Tool, Mastodon - Introvert&Explosive

On the ninth of November I visited the fine city of Rotterdam to witness one of the best shows I've ever been to before. Of course you'll read that a lot in Tool live views but I dare to say that this actually wás a show without boundaries. Buzzin Hornet, DemonDust and me were excited as hell, also because the opening act was no other band than Mastodon, whom we'll dicuss first.

Mastodon:

Opening band Mastodon was actually the reason I was at this show, since they released Blood Mountain, which is my album of the year. They played more gentile tracks than usual, but because their sound was incredibly bombastic it still sounded like all songs were heavy as fuck. Most songs came from the new album, but since the balance of the sound was shifter towards the low tones the melodies got a bit lost in all the noise. Nevertheless they played a monstrous show that got me headbanging where it was necessary. The melodic vocals proved to work excellent live, and after their 45 minutes of groundbreaking music I was very satisfied. Too bad for them that Tool absolutely blew them away afterwards, and that’s a lot coming from me! (DemonDust)

Tool:

I think that by now everyone knows a bit about the live performance of these guys. For those of you who don’t; do not expect a lot of contact with the crowd but an introvert and technical performance combined with visuals that are shown on big screens behind the musicians. The gig at the Pinkpop festival was amazing and gave me some clues about the set list but I was very much surprised they kicked off with Maynard singing ‘Stinkfist’ (with the mic attached to a gas mask), which I thought was the last song of the set in Amsterdam earlier this year. The real spirit was not entirely present in this song which also counted for the follow-up ‘The Pot’. But afterwards, the sound was optimized and literally every note was a revelation, starting with ‘Wings for Mary’.

The sound, the sound, o my dear the sound; I think this was the most incredible sound I’ve ever witnessed at such a big venue. And because it was so perfect and because the capabilities of the musicians are pretty much beyond boundaries (the sounds coming out of the bass are just confusing: ‘Is that a bass guitar??’) the show just came close to perfection.

What surprised me very much was the fact that the songs of the new album did a better job than last summer. Whereas it was the almighty ‘Rosetta Stoned’ (with the intro) or the very, very impressive ‘Vicarious’ it all sounded just incredible. And if you imagine the visual effects on the screens combined with an awesome laser show, you can probably imagine very much that I was actually starting to fall into a state of trance and could nothing but be amazed.

I’ve heard some comments on Tool the last few months, both on the latest album and on the live gigs. The introvert attitude of the band sometimes leads to misunderstanding, especially in such big venues while the album itself is a bit softer than before. Maybe the band has realized or agreed with that, and is that why the interlude in ‘Schizm’ is played way faster than before. Whether you like it or not, Tool seems to be one of those very few bands that don’t give a damn about other peoples opinions. In fact; they seem to enjoy the confusion of others when they just sit in the centre of the stage and have a drink in the middle of the set.

If you’d ask me; I’d say that visiting a Tool show should be an experience. You are so much certain of the fact that the music from the albums will be played tremendously that the rest should be a surprise. If you do that, songs like ‘Schizm’, ‘Sober’ and ‘Vicarious’ are the most brilliant things you ever witness within music business. Then, Tool probably becomes the best band in the world.

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DemonDust on Sunday November 12th 2006 20:44
Tool was fucking amazing, and I don't even like them!

Sledgehammer Messiah on Sunday November 12th 2006 20:46
I don't especially like 'm either, but it sounds like I really have to visit a concert of them once! Btw, I liked the old metalrage sig at the photos A LOT more than this new the-fast-and-the-furious-stylish look

Shaydee on Sunday November 12th 2006 20:52
Yeah me 2, but awesome pictures Buzz!

Raymond666 on Sunday November 12th 2006 21:03
have you seen a different show? they kicked off with "stinkfist" and they didn't played "wings for mary" at all. i liked it, though musically it wasn't as good as their show in amsterdam, but that is because of the sound i think. the sound in amsterdam was soooo much better than in rotterdam. but the visual effects and the lasers really made my day in rotterdam. the visuals were really improved since the last time and the lasers were amazing. and i didn't liked mastodon. but that's because of the vocals. can't stand them.

Raymond666 on Sunday November 12th 2006 21:03

have you seen a different show?
they kicked off with "stinkfist" and they didn't played "wings for mary" at all.

i liked it, though musically it wasn't as good as their show in amsterdam, but that is because of the sound i think. the sound in amsterdam was soooo much better than in rotterdam.

but the visual effects and the lasers really made my day in rotterdam. the visuals were really improved since the last time and the lasers were amazing.

and i didn't liked mastodon. but that's because of the vocals. can't stand them.

CarpeSiem on Sunday November 12th 2006 21:48
you're right, that's probably because my mp3-player has an attitude of changing tracknames. Woops!

Raymond666 on Sunday November 12th 2006 22:04
the right setlist: Stinkfist The Pot Forty Six & 2 Jambi Schism Lost Keys (Blame Hoffman) Rosetta Stoned Sober Lateralus Vicarious Ænema

Buzzin Hornet on Sunday November 12th 2006 23:52
I want our own font in the sig... any ideas? I kanda like this one, you just need to get used to it! (loved the show, sound was amazing near the PA )

stijneman on Tuesday November 14th 2006 18:23
Mastodon was good, and the new songs sounded very tight being played live, but unfortunately the sound was awefull because of the horrible acoustics of the venue, a pity. The crowd also didn't like Mastodon; i didn't saw a single banging head, even not DemonDust's :p . Such a shame; Mastodon deserves better, imo. I was blown away by Tool as well. Though, it wasn't there best show, musically seen: ofcourse the overall sound wasn't good (though absolutely astounishing for a that venue!!!), but Maynard's voice wasn't as beatutiful as it could be, because of the gasmask. Also, the bass player made a couple of minor mistakes, but that didn't bother me at all. Visually it blowed me away completely, the most beautiful concert i've ever been to; the lasers, the animations, the lights...wow. This was a gig to be remembered for a long time, imo

stijneman on Tuesday November 14th 2006 18:23

Mastodon was good, and the new songs sounded very tight being played live, but unfortunately the sound was awefull because of the horrible acoustics of the venue, a pity. The crowd also didn't like Mastodon; i didn't saw a single banging head, even not DemonDust's :p . Such a shame; Mastodon deserves better, imo.

I was blown away by Tool as well. Though, it wasn't there best show, musically seen: ofcourse the overall sound wasn't good (though absolutely astounishing for a that venue!!!), but Maynard's voice wasn't as beatutiful as it could be, because of the gasmask. Also, the bass player made a couple of minor mistakes, but that didn't bother me at all.
Visually it blowed me away completely, the most beautiful concert i've ever been to; the lasers, the animations, the lights...wow.

This was a gig to be remembered for a long time, imo