Review written by: Jeremy Jeffers (jjeffers@yermoms.house) Review posted on: 08/16/97 21:17:08 I stood up on my seat to see that they had a giant wheel thing with a six-pointed star (I don't know what you call it) on it and Danny had the same sign on his bass drums. Then they set up a TV thing on the front center stage, it was very small and unnoticable. Next a giant projector sheet for their visual show, which had a mirror effect to it, it would show the visual on one half of the screen and the same thing in reverse on the other half. Maynard and his band of geeks came waltzing out (figure of speech there) and the PA system was playing (-) ions. Maynard was wearing a bra around some fake breasts and knee-high white socks to go with a pair of black panties (or speedos, I couldn't tell from where I was), a long black wig in a ponytail and he had his face painted white. Adam was just wearing clothes, but he took the shirt off later. He was wearing red face paint in like a war paint design I guess. Justin was painted gold or silver and that's all I can tell you about him, and Danny...well, he looked like Danny. After (-) ions stopped flowing through the venue, Adam bent over and started the show with (what a surprise) Hooker with a Penis, which I quickly screamed my lungs out to and lost my voice in the process, singing every word along with Maynard and shaking around like a maniac. Maynard said "we have cds and t-shirts all for you" right before the interlude guitar solo part. Then when that was finished all I heard for about a minute and a half was feedback and soon realized Stinkfist was next, which might I add was one of my favorites because of this cool ass interlude before the "I'll keep digging" part. It made the song about 2 minutes longer, it was a bit of a guitar solo I guess, it sounded like the weird thing in the beginning of the song but re-adapted so they could play it live I guess. Then Maynard said (it was either after Stinkfist or Hooker, I can't remember) "how long has it been since we've been here, '93? sorry we're late". Then He said "this song's about subtle changes", you guessed it, 46 and 2. It kicked some ass, probably my favorite that night, even though it was the normal version. Then Adam started scraping up and down on his guitar strings and his top string got very low-pitched, kinda like dropped-B. Prison Sex. They showed the video during the song (sorry but I didn't watch much of the video screen except during this and about two others pretty much). The third verse that they only play live is my favorite part of the whole song, it kicked so much ass, why isn't it on the cd? Anyway., the only lyrics I caught to it was something like "inside your skin", at least that's what I think. After that Maynard pulled out the old megaphone and started beeping away for the beginning of Eulogy. Which had a longer ending, they did the duh-duh-duh-duh part like fifty times (exaggeration). H. came next and then the song which got the most crowd response especially from me, Sober. Then a huge musical pause where Danny was playing some tribal beat and Adam making weird noises. Justin was just thumping his bass I guess and Maynard was sitting cross-legged meditating or something because he didn't move for about 2 and a half minutes. I thought Third Eye was what they were starting but Adam started playing Pushit, which was okay too, and the visuals were strickly for the trippers, it was the same thing over and over, a guy I guess bouncing up and down, by the way Sober's visuals were the holocaust clips of the jews going into the showers I guess, or marching, anyway, in the middle of Pushit the screen was showing elephants and camels fucking, which everyone hooted and hollered to, and Maynard was jerking off with the microphone and dancing around like a puppet. The song all around was incredible. Then I thought they were done, but they played Opiate and then I thought that was it, great show, but Maynard started talking about Danny getting his colon cleaned and seeing apocolyptic visions and green and blue ghosts and I wish could remember it word for word but I'm afraid it doesn't work that way for me. It was great okay, trust me. So they closed with Aenema which they played the video along with it. It was the first time I had seen but now I have it on tape and I watch it all the time along with Stinkfist. That was it, an hour and a half, the longest setlist out of any band, after that I fell a sleep during Prodigy, which that show sucked, but I liked Tricky and a few James songs, Korn wasn't playing cuz James Shaffer had viral meningitis (hope that's how you spell it), and Maynard let everyone know that he was in the hospital and lead us in a small chant for him, it was just everyone screaming yea at the top of their lungs, I guess it's somewhat of a chant. I came primarily for Tool and Korn, but Tool was good enough for both bands. Snoop Doggy Dogg sucked and The Marley Bros, well, who cares. For those of you who do not want to read the whole piece of shit I just wrote and only care about the setlist, I will humor you: Hooker with a Penis Stinkfist 46 and 2 Prison Sex Eulogy H. Sober Pushit Opiate Aenema Thank you, but no thank you, JJeffers
Review written by: Ribcage (ribcage@hoosier.net) Review posted on: 07/25/97 16:38:38 At Deer Creek, from what I've heard, the sound system isn't that great, but since I've only been to two different venues I wouldn't really know. From where I was sitting it was great. As I was sitting there anticipating the one true moment I had been waiting for ever since the stout, little clayman, who has become a trademark in the world of TOOL, made his appearance on my TV screen and made me a believer, I couldn't help but wonder, what was I in for? And then it happened. The very thing all the TOOL fans across the country had been describing, the lights went out, the thundering echo of (-) Ions came blaring over the PA, and the smokebox lit up on the screen, mesmerizing all, young and old. The crowd now very restless, whistles and screams are thrown around randomly like the bottles and cups up on the lawn. As soon as the crowd starts to get a little shaky, the band steps out of the dark. Four familiar figures, painted up like puppets. Now the crowd is roaring, Adam has the usual red dots all across his face, Justin covered in what looks to be silver (or gold), Maynard's face is all white like a spectre, and a fake pony tail hangs down his back, some artificial breasts are attached to his chest (nice touch I might say), as for Danny, well, he looks like....Danny. The lighting changes from black to red, and they explode on stage with Hooker W/ A Penis. Everyone is pumped, I for one was having the greatest time of my life. About the middle of the song the music stops and Maynard says "We've got CD's and T-Shirts all for you..." The next song begins with an image on the screen of a waterdrop falling into a pool of water, and the repeated. Feedback, and then the ever popular Stinkfist (or Track 1 for you MTV lovers), a slightly extended version. The crowd was going nuts for that one, the people on the lawn were moshing like rabid maniacs. "This song is about subtle changings..." Maynard says right before 46*2. Prison Sex was next, an unusual surprise, taking me back to the Undertow days, with a special added verse. Followed by Eulogy, with a great extended ending. Somewhere along the line I forget where but Maynard reminds us "When was the last time we were here....93? Sorry we're late." Then another surprise I wasn't expecting, H. one of my favorites by the men of TOOL. Then Maynard stops to get the crowd to give a shout out to James from KORN (KORN had cancelled that show because James wasn't feeling well, I was pissed, I wanted to see KORN). Oh well, the show continues. TOOL knows how to leave you in suspense for the next song, as Maynard sits down to meditate, what sounds like Third Eye actually turns out to be Pushit, another of my favs off the new album. Again with the suspensful pause inbetween songs, then that familiar bassline that got TOOL off the ground and into the light, that's right Sober. Everyone screaming, people going insane, I'm about to explode. The screen showing images of concentration camps during the holocaust, before that during Pushit, the screen was showing tasteful images of elephants and camels screwing. Coming up to the last songs of the show, and they couldn't have picked a better song next, a classic TOOL for all of it's beloved fans, Opiate. Although not many people recognized it, I did. Maynard speaks one last time "This song is about when our drummer had apocolyptic visions of the future, there he was laying on the table in the doctor's office with a hose up his ass, because he was getting his colon cleaned, and he had an out-of-body experience. He was taken to Egypt where he flew up the Sphinx's nose and down into a hole and up into a pyramid where he saw a ghost, all green and blue. But then he had to get back to the doctor's office because his cleaning was almost done, but we wrote a song about that time...." This was it the last and final song, the one I had been waiting for, Aenema. One of the greatest songs ever written by the tiny gods known as TOOL. When the song was over, I felt different, relieved, like a heavy weight was off my chest, I had seen my favorite band in the world for the first time.
Review written by: Sarah (Foetuscyc@aol.com) Review posted on: 07/24/97 18:53:50 Last night I sold my soul and attended Lollapolooza. As I lounged in my seat during Snoop Doggy Dogg (the only person sitting aside from the pregnant woman across the aisle from me.) I then stood and wandered out to the main area. As I walked my thoughts led me to actually compute the fact..."Christ Sarah, your seeing Tool this evening.." the shock slowly set in thereafter. I had missed seeing Maynard at the second stage watching some crappy band. I was somewhat disapointed. Right when I was walking over to it, someone on the stage said.."Thanks to Maynard from Tool for stopping by with the white face make up on..." Damnit. I went to the restroom, I was nervous..isn't that odd. Well, no, go figure. So when I took my seat, 20 rows from the stage I was shaking. Being one of the few Toolmasters who are female I was unbearably going crazy (If I am not already.) awaiting my favorite musicians to take the stage. A fight broke, and everyone jumped up, except me. I felt odd. Then Tool took the stage. A odd mixture of white trash, gothic, and "alternative" prepubesent children who enjoyed Marilyn Manson jumped up and I slowly stood. I stood in the aisle, and didn't dance (My questioning of "how can you actually groove to Tool" rose up many times..) I whispered and sang to myself every single little word. And was led to believe I was athe only person who knew what Maynard was saying when he'd whisper during certain songs. I am gifted that way. I would stare at Maynard. He was adorned in a white painted face mask that was in the midst of a circus clown mask, a Madonna hair wig placed in the midst of his perfectly shaved head. A womans bra that had fake tits, and a pair of black short shorts, white knee highs and big clompy high heels. He was the most enthralling being iI have ever seen in my life. All I could do was stare at him. The music was throbbing and it was miraculious. I adored it. I fucking adored it. Still do. They blasted through each song. The white trash gothic Marilyn manson fans oohed and ahhed and cheered as the wide screen in the background showing fucking animals and marching clones. I was shaking, and scratching my arms. I think I scared some people. I gave this so a rate off the fucking charts of undescriptive ecatasy. I plan on going to Lollapolooza next week in Nashville to see Tool again. I am a Toolmaster who adores her fucking tools. From a screwdriver to a fucking axe, I am still in shock. Don't miss this. Don't fucking miss it. (Sorry..I'm a writer, and I can't stop sometimes..)
Review written by: Tony Bower (phloyd@fwi.com) Review posted on: 07/24/97 17:34:11 I attended the show last night at Deer Creek and was bored off my ass, that is, until tool came out. I really didn't get into the Marley Brothers, James, Tricky, NO WAY IN HELL did I like Snoop. Then they began settin up the stage for Tool and the pavilion, which was about 1/4 empty during all the other shows, filled to the max. They played pretty much the same set that everyone else has mentioned. Even though there were people goin nuts to their music that had never heard them before, I don't think that made the show any worse. It still kicked ass. I agree with a previous post on the great feat of playing along with the new video, it was flawless. I just hope they go on tour sometime soon on their own so don't have sit through 6 hours of shit to hear what I want. :) I think the two times when the crowd was most excited was during the last two groups, tool and prodigy. IMO, Tool was much better!
Review written by: Amanda Keen (Toolfan@juno.com) Review posted on: 07/24/97 16:06:29 Wow. That is what i have to say after watching Tool perform. Maynard was the best performer i ever seen. Wearing a stuffed bra and underpants, i was totally mesmerized. Tool was better than any concert. If you are debating wether or not to go to Loola. i would strongly recommend it. It will be an "out of body experience"!
Review written by: Rob Morgan (morgan.robert@usa.net) Review posted on: 07/24/97 13:33:13 Tool was awesome. Went to the concert let down that Korn wasn't playing, and the rest of the show sucked, but Tool made it well worth my $30.00. They played for about an hour and a half, but it seemed like a year. Stage presences, and the images on the screen behind them rocked. This was by far the best concert I've ever been to. Far worth $30.00, or $300.00. I'm even trying to get off work for a couple of weeks to follow them! Keep it up. Best band on the face of this god-forsaked earth.
Review written by: Ryan Corn (ltcfan@midwest.net) Review posted on: 07/24/97 13:28:01 I have to say Lollapalooza was a great day. It started off great, on the way it was announced on the radio that Korn would not be playing. I was very glad becuase I am not a Korn fan at all. I enjoyed all the bands on the main stage. James was excellent, Tricky was pretty good, and I actually enjoyed Snoop Doggy Dogg quite a bit, and Prodigy was great. On the second stage there were only a couple of bands that really impressed me, Skeleton Key was awesome and what I saw of Failure was good. Now on to the best stuff, Tool was excellent. I go to a lot of shows and this may have been the best I have ever seen. This was my second Tool show and what I can remember of the first this one was much better. Everyone knows about Maynards get up, but I must say I was very surprised on how realistic he looked. The setlist was, in order: 1. Hooker With A Penis 2. Stinkfist (with added bridge) 3. Forty Six & 2 4. Prison Sex 5. Eulogy 6. H. 7. Sober 8. Pushit 9. Opiate 10. Anemia If I could have written out a setlist for them to play it would not have been very different at all. Marynards movements were mesmerizing also I knew before that he was a great singer but I did not know that he was a totally awesome singer. The rest of the band was unbelivable and I finally got to see the new video it was great too.
Review written by: Daniel Stearman (Dyermaker8@aol.com) Review posted on: 07/24/97 13:23:41 Upon Arriving I could smell of TOOL in the air. It was my second show and I think I got into it even more this time. Even though I got the feeling that there wer a lot of big Korn fans there that were just there to see tool because korn wasn't there. MJK was in drag. I'm not knocking his taste in attire or judgement but I thought it looked a little like that manson guy. If you ever have to make the choice of seeing Tool by themselves or in a festival go with an all Tool show, the vibes are a lot better. As a big Zepplin fan I was dissapointed not to get to here NO QUARTER but I'll live. TOOL rocked the house. They were the most well received band there, as I knew they would be . There is just something Majikal about a TOOL show. Prodigy- stay in the clubs Snoop- Stay in the Hood James- mellow yet funny Tricky- need to get this guy togather with rage and tool and tour ,lot of aggression in that little guy. second Stage In My esteemed opnion The best Band on The second Stage was FAILURE to bad the only could attract about 30 people if you ever get a chance check out a song called "Stuck On You" Great Show!
Review written by: Sid (bhabanim@pop.indy.net) Review posted on: 07/24/97 13:01:22 Okay, I have been waiting for the longest time to see Tool perform live, and when I finally did, they sucked. Just kidding. It may have been the most intense show I've ever been to. First of all, Maynard comes out w/a boxers, bra, and a facemask attached to a ponytail. I was thinking, "This guy is fucking cool." He then says they haven't been to Indy since '93 and he's sorry they're late. The set they played was incredible, although I wished they would've played "undertow" and "4 degrees". But that's just me. I thought the best performances were "Opiate", "Eulogy", and "Aenima". Before "Aenima", he told a hilarious story about how Danny had these visions of the future while having an enema. I was cracking up, but my girlfriend and half the girls in the audience had "what the fuck" looks on their faces. It was great. As for the crowd, I'd say they were into it from the start, but things started to get nuts during "prison sex". Great fucking show. Tool's amazing and I hope to see them live again soon. As for the rest of Lollapalooza, the only other good main stage act was Prodigy. Snoop just came out and said the same shit over and over again. I wasn't into it but most of the crowd was. As for the second stage, the Lost Boyz and Skeleton Key were really good.
Review written by: Bug Powder (00sahires@bsu.edu) Review posted on: 07/24/97 10:32:12 I deliberatly came late to Lollapalooza. I arrived just as they were announcing that Korn would not be playing due to illness. I cheered. Then I realized that the 250-pound farmer Korn fans would be looking to tool to get their arrgesion out in the pit... Someone ran up to me and asked where I got my shirt (I was wearing the bunny one) and I said the toolshed. I had lawn tix and sat down to watch James. Yawn, the crowd was not into it. Tricky was a little more popular, but nobody knew who they were but my friend. He said that Tricky was doing an amazing set, mixing songs and stuff. Snoop really interacted with the crowd. I was amazed at his popularity with a VERY white audience. He has really "crossed over". Finally Tool started setting up to some crazy music. Techo stuff mixed with Tool lyrics, and it sounded like a Weird Al cover of a tool song, very cool. The set list has already been posted, and I can't remember the order anyway. Maynard had the theatrical mask painted on. The background videos were VERY cool, colorful stuff and I wish I had been tripping. The pits were FURIOUS. Security gave up on breaking it up during the second song when at least 200 people were al slamming at once. Lots of people were singing along. Although the crowd and Maynard were really into it, he didn't interact with us very much, except to get everybody to cheer for James of Korn. Oh yeah, I was screaming for Aenima and sure enuf, he broke into the story about the drummers experience while getting an enema... very funny, "and he floted over to the Giza plataeu and flew up the right nostril of the Sphinx..." That was a great finishing track, but it sucked cause I wanted to slam and watch the video at the same time. The show ended with the theme from the Itchy and Scratchy Show. The a little Wu-Tang and then The Prodigy, who were really good. The audience wasn't into it till "Breath." It seemedthat there were 2 people who know the words to anything other that Breath and Firestarter, and I was one. I'd say the pit was even fiercer during prodigy...I hurt. Anyway Tool played a great show as usual and proved that nobody is better live. I have a feeling a lot of Korn fans walked away thinking "damn, Tool is better than I thought, maybe even better than Korn."
Review written by: Travis Gillison (Saila@webtv.net) Review posted on: 07/24/97 02:15:17 July 23: Noblesville, Indiana Deer Creek Music Center First off, let me tell you that this was my first opportunity to see Tool perform. I must be completely honest, and say that even though I'm partial to saying that they were beyond good, their live show is absolutely incredible. I was surprised when the band first appeared. Maynard, and the other band members for that matter, were not in body paint. Adam and Danny both wore T-shirts and jeans, Justin a pair of olive khakis, and Maynard...Well, let me describe in better detail. Maynard must have been the "hooker with a penis." He came out with his face painted white, with hints of black (much like a mime's face), had a fake ebony ponytail, tight spandex shorts, and a brassiere, with perky fake breasts (???). It was interesting, to say the least. Here is the setlist, in no particular order, with details about some of the selections: --Hooker With A Penis (This was the first song they played) --Eulogy (I never knew it, but Maynard actually hums the notes in the beginning of this song, using the "voice-changer" that much resembles a tiny black hair dryer.) --Forty Six & 2 (Maynard said before this song was played, "This song is about subtle changing.") --Sober --Prison Sex (w/additional verse) --Stinkfist (extended version) --Pushit --nema (showed the new video during the performance. I had already seen it, but for those of you who don't have MTV and are going to see Lollapalooza, you'll get to check it out. Very cool video.) --Opiate --H. Tool's lighting is nothing spectacular, but during the performance of "nema," there were some cool patterns shined on top of the pavillion of Deer Creek Music Center. They also have a large strip video screen, in which they constantly display images dur ing the show. Miscellaneous notes: I thought the performance of "Eulogy" was brilliant, and to me the most impressive. That's not saying too much, however, because the show as a whole was brilliant. Maynard interacted with the crowd a tad. After one of their songs, he asked, "When's the last time you were here? Back in '93? Sorry we're late." He also had the crowd chant a resounding "Yes!" to "pay tribute" to the member of KoRn who has viral menengitis, which forced them to cancel their set. I won't miss any future shows. Tool does not disappoint. Lollapalooza notes: Failure is a great band. They just started the second leg of the tour, beginning with the Cincinatti show, and they sounded really good. Check them out. Tricky is pretty lousy, unless you like hip-hop, Snoop was vulgar and irritati ng, KoRn wasn't there (as mentioned above), and PUGS were horrendous. I'm not at all upset, though, because Tool was mesmerizing, and I suggest to any of you who haven't seen them and have the opportunity...DO IT!!!!