These kind and insightful words from Drumz242:
To begin, I want to say that I have been a member of BackstagePassDirect for almost a year and never got offered a single pass. I had pretty much decided that the site was BS. Imagine my surprise when I got an email notification that I had been awarded Tool passes. Ohmigod!!
Now, on to the show.
Maynard James Keenan explained to me backstage: "Whatever happens outside these walls has no bearing on what happens inside". Keenan and his art-prog-metal outfit then took the stage and unleashed a massive, magnificent multi-media assault that genespliced King Crimson on steroids with the coolest Laser Floyd show you could possibly imagine.
From the opening of their 110-minute set — a video of LSD guru Timothy Leary telling us: "Think for yourself; question authority" — it was clear Tool live in their own self-contained universe governed by their own rules. Bottom line: Whatever usually happens at rock concerts also had no bearing on what happened here.
How did they freak us out? Let me count the ways:
1) Their frontman wasn't out front. Singer (and occasional keyboardist) Keenan spent the night lurking at the back of the stage, sharing a riser with monster drummer Danny Carey. Guitarist Adam Jones (stage right) and bassist Justin Chancellor (stage left) had the floor all to themselves — but spent most of the show stationed at their posts and seldom came within 10 feet of each other. An interactive combo this ain't.
2) Their light show wasn't aimed at the band. From the blinding strobes set in front of the stage to the computerized VariLights hanging above it to the lasers positioned at various points (including back by the sound board), the bulk of the zillion-watt show was directed not at the musicians, but at the audience. Keenan in particular was barely visible, lurking in a pocket of darkness (he reportedly likes his privacy) and seen only in silhouette against a massive video-screen wall that ran the full length of the stage behind the band. It was accompanied by several more suspended screens that rose and fell and angled into various positions while showing everything from psychedelic imagery to the band's disturbing, eyeball-centric and generally creepy videos. Add four parabolic mini-lighting rigs that also moved, tilted and rotated, a slew of swirling patterned lights that bathed the stage (and the audience, of course), and a pair of smoke cannons aimed over the crowd's heads, and you had a show so powerful you could have worn shades.
3) Their songs were crazy-long, crazy-busy, crazy-intense and just plain crazy. They opened with Third Eye, a 15-minute shapeshifter about raising your consciousness through drugs. It was greeted with the sort of frenzied excitement typically reserved for when the Stones play Satisfaction or when Springsteen starts Born to Run. Ditto the other 11 songs in the set, all of which came from their four studio albums, including their most recent effort, 2006's 10,000 Days. Jambi sported a rubbery 9/8 rhythm and yearning lyrics. The soundscape (-) Ions sounded like ambient noise in Dr. Frankenstein's lab. Stinkfist seemed to be about ... well, I'll let you work that out for yourself. Vicarious and The Patient slammed to 5/4 grooves. Intolerance, if I was counting right, began in 29/16 time. Like most of them, however, it didn't stay there for long. The only thing predictable about Tool songs is their unpredictability. Times and rhythms start, stop and shift on a dime. Passages go on for anywhere between one minute and 20. There might be several minutes of hypnotic grooving. Or not. There might be a guitar solo. Or not. Keenan's voice might be totally indecipherable and buried in the mix or ringing as clear as a bell over top. Either way, it didn't matter. The fans dug it all — the weirder, the better.
4) They sold lots of beer. Considering how rabid their fans were, there was a surprisingly constant stream of them headed to and from the bars throughout the show. Guess that's because their songs are so long — no matter what they're playing, you've got time to hit the can, line up for beer, score a $40 T-shirt (or perhaps that $20 thong, ladies) and get back to your seat before the next tune.
5) Their roadies wore white lab coats. Not sure how that's significant, but it just seemed cool.
6) They didn't do an encore. At least, not a traditional one. After closing their main set with the Grammy-winning (yes, you read that right) Schism and the thundering 46 & 2, they left the stage for several minutes while their instruments droned and the psychedelic visuals carried on. It was so engrossing it probably took some audience members several minutes to realize the band had gone — by which time they had returned to mount an epic version of Lateralus and a blazing rendition of the cathartic doom-boogie Ænema, illuminated by lasers fanning through the air and blasting randomly off the upper deck of MTS Centre while dozens of white lights pinwheeled around.
Set List:
Third Eye
Jambi
(-) Ions
Stinkfist
Vicarious
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Intolerance
Schism
Forty Six & 2
Lateralus
Ænema
To close, I just want to say that anyone who badmouths BPD has their head up their ass (that used to include yours truly) and has no understanding of what "first come-first served" means. You want passes? Show up early, that's the key.
Drumz242, next time we're hiring for PR, we'll give you a call. Thanks.
Listen to the man. Make your requests early. That's how winners win. Not a member yet? Join here.
