Tool = Incredible

Last night was the Tool show.  My insides were churning with giddy anticipation all day yesterday, although I didn't know what to expect of their performance.  Well, I guess I had some idea.  I mean, it is Tool.  But snap...that was freaking awesome.

Before I jump into details, I'll put it out there that I haven't been a Tool fan for long.  Prior to dating Joe, the only Tool songs I knew were Sober and Schism; Christmas always reminds me of Sober and I've known Schism as the theme from MTV's Fear.  What's the Christmas-Sober connection?  It was Christmas Eve 1993 or 1994 and I couldn't sleep.  I ended up catching the music video really late at night.  Although it's totally creepy, there was something about it I liked as a little 9 or 10-year old.

Jump forward about 15 years.  I learned quickly after getting to know Joe that he really digs Tool, so I put some effort into listening to them.  It didn't take long for me to realize that Tool is really good.  Plus, Maynard James Keenan makes some tasty wine, which I got to try once thanks to Josh Peeno.  When I was all big on Guitar Hero, I played the crap out of the Tool setlist.  Then when I started running this past July, I used Jambi and Vicarious as my "run like hell" songs.  In fact at the end of my first 5K, I fought with my phone to play Jambi to help push me through to the finish a little faster.

And then to last night.  En route to our seats I overheard someone say something along the lines of, "I heard they won't go on until 9:20!"  I love concert know-it-alls and I figured this person was wrong.  I didn't want to wait that long because I was so pumped up, but I definitely know what it's like to wait for a headliner to get on stage.  We were in our seats around 7:15.  The photos give a perspective of where we were seated.  I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a bad seat at Huntington Center, since the seats are arranged more upward than back.  Joe's cousin Jason stood out in the cold the morning that tickets went on sale to ensure we'd get great seats for our group of 6 and he succeeded.  The closest comparison to the atmosphere at the Tool show, for me, is with 311.  For 311 shows, I have only ever been on the floor--it's the only option when they play Cleveland and I didn't want to break that trend when we saw them in Columbus.  Not gonna lie, the floor is super sweet for a band like 311, but 311 isn't very visual at all.  Tool is the opposite.  Watching videos from the floor that are already on YouTube are definitely sweet, but our view was way cooler.  There was so much going on with video screens and lighting that we got to see from our perspective.  Plus, apparently Maynard James Keenan isn't a douchey, typical lead singer--instead of standing all lit up downstage, he stays on a platform next to the drummer with no lighting.  So although his goal is to not be the focal point, we had a really good view of him the entire show.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

At 7:25 the first opener was on--Knife from DE-troit.  No bueno.  They played for about 20 minutes, then the "real" opener, Intranaut, was on.  Intranaut = horrible.  Well, the music itself wasn't bad.  They were definitely inspired by Tool with a lot of really, I dunno, "driving"? bass.  But the singer?  Again, no bueno.  I think Intranaut played until almost 8:30.

Tool's road crew and techies did not f-around.  The rigging and lighting were pretty intense as Tool puts on a REALLY visual show.  It was not long before Tool was ready to go.  Their intro was sweet; stage was dark for what seemed to be as long as a minute if not longer of a bass drum made to sound like a heartbeat synchronized with some blue-ish uplighting. It did the trick in getting the crowd going nuts.

They opened with Hooker with a Penis, which Joe told me was written in response to some fan complaining that Tool became a sellout band.  I think it's charming.  Here's the entire setlist:

1. Hooker with a Penis
2. Jambi (AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME)
3. Stinkfist
4. Ticks and Leeches
5. Pushit
6. Schism
7. Intention
8. Forty-six & 2
9. Lateralus
10. Ænema

Hey, Jambi!

Going back to my point that I'm not pretending to be some hardcore Tool fan, the only songs I really "know" from last night are Jambi, Stinkfist, Schism, Forty-six & 2, and Lateralus.  Jambi was awesome (as mentioned above).  If you YouTube search "Tool Toledo Jambi," you'll find a video from last night from on the floor.  It's super sweet, so peep it.  Stinkfist and Forty-six & 2 were pretty intense, too.  Overall, the quality of their music live is top-notch.  They played what I felt was a flawless show--perfect, but in a live way rather than a boring, just-like-the-album way.  I really wish I had a live copy of Jambi because I would rock the bejesus out of that in my car like it's my job.  The bassline in that was ridonk and the talkbox was the bee's knees.  Throughout the performance, screens showed either music videos to each song, really crazy CGI images of human-like creatures lurking, or colorful, abstract images probably reminiscent of someone's experiments with drugs.  The crowd was a lot like a 311 crowd--Tool fans really love their Tool.  And now I understand why.  We are definitely going to see them again.

Hooker with a Penis.  Classy.

On the way home from the show, I told Joe that I want to quit my job and just follow Tool on tour.  They were that good.  And, although it kinda hurts me to say it, Tool tops 311 for live performances.  Oh, and Tool definitely beats N'Sync.  Sorry, J-Timba.