Review written by: Brad(the Nad)M. (fam.mckittrick@sympatico.ca) Review posted on: 08/06/97 23:33:36 TOOL WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I saw them play an excellent set at Lollapalooza 97 in Toronto at Canada's Wonderland on July 4th. They were so good I had a fucking boner. Maynard looked and sounded FANTASTIC (I enjoyed seeing him in a padded bra so much my girlfriend was jealous). The show on the backdrop was allmost as astonishing as the show on the stage. I feel that my money was very well spent seeing one of my all time favorite bands. Thank you TOOL Brad the Nad
Review written by: BRIAN (gkeeley@computan.com) Review posted on: 07/28/97 16:12:06 TOOL KICKED ASS!!!!! TOOL IS THE GREATEST BAND ALIVE TODAY! IF TOOL IS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU I URGE YOU TO SEE THEM WHILE YOU CAN THEY REALLY ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review written by: Sniper (biff@computan.on.ca) Review posted on: 07/18/97 01:46:08 I thought that Palooza '97 should of been at Molson Barrie Park. rather than Kingswood Theatre but anywayz. I watched a few of the shows and I thought tool kicked the most fucking ass. Justin looked messed up with his hair really short and body half painted black. MJK's costume was strange but the makeup was cool. The screens above the stage had some strange animations but they were awesome to look at. The Aenima video was an excellent video. I hope I see that video again and I hope Tool comes back in this area so I can go see them again. Their show was short and they didn't play much due to the fact that most of their songs are over 6 minutes. The sound effects in between songs were cool. I think Tool's show was way better than the Korn show. I think MJK's voice is easier to understand than Jonathan Davis.
Review written by: jo (freya__@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/10/97 10:17:33 Oh my GOD! TOOL was amazing. Exept for the fact that it was at Wonderland,(we ripped out the seats for Korn) I experienced the best moment of my life when MJK stared at me for 2 minutes, and when i blew him a kiss, he smiled! The girl beside me got backstage because she had drugs. I wanted to kill her! Lucky little... Well, i'm as obsessed as anyone can ever get with TOOL! THey fucking KICK ASS and Rule the world. Tool is like a religion!
Review written by: Chuck (bdcavers@zeus.uwaterloo.ca) Review posted on: 07/08/97 20:14:50 A few quick notes about the 'palooza show at Canada's Wonderland: 1) What kind of tour kicks out the Blues Explosion, and doesn't come up with any replacement? 2) Where was DJ Shadow on the 2nd stage? 3) Arranged seating for a tour featuring Tool and Korn? Anywaze - my friends and I hopped the railing into the "reserved" section in front of the stage after Korn, and I was right up front for Tool. I last saw Tool at the warehouse Dec 1st., and I must say that having festival time restrictions kinda sucks for a band whose songs are frequently 6+ minutes. Overall, they played well, but seemed a little uninspired - it could have been the shitty weather(or the shitty venue). Maynard's antics were pretty toned down(well, besides the drag). The Aenema video was pretty cool - too bad it'll get locked in a vault with all their other videos. Nonetheless, Tool kicked everyone else's ass at the show, and re-established themselves as my favourite band (unless the Quicksand reunion rumours are true). outta here.
Review written by: Kitson (resdsu@dal.ca) Review posted on: 07/08/97 11:01:32 Hello everyone. I would enjoy relieving a few stressors in my life (to do with polooza)before I comment on Tool. First, the only thing missing from the bill was Perry's head on a platter. Anyone who caught Lolla'95 at Molson Park will agree I'm sure: you have to set the line up in accordance to the mind set of your audience.This was not done this time. Second, if 16,000 people buy a ticket expecting to see Spencer, and he cancells, you replace the act ASAP, or you will have to deal with a crowd feeling hood-wigged at the show. And finally, tool during daylight is not tool during darkness. Thanks. I feel better. Now,tool: Anyone who caught them on their real tour this past year: think hard before you catch them at a festival because your fix will be weaker - although it could not get stronger than the Aenima tour. The performance is as mentioned in past reviews-but, Adam got a haircut. He still plays the same, though. All the band members were very well behaved andAdam smiled a lot - even backstage. This time tool put the message out there and I grabbed it and understood. Last time, the boys, took the message and slowly fucked me with it until my painful pleasure broke into the empty stage. The show was OK. -Kitson
Review written by: shane (shane@toolshed.down.net) Review posted on: 07/07/97 22:15:01 What can I say that hasn't already been said about the show? Here's a review of the posts here so far: 1. "maynard had a corset" - he didn't. 2. "long black bag coming out the back of his head" - it was a long ponytail. 3. "the shitty sound in kingswood" - try using earplugs, they cut out a lot of the aberrent frequencies; the show sounded great 4. "those lovely assigned seats" - there was a general admission outfield-like lawn. 5. "I was happy to see them be ripped out" - I wasn't. The lowside of my day was enduring part of Korn's set to insure that my $60 11th-row, center seat wasn't fucked up. I'm thankful for the VIP area. 6. "Tool didn't seem to want to be there" - the weather dampened a few of the performers' spirits. 7. "maynard came out in that get-up" - it turned me on. if he had worn a short plaid skirt I would've pursued him more vigorously than I did. 8. "i missed at least 1/2 of the aenema video bc i was watching the band" - then you watched the backs of their heads. 9. "no scenes of animals mating at this stop" - you missed the elephants. 10. "I could see Maynard backstage checking some technical stuff" - he was watching Snoop 11. "Some chick was body surfing topless" - MJK shook a finger at her. His breasts were far superior. Read Irene's review.
Review written by: Chad Dale (kernel@netcom.ca) Review posted on: 07/06/97 23:27:39 I thought they rocked. They follwed up Snoop Doggy Dogg, who insulted the audience becuase we wouldn't follow him mindlessly in his gangster slang and immortalization of Tupac. Anyways, the show they put on was great. Maynard was all over the vocals, and Adam was excellent. They defenitly slaughtered Korn.
Review written by: Irene (irene@weirdness.com) Review posted on: 07/06/97 21:24:05 TOOL - Lollapalooza - Kingswood Music Theatre Vaughn, Ontario - July 4th, 1997 Setlist (as written by the band): Hooker Stinkfist 46 & 2 Pushit Eulogy Intro Sober Opiate nema This is how I remember it. The usual gut-wrenching rumble began the show. A couple of minutes later the audience started to cheer-- many people could see the band approaching the stage from the dressing room. Shane and I had center seats near the front and I stood on the arms of my chair from beginning to end, so I had the best view of the band out of all four shows I've attended. Danny and Adam weren't dressed out of the ordinary. Justin was painted black from head to waist. His hair was also shaved pretty short, and he's gotten rid of his horns. MJK, never one to be ordinary, had his face painted white, a long brown ponytail stuck to his head, a "nude" colored bodysuit with false breasts underneath stuck to his chest (even the nipples looked real!), white boxer shorts, knee-high white stockings, and platform black & white brogue shoes. During "Hooker", MJK showed us that he had all the feminine moves down pat. He moved his arms gracefully to the music and swung his hips like a stripper. He carried that on for most of the show, but at times fell back into the familiar angry man moves. Those were fascinating considering his fake breasts were bouncing pretty well. In between songs, they had the sound of breaking glass as sort of mini-segues while they conferred with each other. MJK made no commentary except when he shook his finger tsk-tsk -like at someone in the front (possibly a topless female crowd-surfer), and at the end right before nema when he announced, "You should pay attention. This is our new video and you might not be able to see it other than right here." The video, like the others, was amazing. Adam's combination of computer graphics, stop-motion, slow-motion, and live-motion were expertly edited. This one is different from the rest in that the lighting is brighter (which gives the characters a clean, sharp look) and some of it was animated. The band hasn't heard yet whether or not it will get regular airplay (if it gets played at all) on MuchMusic or MTV, but apparently, MTV2 already has some sort of problem with it. End of video, end of song, end of show. MJK thanks everybody, drops the mic and exits. I've always seen Danny give something to the crowd, and this time he didn't disappoint. After taking a swig from his full bottle of Gatorade, he pitched it into the audience, cap off. Even though they were getting an eyeful of orange liquid, they still fought for it. No encores. That was it. The show, as usual, moved and inspired me.
Review written by: steep hill (bewiens@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca) Review posted on: 07/06/97 10:28:45 Holy fuckin' shit. an entire fucking festival engineered towards having a religious experience, and me without my hallucinagens. i think other people got the set list right. maynard had a corset with very life-like tits, white face paint and a long black bag coming out the back of his head (although it wasn't as big as i thought it would be.) the extra shit at the end of stinkfist ws very good, i danced around alot; the intro and vid's to sober were very mesmerising, (alas, no shrooms); the extra long heavy ending to opiate kicked ass, just pounded and pounded; and that fucking aenima video: i got the hugest fuckin adrenaline rush right at the beginning when maynard said "pay attention" and the graphics looked like you were fuckin' flying a thousand klicks a second through a forest or something star wars endor style. i must say the video was truly fucking amazing and that i felt like crying at the sad parts of it. i've been hearing rumours about tool releasing a video(tape) sometime soonish, i hope they put the full-lengther aenima on it. fuck, i wish they would put their entire set on video, even if it is mostly passive 'sense candy'. Good work adam. fuck, kudos to the band for putting up with and overcoming the shitty sound in kingswood. can you say "fuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"? anyways, excellent, excellent show, my only complaint is with myself for not getting those damn mushrooms. and one more commendation to danny. Holy fucking shit.
Review written by: Rich Hurley (Phurley@Hotmail.Com) Review posted on: 07/06/97 10:14:16 Ever since Nov 30 I have been waiting to see Tool which was the first time I saw Tool (Toronto, Warehouse), and it totally blew me away.. Words can't even describe the way that concert made me feel. Since Canada's Wonderland had those lovely assigned seats, I was already not too happy with Lollapalooza - I was happy to see them be ripped out before Korn came on. Snoop Doggy Dogg played just before Tool and made me want to puke, but because Tool was on next, I went RIGHT to the front. Tool finally came on the stage. I was closest to Adam Jones (about 3 feet away).. He looked the same except for a bit of red paint on his face (supposed to be blood?). Danny Carey also looked his usual (pants, purple shirt) - every time I see his drum kit it blows me away might I add. Justin was painted all black which looked quite good.. and Maynard with his pony tail, shorts, breasts, very high heeled shoes, and white- painted face which looked like a china doll. Tool's set had the huge screen displaying the usual images including new nema video. They also had Danny Carey's Enochian Magic board just by his kit. Tool didn't seem to want to be there.. They barely talked to the audience other than (at the end) "Pay attention because this is our new video which you won't see until it is released" SETLIST (not in correct order probably) 1. Hooker with a Penis 2. Stinkfist (extra part) 3. Forty-Six & 2 4. Eulogy 5. Sober (10-15 minute intro) 6. Pushit 7. Opiate 8. nema Tool didn't sound as good as last time I saw them - of course it was still amazing.. this could have been due to the fact that I was 2 feet from the stage the entire time.. Kabir:: Thanks for the idea about bringing in a camera.. I got pictures of Tool, Korn, and Tricky.. Maybe when I get a chance to scan them I'll Email some to you. All in all this was a concert to remember
Review written by: sar* (kpicara@juno.com) Review posted on: 07/06/97 01:34:06 did anyone else read the sentence 'Please note: this is a Tool site, not a Lollapalooza site. Keep your comments on other bands to a sentence or two!' besides me? anyways. after reading the reviews so far, i might as well have stopped at the first one. the setlist only needs to be posted once, and how much can you say about fake tits? my view on lollapalooza 97: i came to see, and thoroughly enjoyed tool, james, and orbital; had no interest in the rest before or after seeing them. snoop? i think the lead guy from the eels on the 2nd stage summed it up best when he played out a fake pho ne call to tha dogg on stage1.. 'hey snoop, im havin' a party.. oh.. no.. its okay, i understand.. i know, probation is rough man..' my impression of tool... mixed. first of all, when maynard came out in that get-up, i laughed for a good ten minutes. he was shakin his thang and workin it up there, girlfriend- he put rupaul to shame. i mean it had to be one of the most hilarious things i've ever seen. i really resepect maynard as a performer, even though he can go a little too far (think, buffalo '93 anyone..) he sure knows how to make the crowd stare. i missed at least 1/2 of the aenema video bc i was watching the band. i felt really bad for adam, he seemed very disappointed at what his amp emitted, which he had every right to be. maynards mic also caught some bad feedback during eulogy; i think the whole band seemed discouraged by the sound. as mentioned before, the bas s was too loud and fuzzy.. sorry i dont know tech-y terms. i've only seen tool twice, but what has impressed me the most both times is danny carey's performance. the guy is fucking amazing. as les is to bass, danny is to drums in my mind. i think the most fascinating thing to have the priveledge of viewing is the interrelationship between danny's beats and maynard's movements. they are so perfectly in tune you think it's too good to be true. but that is one of the reasons i love tool- you close your eyes, and they are still so in tune; never off that crucial 16th of a beat that separates them from other bands. even though the sound was bad and i was standing far away, i did enjoy the show. i think the most entertaining thing about it was the fact that they opened with hooker. maynard sneering at the kids the song's about and them smiling and singing it right ba ck to him.. him smirking. it was great. yeeeaaah- rip those seats out, now you can pay twice as much for tickets next year! the intelligence of some 'fans' embarrasses me. you want to see a band so you rip the seats out? i guess i just don't understand. all in all im very glad i had a chance to see tool again, i just wish it could've been in a club where i could see their faces and feel like i was at a show.. that 'connection' of the band looking right at You. i finally got that chance to *feel* after i hopped sections for orbital. i think orbital's response is probably the closest the concert ever got to the original idea of 'lollapalooza.' i happily danced next to people whom i had practically nothing in common with, who had never even heard orbital be fore, but it didn't really matter. all that did was that moment and the feeling we shared. pardon the cheese, but i think i felt perry smile.
Review written by: Shivr4ang Setlur (setlur@globalserve.net) Review posted on: 07/05/97 23:23:08 Lollapalooza in Toronto was pretty good this year, standing on the merits of the bands playing, but losing something in the poor sound quality (the bass was too strong for most sets). The Marley Brothers tried to get their crowd of about fifty people into their set, but they didn't quite succeed (if the only way you can get the audience going is by standing on the merits of your father, you know you have to get a new schtick). We didn't stick around for James (too many rides to go on), but watched Korn and Tricky. Korn left something to be desired, but Tricky played an amazing set (Tricky Kid live is amazing). Judging by his performance, I would have to say that Snoop Doggy Dogg has a head fashioned from shit. Tool played quite a show. I couldn't see Adam or Maynard past the people in front of me, and since watching a bass player or a drummer for an hour is pretty tedious, I watched the video screens. There were no scenes of animals mating at this stop, just trippy designs, and they were good. Tool would have been the showstopper, but Orbital played the best set I have ever seen in my life. Words cannot describe it. It kicked my ass.
Review written by: Edward Hsieh (edward@planeteer.com) Review posted on: 07/05/97 19:22:55 Let me start off by saying that this year's attempt to hold 'palooza at Kingswood with it's reserved seating really sucked. It was successful on the most part because of TOOL. The weather started out with skys, windy and chilly temperatures. Thanks to KoRn, a good portion of the seats in the center section was removed. I had my seat on the left side, four rows from the stage where I was 4 feet from the speakers. As TOOL's 8:15 set came near, the sun was beginning to shine through the thinning clouds. Making the video screen hard to see at times. It was getting dark anyways so it didn't really fuck everything up. I knew that Maynard was coming out in drag but I wasn't expecting what I saw. Maynard came out in a really tight, beige body suit with very realistic breasts, so realistic that they jiggled when ever he jumped or did his dance. His face was painted white like a mime with red lips and black eyeliner. He wore tight, skimpy white shorts with matching knee high socks along with platform shoes. He had a small bun on the back of his shaved head with a long, blonde ponytail to top it all off. Danny was in normal duds whereas Justin wore black jeans and his upper body (including his face) panited all black and Adam wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt with drips of blood painted under his lips. They broke into their set with "Hooker with a penis" which was most appropriate because of Maynard outfit. They also played the extended version of "Stinkfist" where they mixed a few different riffs and jams. They continued with other favourites such as "46 and 2", "Eulogy", as well as my personal fav, "Pushit". They most mind enlightening moment was the intro to "Sober" where Danny banged out non-stop beats as Adam and Justin fed noises from there guitar and bass with their pedals and several differnt household appliances (I saw a whole bunch of shit that had electrical plugs and wires). I was standing pretty close to Adam but I couldn't make out what shit he was using. The only thing that I could really see was an electric razor that he ran over his strings a few times. They ended the set with "AEnema", playing to the new video. I have to say that this new video is unlike any video TOOL has put out, let alone any band in the world! It was truly amazing. And I sadden to hear when Maynard said that it may be the only time we will ever see it again because i believe him and know how those tight ass video reviewers will react to such a disturbing yet realistic portrayl the video has on society today. TOOL has once again proved to be the most artistic and stimulating band in the world; musically, visually and mentally.
Review written by: Silver haired kid (dwindsor@ebtech.net) Review posted on: 07/05/97 18:00:16 To start of I will say to anyone who cares that Kingswood was a very poor venue for Lollapalooza. Despite this I loved the show. To start things off The Marley brothers played some Raggae, I enjoyed it but, I'm not really a huge raggae fan so I was kind of bored by it. Next came James, they were a good band, but not the kind that I generally listen to. After this was Korn, I don't really like Korn but I have to admit that I enjoyed lifting all the seats from the front rows(they weren't bolted dow) and surfing them to the front. I also had a good bit of fun in the mosh pit. After this Tricky was up. I'd only heard Tricky a couple times before but I liked what I heard. I thought Tricky was amazing and I plan to make a point of buying some of cds. Next on the bill was Snoop Doggy Dogg, who I was told on the way into the show would not be showing up. I didn't bu put much faith in that rumour since I was also told that Nine Inch Nails were suposed to be pleuing. The Nine Inch Nails rumour about making a special appearence seems to be going around about every concert this summer. Anyways Snoop played well off of the audience and most of them seemed to enjoy him but I have to say I can't stand his music, and I didn't enjoy him at all. After Snoop the defining moment came, Tool. Since I'm sure you've all heard what they were wearing I won't bother to tell you but I just want to say that Maynard found some very realistic looking fake breasts. For Tool I was actually right at the bar dividing the stage and crowd. Tool was an amazing band and I loved how Maynard seemed to look through the people in the audience. The three parts of tools set that do need to be criticized were Maynard said almost nothing, I think a Toronto slipped out but that was it, also the set seemed short and there was no encore. After Tool Orbital played. Orbital put on an amazing show after having some ladies dance around wearing some strange costumes.
Review written by: Nick Lanaro (llanaro@calumet.yorku.ca:) Review posted on: 07/05/97 16:43:18 If would not have been for Tool or Korn Lollapalooza would have sucked. Korn was great, then we had to sit through about two hours shit. I can respect what Snoop is doing but Tricky was the worst performance of the night and does not belong on a bill with rock bands. Now to the good stuff. TOOL WAS FUCKING AWESOME. They opened up with Hooker With A Penis. We got to see the video and it is THE SHIT! Earlier in the day, my friends and I got to ride a roller coaster with Danny Carey! Maynard was dressed up as a woman with Madonna-like extensions. His face was painted white-like a mime-and he had red lipstick on. Justin had painted himself black, and Danny and Adam were dressed normally. The only tunes they didn't play of te new record were H., Jimmy, and Third Eye. The only tunes off the other albums were Sober and Opiate. I was kind of disapointed that they didn't play Prison Sex and do they ever play Jerk Off? They did a long intro to Sober, which was fucking cool. This was my first Tool concert and (Tool willing) it wont be my last. I was so drained after their performance that I-and a good chunk of the crowd-left and couldn't be bothered with Orbital.
Review written by: Jon Berger (cosmos@idirect.com) Review posted on: 07/05/97 14:31:40 It was fun day I went on some rides including the new Drop Zone But that is not why I was at Wonderland. I was there for Tool and Korn. Before Korn came on people started ripping out the seats and created a pit. Korn was great, my friend who only came to see Tool and hates Korn had a blast and was screaming phaget whith everyone else. And now for TOOL. here is the set list I think it is right. HOOKER WITH A PENIS STINKFIST with a new section near the end which was very cool 46&2 PUSHIT EULOGY SOBER with a 10 minute intro OPIATE AENEMA Maynerd came out in drag Justin was painted black. They put on a great show as usual, but the sound could have been better. I am disapointed they didnt play H. or Prison Sex which they did the last time i saw them. They showed the new video for AENEMA which was cool and the song had a new verse. I am glad I stuck around for Orbital they were really good,for two guys behind keyboards it was a good show.great use use of lighting and video.
Review written by: Sean (bchamber@interlog.com) Review posted on: 07/05/97 13:04:59 If you have not yet seen lolla, but you are going to, DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT read the following. it will ruin it for you. trust me. Overall i enjoyed the day. the first eventful thing took place during James' set, when people saw couple guys from Korn ruuning around in this fenced off field to the right of the stage. All of a sudden half the crowd jumped out of their seats and tore over to the fence to catch a glimpse of them. I felt kinda bad for James - -they must have felt really unloved. oh well. once they finished the song during which this happened, they commented "something fucking exciting must be going on over there. We know, we know, you saw your heroes," in their british accent. it was funny, but i guess you had to be there. then they said something about that they were there to test our openmindedness. next came Korn, which i enjoyed. while waiting for korn, the crowd realized that the seats were not bolted, but merely set on the ground. you should have seen it. they lifted up, row by row, the whole fucking front-center section, less a couple pieces of rows, and passed them up to the stage. now we could mosh. then came tricky, which i also enjoyed. then snoop doggy dog. i thought this guy was hilarious. see there were a bunch of people just sitting down on a grassy hill at the back of the theatre, and after numerous unsuccessful attempts to get them up and "party," he resorted to making fun of them. Over and over again he had the crowd yelling "the party's up her FUCK y'all the back." other yellings incuded "hail (hell), muthufucka, yeeaa," and, of course "biyatch." over and over and over again. it was funny, though. Then, came tool. the stage was set up with the huge drum kit in the back-center, maynard in front-center, with adam to his right and justin to his left. to the right of danny was the symbol you see on the record of aenima, in the small photos of the band in the studio. you know, that star-like ritual magik symbol. adam walked out first, to a huge applause. he was dressed normally, blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans, but he had a red stripe running down the middle of his face from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his chin. i forget who came out next, but no matter, justin was painted totally black, danny was normal, and then htere was maynard. he was wearing black platform shoes, white knee socks, white short-shortsand a beige womans top, which was tight and complete with breast, which were complete with nipples. he had a white mask painted on his face with red lipstick (i think), and a fake ponytail on the back of his head. would have been more shocking, had i not known of this over a week in advance. the set was a little disappointing. you caould barely hear maynard at all, and they only played a few songs. maynard only spoke twice - once, simply saying "toronto", just like he did in november, and the other time, just saying how this was their new video, may be the last time we'll see it, yadeeyadeeya. they played aenema, and then left. everyone cheered for an encore, but me, being the idiot i am, already knew from reading previous reviews that the encore would never come. in all, it was a fun day. tool's set was, unfortunately a little disappointing for me, but i blame that on myself. i should have taken that warning more seriously. reading reviews of a show before going to see a show totally takes any suprise element way out. i could have predicted the show from beginning to end. so the moral of this story is: DON'T read the reviews until after youve seen the show show. well at least i got some good pictures, from the very front of the mosh, and i taped the show as well (don't tell maynard).
Review written by: Matt Mika (Matt_M@msn.com) Review posted on: 07/05/97 10:53:09 This was my very first Tool show so I was really excited. Maynard had on his usual Lollapalooza stuff, and Justin was painted purple or black. Adam and Danny were normal I think. I was really surprised to hear Maynard's voice. To me, it sounded way differ ent. He looked like a chick, and sounded like one too, but they still ruled.He didn't say much between songs except 'To-ron-to' and about the new video. Aenema is my favourite song and the video is pretty cool. On the screens during the other songs they h ad weird animations and some sick videos. I didn't pay much attention to the videos, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Maynard. His dancing and moving around is so weird and cool.I'm not exactly sure of the order of the songs, but I think it went like this: 1. Hooker 2. Stinkfist (with the cool new bridge) 3. Pushit (with some weird starting) 4. 46 & 2 5. Eulogy 6. Sober (with the long intro) 7. Opiate 8. Aenema I can't wait til they come back to Toronto.
Review written by: Nikoo Boroumand (saeed.boroumand@Utoronto.ca) Review posted on: 07/05/97 09:58:02 Thanx to Korn, the seats were pulled out of the ground. I was in the very front row, right in front of Adam. Adam was looking normal. Maynard was dressed like how everyone said he was. His tits looked so real, you could see the nipple through his shirt. Too bad the drummer was missing. During Snoop Doggy Dogg, I could see Maynard backstage checking some technical stuff (the curtain leading to backstage was see-through. Not counting the dickhead behind me beating me with his greasy, sweaty hair, it was the best concert I've been to and seeing Tool just complete my goals for life. I have been enlightened.
Review written by: Hugh G. Rection (rbeaton@uoguelph.ca) Review posted on: 07/05/97 03:17:04 To begin with, let me just get this out of the way: Kingswood Music Theatre at Paramount Canada's Wonderland has some of the most abominable acoustics I've ever heard. I first saw Tool at Varsity Arena in Toronto in '94, and I thought the acoustics there were bad (Paul D'Amour confirmed my suspicions by commenting that "this place was obviously built for hockey games, rather than rock concerts"). But Kingswood makes Varsity sound like a cathedral. The sound was very muddy; all you could hear was bass and drums - occasionally you could make out the vocals. Although, in the case of Snoop Shags His Dogg, the drowned vocals were a blessing ("Y'all muthafuckaz in tha house say 'hoooooo'... say 'beeeeyaaatch'... say 'hoo-hoo'"). Let's just say that Snoop was making the best argument against ebonics that I've ever heard. Lest anyone accuse me of being closed-minded, I like rap, when it's done right (Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Beastie Boys), but Snoop is all flash and shit-talkin'. I kept thinking to myself, "Who the hell couldn't write this shit?" But I guess Snoop has the added credibility of having "busted a cap in many a nigga's ass". But I'm getting ahead of myself here. I skipped the Uprising Band, but I did catch James. They were okay, I guess, although their music seems better suited to cheesy movies about weddings and high school reunions than full-blown music festivals. Next up was Korn, a band I was looking forward to checking out. Aside from the brutal sound problems, these guys LAID IT DOWN. When the lead singer came out in an Adidas kilt with a bagpipe, I almost shit my pants laughing, but he pulled it off. My only criticism of Korn is that they are very one-dimensional; I mean, how long can you listen to some dude scream about getting raped by his dad or whatever before it gets a little boring? The music just doesn't have the hooks to keep my interest after I get tired of hearing about the singer's tortured past etc. etc. After Korn was Tricky; I decided that, rather than fall asleep to his music, I should hit the beer tent. Wise choice. Next up was Snoop; if you've read this far, you don't need a review. But I'll give you one anyway: he fuckin blows goats. His set was basically a whole lot of talkin' shit, puttin' down "tha bitchez" and the people on the lawns who wouldn't stand up and "party" with the people down in front. Oh yeah, and he tried to get everyone to shout out how much they loved Tupac Shakur. The only people who responded were the drunk frosh-boys who thought he'd said "Kula Shaker". What a shame, I guess nobody loves Tupac. Anyway, moving on... After Snoop were the almighty Tool. Let me tell you, they had some shoes to fill, following Snoop. I have to say, this was my third time seeing Tool, and it was also the most disappointing. I mean, they put everyone else on the bill to shame (except for maybe Orbital, but more on that later), they absolutely shredded the sound system, but the show just didn't live up to my expectations. First off, there were the sound problems. You know a place has acoustic problems when Maynard's voice is buried under the bass and drums. Maynard still shone, don't get me wrong (and he's the hottest transvestite I've ever laid eyes upon), but Kingswood just wasn't doing the band any justice. I think Maynard was a little pissed off too, because he didn't throw in many of the witty, sardonic comments that have become his trademark at live shows. For me, these little gems are half the reason to see Tool in concert anyway. Another downer: their set seemed really short. They did Hooker, Stinkfist, 46&2, Eulogy, Pushit, Sober (with a seemingly endless intro that only emphasized the acoustical shortcomings of the theatre), Opiate, and Aenema, the video for which looked awesome. Then it was, "Goodnight" and they left the stage. I picked my jaw up off the floor and waited for an encore. None. This pretty much put Orbital in the unenviable position of having to be one of the coolest bands I had ever seen. I was really pissed that Tool, who put the "core" in "encore", weren't coming back onstage to puncture my eardrums with a blistering version of "Third Eye" or "jimmy". Orbital, however, kicked butt. These are two guys who truly know their craft and they put on a wicked show. I wasn't even on anything and it still freaked me out. They had an absolutely massive light show, really cool video clips that they were showing on 5 huge screens, and their music never fell prey to repetition or a lack of enthusiasm. Plus, they were wearing those little glasses with built-in reading lamps, so all you could see of these two guys were bobbing pairs of lights as they jumped around from keyboard to keyboard. I was cracking up watching these dudes. Anyway, sorry if my review is a bummer (but at least it's short, right?). To any members of the Lollapalooza organization who may be reading this: next year, atone for your grievous sins and have Lollapalooza at Molson Park in Barrie. And book Tool again, or I'll burn your house down.
Review written by: James (harvey@switchtech.net) Review posted on: 07/05/97 00:40:11 Well, today TOOL reaffirmed themselves and was one the greatest bands in the world. The stage setup was amazing with the mystic symbols and stuff. I was really close. EVERYONE wanted to get a good look, so we were all standing on the seats (what was left of them after Korn), and leaning on each other. TOOL opened with Hooker With A Penis which was great and closed with Aenema (the video, BTW, kicks much ass). Maynnard's outfit, I must say frightened me a little bit. But that was mostly because of the makeup on his face and the way he staring blankly into the crowd. Adam had some fake blood coming out of his mouth and a red X (I think that's what it was) on his forehead. Justin was painted all black and Danny just looked normal. When we were waiting in line, someone told me that TOOL wasn't coming because Danny couldn't get across the Canadian border, but I'm glad he was shitting me because the show fucking rocked!!! BTW, Korn REALLY bit (I think they played the same song over and over again). If they sucked anymore, they'd be Snoop. Anyway, TOOL was well worth the $50. If you haven't seen them yet, DO IT!
Review written by: Melissa (maynardjk@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/05/97 00:12:46 sorry, I meant the show WAS amazing
Review written by: Melissa! (maynardjk@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 07/04/97 23:12:36 The show AMAZING! Holy shit! Here's the set list I think.... 1. Hooker With A Penis 2. Stinkfist 3. 46 & 2 4. Pushit 5. Eulogy 6. Sober (loooooong begining) 7. Opiate 8. Ænema At this Lollapalooza there were assigned seats, but when KoRn came on, the seats at the front got thrown and moved away by the fans, so there was room for moshing. I was standing on a seat behind the very small mosh pit, so I had a very clear view. Adam had blood marks on his mouth (I think they're fake), Justin was painted black, Danny looked normal, and then came Maynard......he had a fake ponytail, a white face with alot of eyeliner and bright red lipstick. He had on visible breasts, tight and short white shorts, and white knee-highs. Surprisingly, Maynard didn't say much. Somewhere in between songs he said "toronto". Some chick was body surfing topless and Maynard watched her for a few seconds, then looked away, shook his head, and rolled his eyes. Other than TooL, KoRn was good, and that's about it. I got to be on MuchMusic 3 times. If you saw the Rapid Fax when the VJ was saying how people were wearing the shirts of their favourite groups, she pointed to mine. I also talked to the bass player of Radish. He's really cool. Anyway, the whole thing kicked ass.