| rev:text
| - *Older review of the then-newish PEARL at the Palms. Actually, it's a show review for this underground rag for which I produce content. Recycling is good.
TOOL at the Palms: Pearl Theater, Flamingo LV
TOOL show was unbelievable. No wonder why they can charge upward of $120 a ticket (think three to five times that from
scalpers) yet still get glowing reviews from even non-fans and can sell out 500,000 capacity ampitheaters for multiple nights. Larger budget now allows them to utilize multiple lasers, smoke machines, and large-screen projectors which definitely increases the mystique and makes for an awe-inspiring, near-religious experience "without the religion."
Set list was (understandably) heavy on 10K Days, but they threw in some curveballs in there, kinda went like this:
-Jambi: Sickest non-Peter-Framptonish talk-box solo ever. People start moshing but soon get tired. Must increase your cardiovascular conditioning, frat boys.
-Stinkfist: Hell yeah. Get your body moving! "To Feel To breathe To know I'm alive!"
-Forty-Six and Two: Incredibly heavy and even more complex in the live setting, with notable points being 1. Justin Chancellor's HUGE bass sound and 2. the whole crowd singing "My Shadow-ah!! Shedding Skin-ah!! "
-Rosetta Stoned/interlude: (lots of feedback and frequency modulation with the shitloads of pedals on the floor between Justin and Adam...Maynard goes backstage to get megaphone for...)
-Intension: (weird-ass song on album, even trippier live with megaphone and vocoder effect during the spoken-word {"...Strapped down [to] my bed
Feet cold [and] eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed.} parts. Which went into...
-Wings For Marie/10,000 Days: My favorite TOOL song after "Eulogy," extremely powerful live with lasers cutting swaths of light throughout the relatively small venue. Seeing all the lighters down front was pretty serene too. Most everyone, even the drunk jock meatheads in the "pit" area, calmed the fuck down and swayed to the hypnotic bassline and weather FX. The vocals/lyrics, deliberately understated on the album, are superb and even more powerful live. Only MJK can make a subtle, half-whispered line "I never lived a lie, never took a life, but surely saved one. Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home." kick as hard as any death metal growl. I was dumbshit-speechless after this song, I could have gotten sniped from the rafters and it would have been A-ok. Damn.
-Lateralus: (during middle breakdown part, who comes out but JOHN DOLMAYAN from muffuggin' System Of A Down! {no wonder why techs were setting up a stripped-down Slipknot-style smaller kit stage right!} Danny Carey was smirking and having fun as he battled (on a full, 32-odd piece kit) with the younger drummer. John D. was holding his own as Justin kept the bass pattern going, keeping it interesting with flange and different effects. Carey "conceded" to Dolmayan, who stepped up to the throne to shake hands before throwing sticks out to the crowd and leaving. They pick up again and end the song, segueing neatly into
-Schism: Whole band speeds up at 5 minute mark, fucking crazy considering the many different time signatures going on. The "Between Supposed Lovers....." section stretched out into a full-on call and response between the strings, and the final 9/8 into 6/8 pattern is sped up and ends right on dime, with the lights ALL going out at the last note. I'm talking ALL the lights, even the aisle lighting. Very dramatic and well executed.
-Parabola: Band starts, then Maynard comes out and lies down next to the drums. Band stops, puts down their instruments, stretch out and lay down as well. Fkn classic. They start up and finish the song again after an almost EXACTLY 7 minute break. wtf is up with these guys!!!!
-Swamp Song: That's when you know true TOOL fans are REALLY down when you hear everyone around you singing this word-for-word and knowing that it was the last song on the cassette tape, Side A, off the 1993 Undertow album.
Vicarious: First single off 10,000 Days, nothing particularly revelatory here. Decent song that sounded fuller than the version on record. Stock CNN "smart-bomb-going-into-the-room-and-making-out-with-the-wife" footage.
-AEnema: Strong set closer, light man pulling out all the stops with combo lasers strobes, etc. all shooting off. Ironic repetition of the "Fuck retro anything, fuck your tattoos!" (The only lyrics he sang off that verse, nothing about L. Ron Hubbard nor his clones) going right over the heads of the emo-stylin fashionistas with the henna work singing along in the expensive seats on the right side. Fuckin' awesome. No encores. None needed. Severely chuffed.
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