I just got back from Hamilton where yesterday I saw Tool live.
First things first. The bus system is stupid. The last bus out of town is at 8:00 pm, which was when the opening band went on stage. So, there was no chance I could catch it. So, after a long night of visiting reletives in the area, Ted and I made the hour long walk back to the station to catch the 6:30 am bus. Essentially, it sucked.
The concert itself, however, was amazing. I have seen Tool once before, about six years ago but I don't remember it that well. That time I did the moshing to Tool thing. It was fun, but my claustrophobia got the best of me and I spent the second half of the show fighting desperately for air. There is very little actual moshing in the pit at the Tool show. Instead people just sort of cram in together until you have no control over your movements and are simply one small portion of a large wave, floating to the whims of the crowd. Anyway, this time I was seated and had a nice even view of the stage.
When talking about a good live band, I always need to break it down into big shows and little shows, since the two styles of shows are incomparable. I realized last night that I need to lump most of the bands I would have called big shows into a medium category. They are big in that the stage is big, but the show they put on is essentially the same as a small one, only not as intimate. IIn some cases I have seen Unearth in a tiny room with maybe one hundred people, and I have seen them at festivals with dozens of other bands. Tool last night has dominated my vision of a large show. The spectacle of seeing Tool play was amazing. There was an amazing cohesion between the band's performance and the light show, and the videos playing, etc. The use of effects was constantly changing styles and content, and at every point it seemed perfectly appropriate to the song in question. The videos were occasionally just their Giger-esque music videos, though even in that case they were edited to fit the six screen setup. Other times it was running odd stock footage of planets and stars, or running water and spalshes, and swimmers. It was a really odd variety. In one case the visual effects were rippling in response to his vocals. It was very well done, though it made me wonder how much of this was arranged automatically, and how much was manual. In summation, the show itself was amazing.
Third topic. I expect that I will find myself in the minority here, since, well, I was in the minority. But Tool has always seemed to me to b e a band who does not much want their fame. They want to make music, because that is what they do, and they would like it to be appreciated. But they would rather have people applaud their music than them. This seems even more true since they keep themselves primarily in shadow through their live shows. It can frequently be difficult to find any band members on the stage because they are standing or sitting so still in the darkness, while the lights flash and videos play around them. Now, finally, to make my may in the direction of my point, when one of the three comments Maynard says to the audience is, "no flash photography, PLEASE, no flash photography." It seems obvious to me that this band would much rather that their audience just watch and listen. Am I incorrect to think that this seems to be a band who wold rather not have constant screaming and whistling so as to almost drown out the music? On that note, whoever was in seat 3, row 20, section 117: I hate you. Anyway, I think that the point of this final section was to inquire whether I am the only one who thinks that there are some bands and some shows for whom you can show your appreciation by NOT making noise. Now I clapped with the rest in appreciation at the conclusion of each song, just don't try and compete with the music.
First things first. The bus system is stupid. The last bus out of town is at 8:00 pm, which was when the opening band went on stage. So, there was no chance I could catch it. So, after a long night of visiting reletives in the area, Ted and I made the hour long walk back to the station to catch the 6:30 am bus. Essentially, it sucked.
The concert itself, however, was amazing. I have seen Tool once before, about six years ago but I don't remember it that well. That time I did the moshing to Tool thing. It was fun, but my claustrophobia got the best of me and I spent the second half of the show fighting desperately for air. There is very little actual moshing in the pit at the Tool show. Instead people just sort of cram in together until you have no control over your movements and are simply one small portion of a large wave, floating to the whims of the crowd. Anyway, this time I was seated and had a nice even view of the stage.
When talking about a good live band, I always need to break it down into big shows and little shows, since the two styles of shows are incomparable. I realized last night that I need to lump most of the bands I would have called big shows into a medium category. They are big in that the stage is big, but the show they put on is essentially the same as a small one, only not as intimate. IIn some cases I have seen Unearth in a tiny room with maybe one hundred people, and I have seen them at festivals with dozens of other bands. Tool last night has dominated my vision of a large show. The spectacle of seeing Tool play was amazing. There was an amazing cohesion between the band's performance and the light show, and the videos playing, etc. The use of effects was constantly changing styles and content, and at every point it seemed perfectly appropriate to the song in question. The videos were occasionally just their Giger-esque music videos, though even in that case they were edited to fit the six screen setup. Other times it was running odd stock footage of planets and stars, or running water and spalshes, and swimmers. It was a really odd variety. In one case the visual effects were rippling in response to his vocals. It was very well done, though it made me wonder how much of this was arranged automatically, and how much was manual. In summation, the show itself was amazing.
Third topic. I expect that I will find myself in the minority here, since, well, I was in the minority. But Tool has always seemed to me to b e a band who does not much want their fame. They want to make music, because that is what they do, and they would like it to be appreciated. But they would rather have people applaud their music than them. This seems even more true since they keep themselves primarily in shadow through their live shows. It can frequently be difficult to find any band members on the stage because they are standing or sitting so still in the darkness, while the lights flash and videos play around them. Now, finally, to make my may in the direction of my point, when one of the three comments Maynard says to the audience is, "no flash photography, PLEASE, no flash photography." It seems obvious to me that this band would much rather that their audience just watch and listen. Am I incorrect to think that this seems to be a band who wold rather not have constant screaming and whistling so as to almost drown out the music? On that note, whoever was in seat 3, row 20, section 117: I hate you. Anyway, I think that the point of this final section was to inquire whether I am the only one who thinks that there are some bands and some shows for whom you can show your appreciation by NOT making noise. Now I clapped with the rest in appreciation at the conclusion of each song, just don't try and compete with the music.