing. This is not to say that Mike Patton isn't entertaining in his own right, but I just don't enjoy his screaming. I did like it when he would alter his vocals using the equipment he had in front of him, and I would have to say I liked Tomahawk better than I remember liking Fantomas from last Fall's tour. They brought out a fake deer used for target practice and at one point in the middle of a song Mike ripped it in half. Mike had some entertaining things to say, too. He called us a bunch of spicy Cajuns and threatened to poor water on us. He also told us that there were a bunch of protestors outside that didn't want us to hear the next song they were about to play. Lastly, he said that if we settled down, they would stop playing. Pretty funny. I liked his sense of humor about the whole thing. He knows that there are a lot of people who don't like what he's doing but he gives it his all anyway. Anyway, on to TOOL. The new setup is great including the lighting rig in the shape of a seven-pointed star. I was excited to get a close-up look at the backdrops and to enjoy the show from underneath the lights rather then back on the floor further away from them. When the lights fell, the familiar eye / saw blade pattern appeared on the screens and the throaty singing sounds started. (Someone else has posted that this is Tuvan throat singing. I have yet to look into this.) The members of TOOL entered onto a dim stage and began what sounded like a warm-up; something you might hear at a festival where there is no real sound check. Soon it became apparent that they were actually starting out with one of their improvised short jam type things that they sometimes do between songs. At some point, Adam played a little riff that I recognize (from either some bootleg somewhere, or one of the other shows I've been to) to precede Sober. Sure enough, Justin began the well-recognized opening riff and the red lights come on highlighting the four band-members as well as a huge, blank backdrop. While I have seen this live MANY times, it was easy to get very excited, very quickly once the music started hitting me. Maynard had on his black leather outfit and had a wide black bar painted from his chin up over his face to the back of his head. I was a little disappointed when I didn't hear them segue into Flood like they did in Austin. It is my favorite pre- Ænima song. Immediately after Sober and in time to the start of the The Grudge, they dropped the blank backdrop to reveal a huge Alex Grey mural-type backdrop. This piece of art is called Interbeing. On both side edges of the cloth was an infant figure. Then moving in towards the center were the depictions of an ancient face. Then in the center was a majestic face (reminiscent of the form that the man in the Parabola video takes at the end of the video) looking out towards the crowd (eyes closed, though). On either side of his head was another face looking back at the ancient faces. To me this piece of art represents the journey from life to death into some sort of afterlife, whatever you believe that to be. For me that is not necessarily a Heaven as Christianity teaches it, but more of a place in the collective unconscious, or as Alex Grey puts it, the Universal Mind Lattice. Perhaps the coolest thing about this backdrop was that under the right light and because of the contour lines, the center face would seem to actually stand out from the cloth, like it was a real 3D figure looming above the band. Something else to note; Justin had a very interesting effect on his bass for the riff just before Maynard's big scream near the end of the song. They had a few additions to the video for this song. There was an endless row of teeth, like a huge lower jaw. Then there was a tongue licking an eye, and also a tongue that would jump, almost leap-frog style, from one mouth to the next. Then they started up (-) Ions, which is of course an intro to Stinkfist for anyone who hasn't seen a show in the past year. They had three "light strings" (for lack of a better name) suspended from the front of the 7-pt star light rig that would go off and on simulating large bolts of electricity. This was the extended version of Stinkfist, which I always love not just for the musical merit, but for it's humor value as well. There are ALWAYS some unwitting fans who will scream out "I'll!...Keep!...Digging!" right when they think the band is going to play that part, when in actuality they are starting to play their instrumental interlude part. Always good for a laugh. Maynard also sung the "White lines, running through my mind." in the middle of the song where the Portuguese lines normally are. Anyway, after Stinkfist they played 46 & 2. This is one of my favorites but despite hearing at a majority of the shows I've been to, I still get excited. It was especially great this time because the energy was so high at the front. After 46 & 2 came Schism. Justin preceded it with his own opening riff played slower and with a different sound to it. They played the extended version which they seemed to start doing about half way through last Fall's tour. The most memorable part was the video. It featured two rows of creatures walking in line. Each creature had the extension of the head of the one in front of him in his mouth and seemed to be sucking something out. At one point, there was one creature seen from behind who was looking down on the others walking by. This one had several small spikes sticking through his head, I assume to prevent others from taking from him whatever they took from everyone else. Next came Parabol and Parabola. This is such a powerful song combo, and I'm always touched and moved when I listen to it, let alone see it live. The Alex Grey ending of the video is awe-inspiring. Possibly the most surprising of the surprises came during this song when two "clusters" like the one seen in the video shot up from behind Maynard and Danny and began spinning and dipping in the air above them. (Apparently they're suspended in jets of air.) Brilliant! Come to find out later that at this point they skipped The Patient. It's on the setlist with "To Be Announced" and three question marks next to it. I've been told by one of their crew that this song is tougher on Maynard's voice than most others and apparently he's still not 100%. If you don't know about the Houston show, he had to walk out in the middle of The Patient AND tool dropped two songs from the setlist. Next came Ænema. This was another high energy song especially from right up front. Maynard seemed to have a lot of energy, especially for some of the non-Lateralus songs. At times he moved in ways reminiscent of the Ænima tour in '96. It was very exciting and I speculate that maybe he felt like he had something to make up for after Houston. After Aenema the band left the stage for an intermission. An image of a face appeared on the screens. His face began to slowly stretch in and out. This sped up until his skull would appear inside the head. Then this was swapped for a similar face which was peeling out from the nose revealing a bouncing skull inside. Very creepy but humorous too, in the typical TOOL style. When the band returned and the lights came up again, we could see a new Alex Grey backdrop. This one is called Collective Vision and depicts a tunnel made up of crisscrossing spirals. In between the lines were rows of eyes and at the outer edges the eyes belonged to full faces. It didn't take long for Disposition to start up. Before Maynard starting singing or playing his guitar, I saw him gesturing and moving his hands up and down the neck in a half tai-chi half game show model (Vanna White or Barker’s Beauties) style. At first I thought he was actually doing some kind of ritual, but then I saw him grinning down at someone on the side stage and I realized he was having fun. Next came Reflection with a new video and some additional stage artwork. In the beginning of the song, before Maynard began singing, six banners were unfurled from left to right revealing six of Alex Grey's Sacred Mirrors while a large seven-pointed star (Star of Babylon) was slowly lowered at the back of the stage. The Sacred Mirrors are various depictions of the human body. Starting on the left was the skeleton, then the viscera, then the nervous system, then the psychic energy system, then the spiritual energy system, then the universal mind lattice. The video featured what looked like a white dove in flight with a red eye on the backs of each of its wings and on its back and tail. At the end of the song, this faded into a double rotating Flower of Life ("and you will come to find, that WE ARE ALL ONE MIND"). Definitely one of my highlights. This led into Triad. It was cool to see all three songs together, uninterrupted, as they had originally written them. It was near the beginning of Triad that one of the funniest things I've seen at a TOOL show happened. Mike Patton came out dressed as a doctor and wheeling John Stanier, Tomahawk's drummer, around in a wheelchair. Mike stopped at the floor tom's and off- loaded John, who was dressed as a patient with a bandage on his head. While John began to play, Mike went over to Maynard and placed his stethoscope on Maynard's chest. Maynard threw his head back in simulated elation or agony (I couldn't tell) and then Mike crossed him (head, chest, shoulders). Then Mike moved on to Danny. He checked Danny while Danny was playing and then placed his hand on Danny's head as if to heal him. Then he moved on to Justin and while he was checking him, Maynard was using the neck of his guitar to lift up the back of John's hospital gown. Then Mike moved on to Adam. At this point, Adam wasn't playing yet. When Mike used the stethoscope on him, Adam remained completely stoic. Adam didn't even look at him. Then Mike began stroking Adam's hair and moving it out of his face. He still never got a reaction from Adam. Then he went over and started playing on the keyboard-like instrument on Adam's side of the stage. Afterwards, Maynard thanked "Mike and John of Tomahawk." He said that there had been an accident at a titty bar but that he was recovering nicely. He said something about a lap dance gone bad and mumbled something about crabs. After this Maynard said that he hoped that we had been inspired or healed in some way and then finished with his "positivity" bit. Then he said that instead we could just go home, strip naked and fuck each other. Of course this meant Lateralus was next. While Danny was messing with his equipment and the guys were gathered around his kit, Adam pulled out something that looked like a pen. He handed it to Maynard who grinned and put it on one of Danny's toms while he wasn't looking. Danny quickly discovered it and all four of them had a little laugh over it, whatever it was. During the intro, Adam played one opening riff slightly different and then played the next one the same way (I don't know if he messed up and then played it off by playing it again or if he was just having fun). Maynard gave him a strange look (huh?) and then grinned and shrugged his shoulders (okay, that works). Here's the part of the show where they used the disco ball and the spotlights found at the back of the floor. This really seemed to include and draw in the whole crowd from the people in the front of the pit to the people way in the back. One last surprise remained until Maynard's platform began rotating him around in a circle. Who would have thought that they would have saved that for the last song? Near the end of Lateralus, Adam broke a string and had to switch out guitars. It took a little longer than he might have liked but he picked back up with little trouble. I left this show extremely satisfied. Seeing an entire TOOL show from right up front and center was something I had never been able to do in all the shows I'd been to. It gave me the opportunity to interact with the band a little during the show. After Sober, I gave Maynard a shaka sign, which is a Hawaiian hand gesture (make a fist and then extend your thumb and pinkie fingers, now shake your hand slightly). It has several uses but in general it is a positive gesture like a thumbs up or a peace sign. Maynard responded with another positive gesture. He make the OK hand sign (thumb and forefinger in a circle). Then during Parabola, I gave the same sign to Adam when I saw him glance up at me. He gave me a brief nod and went back to concentrating on his playing. After the show, when the band was onstage waving at the crowd, I held my shirt (Alex Grey's Radiant Man) out towards them in an attempt to get Adam's attention because he had been throwing his set list out to the crowd. Danny happened to notice it and said "Nice shirt." On top of all this I made two new friends with the help of Tool Army and I still had two more shows to enjoy later in the week. "Contemplate what I've been clinging to..."