Review written by: Legions (Legions@rotd.com) Review posted on: 08/25/98 00:59:14 I found the Las Vegas show to be quite good. Except for a couple problems. My seats were crappy, far left of the stage in the nosebleed section. I would have been able to see fine except for the speaker placement. Had the speakers been raised another 5 feet, the whole arena could have had an excellent view of the stage. The second, and more important problem, was the exceptionally bad sound mix through most of the show. The instrumentals were all slightly too high, with the vocals very low. All in all, the show was great, with excellent presentation. I look forward to seeing them the next time around.
Review written by: Legions (Legions@rotd.com) Review posted on: 08/25/98 00:59:01 I found the Las Vegas show to be quite good. Except for a couple problems. My seats were crappy, far left of the stage in the nosebleed section. I would have been able to see fine except for the speaker placement. Had the speakers been raised another 5 feet, the whole arena could have had an excellent view of the stage. The second, and more important problem, was the exceptionally bad sound mix through most of the show. The instrumentals were all slightly too high, with the vocals very low. All in all, the show was great, with excellent presentation. I look forward to seeing them the next time around.
Review written by: Angel (AngelOfDrms@hotmail.com) Review posted on: 08/20/98 15:40:09 The concert was fucking great! I went backstage (MJHK gave me a pass) and I finally met his son (After waiting for months to do so). They're both so cute. The pit was awesome, but the security guards sucked!! It was just an all out great show. I went with my mom, her best friend, and my best friend; and we all kicked it backstage and it was good to see everyone again... "TooL: Recommened them to all your friends" (inside joke with Danny) "If you put your hands on my bacon one more time, I will ser iously beat the holy shit out of you, got it?! What did I just tell you?!" (inside joke with James [MJHK]) Stay cool, all. Love, The Angel
Review written by: Will W. (walkerw8@pilot.msu.edu) (GENOCIDEXX@aol.com) Review posted on: 08/20/98 00:49:59 Left Orange County ,at about 10 AM which was about a 5 hour drive with a few construction road delays arrieved in Vegas, got hotel room, relaxed awhile..then it was show time. Arrived at Thomas and Mack around 7:30. showtime was of course 8pm. Checked out the seats, which were up off the floor about 7 rows back. Perfect, they could not have been much better.. then went and checked out the goods. I got a black Tshirt with a foet us on the black and a key ring/condom holder which said "Tool" on one side and "CondomsAreForPussiesAndAssholes" on the other. Fucking cool...then we wen't back to seats and waited. MJK came out saying "Las Veeeegas" then went on to say "we'll be out making our racket in an hour, but in the mean time enjoy THE MELVINS!!!" All three guys wore a shirt which said "Tool, Fucking Tool!!" on it. Their set actually impressed me this time ar ound. It's not just Noise. Bassist was off in his own little world, and the lighting on stage was good. They ended their set at about 8 or so. Tool then proceeded to set up during the last half of their set up they had some ambient/psychedelic sounds play ing, something like a horror flick, or as if you had just entered the twlight zone or something. I woulda hated to have been on acid when these were played. So then lights go off and the show begins at about 9:20. First though, before the band makes the w ay out some roadie came out and said a bit in Spanish .....ended it with "fucking TOOOOOL" MJK came out as a preacher "No thanks, i already have a drink"... "gambling is a sin, but you will get reedemption from your sins tonight" "Have you come here to hear the word of the lord? We'll you've come to the wrong place" 1. Sweat- nothing on their sceen, had nice added part in end . -Talking about friction: ..."the most powerful friction in the universe... fucking" 2. Eulogy- This is my favorite performed song. I love it!!! -Reads from bible: something about stripping down getting naked and fucking "fill a hole, grab a pole. fill a holy hole, grab a holy pole"..."This is the house of jesus fucking christ. Not jeeeesus. Not chriiist. but Jesus Fucking Christ. can i get a hall elujia, can i get an amen, can i get a jesus fucking christ" introduces Buzz Lightyear. 3. Stinkfist - w/Buzz, had some added verse in beginning and at end, along with added music before "i'll keep digging" bit 4. You Lied - w/Buzz again. nice. had Justin on backup vox on 3rd verse. "Reverend Buzz Light Year" -Had some bit up on screen by Timothy Leary. "Question authority. think for yourself...an ocean of chaos...finding that vulreable part within yourself" 5. 46n2 - good good. its was nice to see my favorite song for the 3rd time. -On screen had a scared looking man repeating "help, help...help help" over and over again then a another man saying "do you know the meaning of life" and also some medical assitant saying "may I assist you?" 6. Bottom - didnt expect to hear this tonight. In spoken word part MJK softly sang some of the words and whisped the rest out. -"we've been looking at one of our songs this summer in a different light....redefining strength: not as pushing people around, or being cold or defensive.... but by looking within yourself and evolving as a person...this is where you can help. We're gonn a need your help. we want you to find within yourself that vulnerable, yet comfortable place" 7. Pushit- slowed down first half of song. This version sounded good! -"thank you for being patient" MJK exits stage. 8. Drum solo/Hypnotic sounds- bass towards end led me to believe it would be 3rd Eye....nope. -MJK came back out again this time with those breasts that he had during LOLLA 9. Sober - started out a bit different. had some kind of eye onscreen for part of song and being probed at with some medical instruments. -"This next one is about water sports, and its about smart real estate investments, and freaks and hippies coming to Las Vegas. but its about a more than that. Its about everyone coming together and uniting...returing to that cool collective consciousness , and learnning how to swim again" song started..mosh pit exploded, i found that kinda funny 10. nema- had comets flying through space and the camera moving through a worm hole or a water tunnel or something - "thank you goodnight" as many people make their way out the band stands around for about 30 seconds...." o.k. we'll do one more" about half come back listens to requests from front row "yup....nice...nope...yes, those are our songs, but we aren't doing them now"...then song kicks in 11. Opiate- towards end sounded as if they were leading into Flood...not tonight. -MJK exists stage left..about half way up gives thumbs up to crowd. Then the jazzy version of hooker plays w/ pussies and dicks sining the song...it was hillarious and then some "welcome to my world of toys" christmas tune plays Show ended at about 10:50, making for an hour and a half of a solid performance..The time folled me, it seemed more like 3 hours. The venue was good, except the sound was alittle bad. bad, in that the musis was up so loud that sometimes the vox were blank eted. All in all though i only considered that minor and i had a great time! On the big screen during most of the songs there were negative images people doing certain weird things. And the lighting too, was excellent. And it seemed as if Danny had an add ed drum solo at the end of each song, but it probably only seemed that way because i actually could see it, unlike on the cd. some of the quotes coming from MJK are a little off, but its the gist of what he said. I'm sore as hell today from the long car r ides, the hotel bed and from all the "dancing" that was to be done by my part . i did not realize that my body could be manuvered in such ways until the music brought it out of me last night!! it was great workout :D !! And i don't regret having to go tha t far to see my favorite band in the world at all!!
Review written by: liquidblaineO (bart1@primenet.com) Review posted on: 08/19/98 22:29:15 Last March we saw the Melvins and Tool at the Phoenix Civic Center, it was great. When the Vegas show was announced we knew that driving up from Phoenix to see how five months of touring had refined the reverand's sermon was inevitable. Monday night we showed up, the band was staying at the Luxor and they visited a fine local establishment for entertainment and relaxation. The Melvins were wandering around the MGM looking for flying monkeys. Hey Buzz - Thanks for selling "Alive at the Fucker Club" at the show. I've been searching for a copy!!! The Melvins were brilliant as always. The sound inside the Thomas & Mack was great. The sonic supernatural sounds absolutely killed. Tool was in fine form, my Dad (51 years) and I (24 years) never miss Tool or the Melvins when they come to town. Cruising to Vegas to see them was a wonderful experience. The strip is a great way to deal with the purple haze after you've just been fucked hard by Tool. Can I get an Amen? Can I get a Hallelujah? Can I get a Jesus FUCKING Christ? Thank you.
Review written by: Mike McKenney (friends@skylink.com) Review posted on: 08/19/98 15:38:15 WOW. What a WONDERFUL show. I would like to extend a BIG thank you to the band, AND a thank you to the AUDIENCE. Las Vegas really made me proud. The crowd was appreciative, not overly violent, and you could tell the band really enjoyed themselves. TOOL was brilliant, and very, very tight. YOU LIED was a touching, beautiful cover, as was the slow version of PUSHIT. I almost cried when I saw Maynard singing to his son during PUSHIT. (See, Maynard DOES have a soft side!) I think that tonight, more than any of the other times I've seen TOOL, the message of the band really came through... TOOL is NOT about beating each other up. TOOL is about POSITIVE ENERGY. Their music is meant to be CATHARTIC, like the tension release that comes from singing way too loud at the top of your lungs. TOOL is NON-VIOLENT MUSIC, and I hope that many of the new fans learned this from last night's show. It was really, really nice to see that the majority of fans were DANCING, not MOSHING, to the music. Once again, I would like to thank TOOL for respecting their music, giving 150%, and bringing Las Vegas their beautiful music. It's good to see the good guys hit the big time! (I wonder what they'll do next?) A few things I want to say to the band: 1. GOOD LUCK GOING INTO YOUR LAWSUIT GUYS- YOU DESERVE TO RUN VOLCANO RECORDS! MAKE THEM GIVE YOU COMPLETE FREEDOM! 2. IF YOU TAKE A CHANCE WITH YOUR NEXT ALBUM, YOUR FANS WILL SUPPORT YOU. DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT TO DO! THAT'S WHY WE LOVE YOU! NO ONE TELLS TOOL WHAT TO DO! Mike McKenney friends@skylink.com p.s. Thanks Las Vegas for being a GREAT audience!
Review written by: Aaarghh9 (Aaarghh9@aol.com) Review posted on: 08/19/98 06:46:53 This is my favorite band in the fuckin' universe, and it's the first time I've Seen Them. Maynard came out to introduce the Melvins, and said that in about an hour Tool would be out to entertain us. The Melvins started out pretty "weenie" but I liked 'em, they sucked but in a cool way. I was on the floor, so I know the crowd started to appreciate them towards the end of their set, and at the apex of their last song, a bunch of huge monsters all linked arms and ran from the front of the floor towards the back, making our lives more interesting (especially us non-mosh-types), Then the crazy techno-segue-music (god-dammit, maynard, where can I get a copy?) kicked in, and Tool delayed their entrance just enough to make us chant the ir name. Then Rev. Maynard came out with the rest of the band (Danny hiding behind all the equipment, from house left, Maynard in full 'Reverend' gear, the bass player, and the guitar player whose video visions were played out for us on the big screen. Rev. said we were in a sinful town anyway, If we were here to worship "Jeezus" we were in the wrong place, but we needed to shed our clothes and fuck to worship "Not Jesus, Not Christ, but Jesus Fucking Christ," I cried when they played 46 + 2, knowing a bout the future of humanity and the truth behind Tool's message. As a musicain and metaphysical philosopher, I would love to chat with any of them. If any of the band members read this review, please chat at the Metaphysics chatroom in Special Interests of AOL. We would enjoy your intelligence, witticisim, and cynic approach to positivity. I LOVE TOOL, YOU'RE MY FAVORITE BAND, THANK YOU FOR SUCH A POSITIVE VOICE IN SUCH A NIHILISTIC AGE...Ian Eastmond, Resident Genius & Troublemaker...
Review written by: Hor-hay (kill_amber@prodigy.net) Review posted on: 08/19/98 04:27:12 Well, i just got back from the Tool show, and as always they were unbelievable. Maynard introduced The Melvins and then during their first few songs we could see him on the side of the stage holding his young son in his arms and dancing to the music.(I'm assumung it was his son Devo who lives here in Vegas). It was certainly a Kodak moment! Tool hit the stage and Maynard was in his TV evangelist costume. (He later shed the wig and suit to his usual bra and shorts). The stage setup was the unique one that they used on the Ozz Fest dates that no one has since mentioned in any of the reviews: Danny's drums were toward the front of the stage all the way "stage right" (the left side of the stage when you're facing it). Maynard was to his left, then Justin, then Adam. There were Timothy Leary clips before and throughout the concert, and the video show has changed quite a bit since i last saw them. As usual, many of the songs had extended endings or extra bridges. Here is the set list: Sweat Eulogy (Buzz from Melvins joins them) Stinkfist You Lied (Peach cover) (Buzz leaves) Bottom 46&2 (Drum solo and guitar and bass effects) Sober Pushit (New passionate version) Aenema Opiate This was the eighth time i've seen Tool since the fall of 1992, and they never cease to amaze me. Words alone cannot explain the power and energy of this band. If you have never seen Tool live, you have not truly experienced them. The new version of Pushit is absolutely mind altering! I saw them do it in LA back in March and was hoping they would play it tonight. Maynard introduced the song by saying it was a song they are experimenting with on this tour, and that they are trying to see it in a new light (not verbatim). He asked for the audience's help in the experiment- he asked us to go to that vulnerable place inside and said he would see us on the other side. I had forgotten how beautiful the song is this way; it is so full of pain and emotion. I literally felt myself go somewhere while they played it- almost as if i had left my body. Anyway, the entire show was intense, and the crowd was pretty cool with the exception of some derelicts throwing fireworks and assorted garbage on stage and into the crowd. Why must these simpletons go to see a band like Tool? Opiate was the one and only encore and then we left feeling truly uplifted and inspired. Is anyone going to the final show of the tour in Santa Barbara next Saturday? I'm considering it.
Review written by: kelli sonner (suporhero@aol.com) Review posted on: 08/19/98 02:57:03 great fuckin show. i couldnt tell what he was dressing up as when he 1st came out but then he had on a bra and underwear after that which i dont think is unusual for him. i almost lost my shoe and my shirt got riped to shit and alot of guys touched my boo bs. after the concert was over there was a big ass fight and the cops sprayed mase all over and everyone was all coughin and shit. it was really great concert. if you went to it mail me!