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Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:57 pm
by Busty McCracken
Yeah I'm gonna try avoid em with the same mindset.

And shit yeh they are in town which means we are getting pretty farken close !

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:05 pm
by Merkaba
HB - did everyone remain seated in Brisbane?
I’m a little concerned now that I’ll be the only idiot wanting to stand up and groove in my row...

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:48 am
by tys0n
Yeah but every section has that one guy, let your freak flag fly brother, who cares about the others that paid a premium to be seated, be the change you want to see in the world!

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:42 am
by fortysixand2
As MJK has said many times, something along the lines of... "It's a rock show. Stand up!"

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 3:33 pm
by Merkaba
tys0n wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:48 am Yeah but every section has that one guy, let your freak flag fly brother, who cares about the others that paid a premium to be seated, be the change you want to see in the world!
:lol: Hahaha, nothing like a back handed comment.
A friend is selling a GA ticket, tempted...

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 9:59 pm
by Froudie
I went to the VIP session on Saturday in Melbourne and then had seats on the Sunday night;

SATURDAY
I arrived at 3pm to join the queue outside, the first of many queues to come. I was around 50th in line. We were told later there were 150 people in VIP that night. Around 345pm the waiver form made its way down the line as the guy running the show outlined the rules for the evening.

From around 4pm, the processing began:
Queue for security screening
Queue for ticket scan
Queue to hand in phone, receive wristband and drink token
Queue to receive bag, hoody and pins (poor quality, fairly generic)
Queue to go into merchandise store (I didn’t get anything so not sure if there was a discount)
Queue to go into soundcheck

Lots of waiting at each of these steps, by around 5pm we all lined up outside the auditorium.

From around 510pm we could hear the band warming up and then heard the full band perform The Patient after which we were (finally) allowed to enter. MJK had left the stage (as usual) and the other guys noodled a few bits and pieces and then performed Fear Inoculum with the house lights on. They looked like animals in a zoo.
After the performance, Adam, Justin & Danny moved down to the barrier for a group photo and a few high fives with the front row. They all seem really uncomfortable with the attention… And apparently, we were supposed to be getting this photo sent to us within 24 hours, but here we are three days later and nothing yet…

Next, we were herded into a dodgy back room for “refreshments”. We retrieved our phones, used our drink token and had some food – party pies, sausage rolls, mini burgers, arancini. Not exactly gourmet.

Just before 6pm, some VIP’s went on the lookout for signed posters, getting a slight head-start on the crowd. At 645pm we were allowed into the GA area to hold our positions for the night. I managed to find a spot in the second row, in the centre of stage so was hopeful of holding this position all night.

More waiting…

At this point, I was coming to terms with the fact that I had parted with $700 to stand in queues, get some cheap merchandise, cheaper food and have 10-15 mins of soundcheck with minimal band interaction, it hardly felt VIP.

Author and Punisher came on at 730pm and I was blown away, literally by how much bass this guy was pumping out. I couldn’t hear a thing, bar feeling the bass. I felt physically unwell from the vibrating effects of being about 2 metres from stage. As a somewhat fan of the genre, I found the performance enjoyable, although it all sounds the same after a while…

A&P played for 45 minutes and then it was time for Tool…

Tool came on at 845pm with the curtain down and launched into Fear Inoculum. I had held my spot and had a great view of the stage. This was the closest I had ever been when seeing them live (6 times previous) so enjoyed being able to actually see them play their instruments.

Thoughts on the performance:
I found the curtain irritating and couldn’t appreciate the projections from that close. The band finally being revealed after 30 minutes or so drew a huge cheer
MJK’s amplifier joke fell a bit flat for me as it doesn’t really fit the tone of the show
Aenema, Descending and Pneuma were the highlights for me
I spent the whole last song (Stinkfist) trying to get a decent photo of the band
I understand they have to play the “hits” – Vicarious, Schism etc, but I’m pretty much over those tunes as live songs
The new tunes came across really well live, Danny is doing some crazy stuff on these songs
They played a long time, more than I expected
Part of Me was nuts, I wish they played their old stuff more
No Undertow tunes was a bummer for me
It was disappointing that the soundcheck songs were played in the show (I know that’s what soundcheck is for, but it’s really a bonus performance, not a soundcheck)
Parabola sounds weird without Parabol to create the tension
The middle section of Jambi grooved really hard
The sound quality was incredible, loud when needed, but crisp for the more dynamic parts
The gong is a serious piece of metal

So, was it worth it?? I guess I’m glad that the performance was so amazing that it compensated for the VIP “experience”. I could have got a standard GA ticket and just pushed to the front for considerably less $$$. Shut up and Buy….

SUNDAY
I took my wife to her first show and I thought we had great seats in the lower bowl stage left. Only problem was that we were right beside the stairs to the GA area so we had a constant stream of patrons going up and down all night blocking our view and sometimes even stopping dead in front of us. Despite this, I enjoyed being able to observe the stage-show a bit more and hear a couple of songs live I hadn’t heard before, being The Pot & 7empest. Sunday ended up being a nice relaxed encore to the Saturday night experience, with no waiting, seats and a few surprise song choices.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:20 pm
by tys0n
Froudie wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2020 9:59 pm
MJK’s amplifier joke fell a bit flat for me as it doesn’t really fit the tone of the show
Was this where he rides it like a horse? I thought that was a random event, lame.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:53 pm
by Froudie
First night in Melbourne he pretended to steal it and run away. Second night he rode it like a horse.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:13 pm
by 264zn
Thanks for the review - its a shame they couldn't replicate and improve on the first VIP experience they brought down under. It really does sound like a massive waste of money to just queue up and get a half decent spot on the floor - which as you point out could be achieved with an early arrival and a few elbows.

Looks like a pretty strong setlist though and a really decent play time which is cool. I'd be happy to see them drop schism and vicarious too - with a few more Undertow tracks returning.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:44 pm
by Calfium Jay
Sunday absolutely killed. I've seen them three times now and this was far and wide the best performance. Visuals and light show were second to none.

I loved the curtain and loved the effects dripping down. Felt surreal.

Pneuma was amazing. Note perfect. 7empest was great also but felt like they chopped it down to 10 minutes instead of 15.

And is it just me or is Maynard actually enjoying himself these days...??

Highlights

Pneuma
Invincible
Vicarious (even though I've never cared for the song, personally)
Chocolate Chip Trip (yes...really)
The Pot
Parabol/Parabola (I could have sworn it was both tracks...I'm certain they played them both)
Stinkfist
Seeing the bum of the cute girl in front of us as she stood up, with her dress catching on the seat, revealing a barely there g string - causing both me and the missus to gasp at each other in wide eyed erotic amazement.


..

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:15 pm
by liz
Calfium Jay wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:44 pm Sunday absolutely killed. I've seen them three times now and this was far and wide the best performance. Visuals and light show were second to none.

I loved the curtain and loved the effects dripping down. Felt surreal.

Pneuma was amazing. Note perfect. 7empest was great also but felt like they chopped it down to 10 minutes instead of 15.

And is it just me or is Maynard actually enjoying himself these days...??

Highlights

Pneuma
Invincible
Vicarious (even though I've never cared for the song, personally)
Chocolate Chip Trip (yes...really)
The Pot
Parabol/Parabola (I could have sworn it was both tracks...I'm certain they played them both)
Stinkfist
Seeing the bum of the cute girl in front of us as she stood up, with her dress catching on the seat, revealing a barely there g string - causing both me and the missus to gasp at each other in wide eyed erotic amazement.


..
Nice Cal. I really wish you'd come out to meet us. I went to both. Nothing to add as I was on the floor and really missed many of the nuances, but fuck me both nights were superb, I think Sunday was probably a little more flawless but then again I was a little less hyped and anxious. It was nice to settle in.

They reminded me again why they are numero uno, beautiful, monstrous, gentle and powerful. Best shows I've seen since my number one and nothing ever tops the first time.

The new songs were amazing.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:30 pm
by Busty McCracken
Random thoughts.

Pneuma and Invincible were definite highlights of the new tracks for me. Curtain opening at the.end of parabola was a really nice touch. Vicarious Maynard might as well not even bother singing, he truly doesn't seem to care about that song to me.

7empest sounded flawless to my ears.

Parabol was definitely played on Sunday where as it was skipped on the Saturday.

Part of me was absolutely incredible to finally hear.

Everyone I met from 4th eye was all a pack of Good cunts. The only thing I would have had different is to have had more time to catch up proper and for it to be at the imperial.

Melboune crowds are passive as fuck

After hearing schism and stinkfist extended for so long now, it's kinda weird hearing them performed differently.

Anyone that doesn't like the new songs is tripping. They flowed seamlessly in with their catalogue.

Rod Laver is an OUTSTANDING venue to see tool at.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:07 pm
by tys0n
How were the seats Busty?

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:27 pm
by Busty McCracken
Can't say I loved night 1 mate. Total chalk n cheese to night two for me. Standing in ga with front view, provided such a difference in clarity for the sound. And to see the screens you couldn't really watch the band at the same time. Was an amazing Danny, Justin view but honestly for a band like tool, I think it's a bit rich to sell the seats we had as gold.

Wasn't so much an issue for myself , just kinda wish i had better seats for my other halves sake more than anything.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:30 pm
by tys0n
Well when she leaves ya at least you'll know why.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:49 pm
by Busty McCracken
I'll add it to the list anyway.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:40 pm
by Calfium Jay
liz wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:15 pm
Nice Cal. I really wish you'd come out to meet us. I went to both. Nothing to add as I was on the floor and really missed many of the nuances, but fuck me both nights were superb

We got to the arena literally 15 minutes before showtime, otherwise we might have. My wife had just returned from Perth only a few hours earlier, so everything was a blur and we thought we'd be late. Glad I went, as in the weeks leading up to it I really couldn't be arsed seeing them for a third time.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:34 pm
by dickleiper
ok, my turn....

Coming from NZ for the Melbourne shows I was just as excited to be visiting a new city for the first time as I was to see Tool again, and travelling with my wife for our first extended break since we had kids 12yrs ago was a treat!

short n sweet...Great to finally meet the FE crew. as Busty said, you are all top notch people!

Melbourne Night 1
Sitting with my wife (her first tool show) and a friend who was under the weather so it was somewhat subdued, although Tool put on a killer show. Highlights were: experiencing all the new songs live and Part of me!, was absolutely amazing live.
Low lights: Seats weren't great and I thought the sound lacked a bit up in the nosebleeds. Except Danny pounding on the drums. it was ridiculously powerful and my wife was ready to leave for me for Danny by the end of the show. The Melbourne crowd seemed a bit subdued too?

Melbourne Night 2
Solo mission but caught up with a good mate beforehand and saw Busty/Liz again briefly before they headed to the venue.
This was the Tool experience I was wanting! Much better seat, better sound and what felt like an overall better performance. 7empest live, finally!...
I left the arena with a big smile on my face!

Auckland Night 1
Holy F*&king Sh*t! they absolutely destroyed Spark Arena. first off Killer setlist, 7empest and Descending WTF??? maybe that was BMBs curveball all along. it was just something special. The crowd was manic and it was like the band could feel it. Every song, its breakdown, solo and finish was met with an almighty roar from the crowd. The sound was incredible, nosebleed seats again but front n centre so a great view. Also a Smaller Arena so everyone seemed closer to the stage/band. Took my bro-in-law for his first proper Tool show and of course he was blown away.

I believe NZ per capita holds the record for the most Tool albums sales worldwide and it was obvious after experiencing Melbourne, that my little country at the bottom of the world adores this band as much as I do! It was just a magical night for me. My 11th show spanning 24 years and it possibly takes top spot from Wellington, 2002. I’m still deciding...

The only low light in Auckland was that I didn't do night 2, my mate who went both nights reckoned it was even more intense and better than night 1!!!!!

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:37 pm
by Busty McCracken
Absolute bloody pleasure meeting ya bro and cheers for the write up.

Have to agree about Melbourne. If that's what their crowds are always like, I may stick to avoiding it where possible. On a positive they seemed respectful and all that which is great but yeah... atmosphere was pretty non existent. Felt like i was at a theatre show on night 1. So quiet and subdued.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:36 pm
by hellboy
Hope our NZ comrades are in the clear!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health ... n-outbreak

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:03 am
by xZ1mM3r
Wondering how this outbreak is going to affect future shows... Could massively affect the upcoming US shows if things dont get sorted soon

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:22 pm
by Kittaan
Yo Zimmy. I think it’s already affecting ticket sales. There are still plenty of seats left for SF in June. They have been selling out everywhere. I am definitely worried they will be cancelling many of the upcoming shows. The NBA just announced that some games may be played to empty arenas...

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 6:31 pm
by bob
yep, im starting to think the same thing. festivals and other events are being cancelled. if any outbreaks happen near a city they are suppose to play say good bye to that show most likely. i cant make buffalo so i dont mind if that gets cancelled. baha :P come the warmer weather though this is going to slow down so things might work out slightly better being most shows are around that time. will see.

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:18 pm
by Merkaba
I finally got around to documenting my MASSIVE Tool weekend. It’s a long read…
I can’t believe it’s been over three weeks, is anyone else having major withdrawals? I need some Melb bootlegs to get me through, let me know if you spot any around. (EDIT: Found an audio recording from night 1, haven't found much from night 2)

Day 1
It all kicked off with a fantastic little Fourtheye meetup. Thanks again HB, great meeting you, along with Busty, Liz and a few others. We even had the Tool Shed website dude with us too?

Me and my crew walked over to the arena around 7.45ish, much later than I planned. I landed in my seat just as the opening bars of FI started. I was annoyed about being so late, and for the fact that everyone stayed seated the entire show, besides Stinkfist, of course!
The extreme side angle was Ok, knowing I’d be down in GA for night 2. Terrific view of all the antics on stage, spied Adam and Maynard chilling behind the risers during DC’s solo.
Stoked to hear The Patient again, but happy to hear anything from Lateralus really. And of course Part Of Me was brutal. I didn’t have the best view of the full light show from this seating position, but I did notice lighting rigs setup in the middle of the arena roof, which I haven’t noticed before, adding an extra element of lighting to the back of the arena. Nice touch Junior.
I ended up bailing on my seat after Vicarious, and joined someone who was standing up and getting right into it on the furthest edge of the seating, I just couldn’t stay seated for a Tool gig. Busty you’re right, Melbourne crowds have always been fairly reserved, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy what we’re watching. ;)
I grabbed a few more beverages during intermission to see me through till the end, glad I decided to move and stand up, ended up enjoying it a lot more, Descending was phenomenal.

We ended up heading out after the show for some post brews with my crew, so night 1 ended up being pretty wild, which didn’t set me up well for the VIP experience the next day…

Day 2 - VIP

As expected, I was suffering a lot from night one, so I took things a little easier for day 2, and therefore my recollection is a lot better. I managed to arrive at the arena at 2.30pm to join the other VIP folk. Scored a position near the front of the group which set me up for prime spots later, and met a few terrific fans during the day. We handed over our phones, picked up the sub-par ‘exclusive’ merch and headed to the merch stand where we were offered 15% off, although they had limited stock. Signed posters hadn’t been delivered yet so I picked up a standard one for $45, in hopes to score a signed one after soundcheck.

Soundcheck

We waited a while before soundcheck started, excitement kicked in when we could hear MJK singing verses for 7empest!
That lasted for 15mins approx before they took us inside and down to the barrier. I managed to score a spot directly in front of Justin. They continued running through 7empest, mainly Adam’s solo parts. Justin turned around to his speakers then back to us and pretended to be surprised to see a bunch of people staring back at him, funny bastard. They did the token run through of Fear Inoculum, when Danny hit his kick drum the drone completely took over the whole room and was felt through everyone!!! I’ll never forgot that feeling! It felt so surreal being in this huge empty room in front of these masters. I spotted a fairly used soccer ball up on the stage, in front of Justin, of course.
Next thing we know, Justin walked down off stage to come chat with us, he shook some hands (mine!) and handed out a few bass picks.
Danny came down shortly after, and had a bit of a chat with us before we had the group photo. ( I didn’t realise at the time, but Adam also came down for a chat too, on the opposite side. Danny and Justin both left and shook more hands on the way out. They all seemed extremely humble.

After that we were led to a private room with two bars and plenty of canapés served to us for the next hour or so, with the Tool back catalogue as a soundtrack. We were given the opportunity to go out and get a headstart to purchase signed posters, I missed out by 10 minutes, also spotted a couple of signed drum skins, they were going for $500 I think!

Showtime

So the VIP peeps had a chance to go down to the barrier first, before the doors officially opened, I opted to wait with another VIP buddy for the rest of my crew to arrive. We headed down to GA about 20 minutes before showtime, and managed to get an amazing spot about 10 people back on Adam’s side. Had the perfect view of everyone for the entire show.

Fear Inoculum is an epic opener, love the way it continually builds and builds. The curtain and visual cues worked perfectly too, the giant colourful iris’ staring down at ‘nard. I thought they did a good job of replicating all the vocal fx in a live environment.

Maynard quote: Following on from last night, he tried to get us to cheer louder than Sydney, asking; “Let’s see if you’ve learned anything… Melbourne. (Crowd roars) Hmm, not bad, still not as good as Adelaide.” Which was followed by some “Ohh’s” and “Boo’s”, quite funny. My guess, it was a little nod to Rad-elaide because they missed out on shows this round.

The Pot was unexpected (I was hoping for Swamp Song), there was a false start on the vocals, sounded like nards mic wasn’t on, so that caught me off guard. Great lighting on this…

Parabol/Parabola was one of my clear highlights, I’ve been waiting a LONG time to see that live, and it did not disappoint. Opening the curtain during the outro was genius, and added to the ethereal ending.

Pneuma has really grown on me, after seeing it live. Junior and team have really polished the visuals and lighting cues for this song, and it really elevates the whole performance.
MJK did his usual stunt of riding Adam’s speaker stack across stage, he ended up leaving it next to Adam, when it came time for Adam to launch into the solo, he put his foot up on the speaker and kicked it away as he started the solo - it was the most fucking rockstar move I’ve seen from Adam on stage!

Jambi still delivers as a great live addition, I enjoyed the slightly extended section before Adam’s talkbox solo and also how Adam walks over to play next to Justin for the first verse.

Vicarious felt a bit flat and ‘phoned in’ this time around, mainly due to nard’s vox and apparent lack of interest. They should really think about replacing it for something he might enjoy singing.

7empest - Well that was insane! They totally nailed it. Only criticism, I thought the bridge section when MJK builds up the lines “A tempest must be just that…” didn’t hit as strongly for me when Danny comes in with the crash. I’ve noticed since the NZ shows that MJK is delivering on the last line with more conviction now, which makes it feel a lot more powerful.

Forty Six & 2 was amazing, as always, Danny’s solo still manages to blow minds!
At the end how Danny stood up behind his kit and just stared up at the roof with his arms by his sides, until the lights went down, as if he was being ‘beamed up’. 😆

CC Trip is amazing, I’m surprised how much it’s grown and developed into a feature part of the set now. I’m a drummer so I really appreciate all his noodling on the gong and the inclusion of synth. The visuals are next level too, nice touch with the aerial camera above Danny.

Invincible is such a powerhouse live! This really blow be away! The 7 sided star is almost like the fifth member on stage, I love how it’s being incorporated differently in each song and moves around constantly with different lighting cues. Brilliant work from Junior.
I treated this like the last song, because I knew we were getting the staple Stinkfist next, and it worked really well to round out what had been a perfect performance, and one that i’ll never forget.

Stinkfist was standard fodder, I really miss the extended bridge, it really lacks without it.
I decided to bail during the last verse and make my way down to the sound desk at the back of the arena to try my luck at nabbing a setlist, which I managed to do, to the disgust of a few others. I also tracked down Junior and had a quick chat with him, mainly to congratulate him on his work for this current tour, he seemed very humble. What a legend, keep it up Junior, and thanks for the chat.

I spotted a large-ish video camera setup in the lighting section of the sound desk area, I’m assuming it’s for Junior’s crew to watch back and make changes to the show, if required?
Man, I’d love to get a copy of that recording. I also noticed a few speakers at the front of the stage that looked mic’d up too, I wonder if it was recorded?

Did anyone else notice MJK’s left hand has been taped up during the AU tour? Wonder if it was from a martial arts injury?


Well, that’s my extremely brief (haha) wrap up of the Melbourne shows, what an amazing weekend, I walked away with new friends, meeting members of the band, new merch and incredibly deaf. It was expensive but completely worth, and I’m regretting not trying to catch more shows interstate. Until next time…

Re: Tool Oz + NZ Feb 2020 Tour discussion

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:37 pm
by tys0n
Cool write up!