MOVEMENTREVIEW
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10,000
DAYS TOUR 2007
June
2nd, 2007 - Veterans Memorial Arena - Jacksonville, FL
PHOTOS AND TEXT BY MAX MICHAELS
Previously
Florida dates among others had to be rescheduled after Drummer
Danny Carey tore his right bicep and the new dates landed
TOOL's 10,000 Days tour on a Saturday night in Jacksonville.
Their first in-town show since the Undertow tour back in the
90's. Having seen them once before on the first leg of the
10,000 Days tour (see DC review below) I felt as if I knew just what I was in
for when I went to see them live at the Jacksonville Arena.
But I certainly wasn't. Since the DC show back in September
of last year the stage show and set list have changed up.
The band added more video screens, back drops and lights
to make this TOOL experience just that much better...
After the eardrum shattering opening act Melt-Banana left
the stage it was just a little over an hour before the lights
dropped and the audiences roaring applause went up. TOOL took
the stage and launched into JAMBI off their latest release.
They pounded through a majority of tracks off 10,000 Days, including the poignant "RIGHT
IN TWO" which I made mention in my previous review is
my favorite track off the album that they did not perform
on the first leg. It was a treat to see all my friends, many
who have never had the opportunity to see TOOL live, in such stunned bewilderment at how engrossing and larger than life their live performance
is. One onlooker even mentioned that they almost wish they had not
seen show because no other performance they would see from here on out could live up to this.
www.toolband.com
TOOL LIVE SHOW REVIEW
Submittied review by local corespondent Deanna Ranes
Smelly, rotten, and over-ripened sums up opening band, Melt Banana at the TOOL show. They managed to run fans out of the Jacksonville Arena with their high-pitched, obnoxious sound. People even stepped back from the floor barricade closest to the stage and that's rare. The sound system was not properly run during Melt Banana's set, which caused their sound to be heard all the way in the streets. When lead singer Yasuko Onuki spoke, it was like listening to one of those whistles only animals can hear. Thankfully, you could only hear the sporadic sound of Onuki as most of what came out of her mouth was drowned out by whoever the current drummer was for that evening's performance; yes, their drummer changes often.. When did it become the job of the opening band to make an audience run for the exit instead of pumping-up fans for what was ahead? I think TOOL could have found a better opener by letting Ashlee Simpson sing without her "background vocals," or maybe it was just smart marketing on TOOL's part to allow their fans extra time to purchase merchandise during the opening act. After their (what seemed like a lot longer) 30 minute set, they were finally done, the exits turned back to entrances as TOOL fans got ready to see the whole reason why they spent their hard earned dough.
The lights dimmed, the floor became full of people standing as close as they could blurring the lines of where one person ended and the other person began, just trying get as close to the stage as arena security would let them. The seats held those fans who wanted to be close to the stage as well but didn't want to deal with the wall of death or mosh pits that were bound to break out. Every head turned toward the stage and screamed to greet the band. Images of flames blazed their way into everyone head as the first of many interesting graphics displayed on the very large screens behind the band. The fans soon turned into moths drawn to the flames as the band set foot on stage. Maynard James Keenan was the voice to fuel the fire that was already lit and the men behind him were there to feed the oxygen so the flames would burn on. Keenan's voice was powerful enough to make every person in the place just listen to the lyrics. Drummer, Danny Carey's skills were the sparks feeding off the flames. Carey's drum kit was equally amazing with what looked like two full kits put together and included a Chinese gong, enough to be the envy of any drummer. Bassist, Justin Chancellor and guitarist, Adam Jones' talents were undeniably the forces working with the rest of the group to keep to the audience motivated.
If you weren't lucky enough to catch this show, witnessing a band of this caliber is like a science project where you feel as if you are part of the experiment. Keenan did a style of dance that looked like moves taken from the matrix movies which show that he was there to feel the music and give fans what they came to see, not be a politician like many bands are today. The bands set list was a mixture of songs from their 10,000 days and AEnima albums. One of the most defining moments was seeing the lighters, not cell phones, held up to give credit to the amazing performance brought on that evening by TOOL. Only a true rock band could ignite that kind of appreciation and respect.
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10,000
DAYS TOUR 2006
Spetember
30th, 2007 - Verison Center - Washington, DC
PHOTOS AND TEXT BY MAX MICHAELS
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When I
first heard TOOL would be touring in support of 10,000 Days
I kept hoping to see some dates start popping up around the
Southeast, but none seemed to be forthcoming anywhere close
to Jacksonville. But I was determined to see a stop on this
tour no matter what. So I looked up the closest show on Ticketmaster.com
and bought my tickets for Washington, DC.
Flights booked and bags packed I headed north to our nations
capital. Arriving early to spend the day at the Holocaust,
Native American and Natural history museums before seeing
TOOL at the Verizon Center just a few blocks from the hub
of Smithsonian museums and the capitol.
TOOL fans were everywhere in sight for blocks around the venue
bearing the bands logos on every part of their bodies. They
headed in every direction and filled every coffee shop for
as far as the eye could see. The air was electric with the
motion of 20,000 eager denizens craving the dark psychedelic
metal onslaught of one of the most prolific bands of our day.
The sold out Verizon center literally hummed with excitement
and fervor, frequently breaking out into uproarious cheers
in sections that then spread like a wildfire until the entire
arena was howling for TOOL. After a brief set by opening act
ISIS, the stage was cleared and the lights dimmed. The crowd
went ballistic. TOOL took the stage.
Notoriously not the most press-friendly band, they kindly
gave us permission to be one of only two publications to shoot
the first song from the security pit at the front of the stage,
and even that proved to be more difficult than expected as
they kept the lights conspicuously low and Maynard was positioned
(for the entire show) at the very back of the stage next to
the drum kit. So in just the few minutes it took them to rock
through opening track "STINKFIST" I was able to
get a few good shots including the one on the left. After
that I was escorted to a security room to deposit my camera
and head to my seat.
Our seats were at the very top level, on the very top row,
against the very back wall of the venue. Normally I wouldn't
be too happy about nosebleed seats like this where at that
altitude they should be serving overpriced Oxygen instead
of overpriced soda, liquor and bowl busting nachos at the
concession stands, but those narrow and shallow steps I had
to transverse in the pitch black proved to be well worth the
effort once I got seated. My companion Elyse and I literally
had a birds eye view of the entire arena from one end to the
other. The white acrylic stage, once dark and sparsely lit,
was washed in color and a massive array of argon lasers and
video projections that simultaneously played on the in-house
multi screen scoreboard suspended from the middle of the venues
ceiling so no matter where you were in the venue, albeit one
of the upper concourses or a floor seat you got the full effect.
Among the few notable classics like "FORTY SIX AND 2"
and radio hits like "LATERALUS" the two hour set
was dominated by all my favorites from the new album "THE
POT", "WINGS FOR MARIE", "10,000 DAYS",
"JAMBI", "VICARIOUS", and most surprisingly
"ROSETTA STONED" which is one of the more unusual
tracks on the album, and I was unsure how it would translate
to a live version, but TOOL being the consummate musicians
they are pulled it off with what to this far off observer
seemed to be ease. My most loved track off 10,000 days, "RIGHT
IN TWO", was absent this time around but they certainly
made up for that by closing the show with a thunderous version
of my all time TOOL favorite "ÆNEMA".
Though Maynard left his pantomime make up and brassieres behind
for more casual attire, all things accounted for, out of the
handful of TOOL shows I have seen this was by far the best
and well worth the pilgrimage.
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