I SAW TOOL ON SUNDAY
& I wish I was going to Sydney with Janelle, Julian & Tom to see them again this week.
Possibly the most important thing Maynard said to the crowd was "I'll see you again in November or December" - not sure if he means he'll be back with Tool or A Perfect Circle ... but I'll take him any way he's offering.
Just before Muse played, there was an announcement that they had closed the "D" barricade and would not be reopening it so people should find an alternate spot to see Muse & Tool. This was ok - we'd already scoped out what we felt was pole position. We were actually quite far back, but had full visual view of the stage and excellent sound quality. We'd decided ages ago that it was going to be all about where Tool sounds the best, not necessarily where they look the best anyway so were stoked we found a spot that combined sight & sound. We were in position for all of Muse & I'd love to be able to tell you how great they were ... and they did play brilliantly...but I couldn't take it in.
The 90 minutes went by too quickly. Maynard greeted the crowd and advised he had some good news and some bad news ... then proceeded to announce that the good news was that there is no bad news. There was a split second of silence as myself and 60,000 of my closest friends took in what he was saying before the crowd erupted into laughter & cheers. It was really hard to pick which song they were breaking out with - they had experimental instrumental introductions for everything that eventually became 'that' rift or 'those' lyrics.
About 98% of revellers in front of the stage they played on were hardcore, genuine fans. Everybody was singing out, everyone was nearly creaming their pants when their favourite tracks started up. The only slight blot on the day was when a girl was carried out unconscious from the pit and was put down near us. Somebody had already gone to fetch help and there were more than enough people crowded around so we did the only thing we could in the situation - continued enjoying the show, although in a little more subdued fashion because it is bad taste to continue acting like a crazed Tool fan when there's somebody needing medical attention five metres away. BDO First Aid crews arrived within 5 mins and we read the paper today and nobody died, so that's ok.
The paper didn't mention her specifically either so I guess as dramatic as it seemed at the time it was probably one of the many heat/dehydration/alcohol/drug related incidents of the day ... which gives me the shits a bit. PACE YOURSELF PEOPLE! Know your limits. Slip, slop, slap & keep the H20 intake regular. I don't agree with drugs & alcohol at concerts - for me it's always about the music. Especially for someone like Tool - I don't want to risk not remembering the awesomeness (it is so a word). I had about four beers all day - three of which were Tom's that he couldn't finish. For me it was all about the slushies (mmmm slushies), water and Ice Green Tea samples. ("Sure I'd like to try some Lipton Green Ice Tea for the 20th time today ... it's not like I always have a big bottle in my fridge at home ... noooo")
They played around ten songs, opening with Stinkfist & then playing The Pot. The Pot was a highlight. It's a favourite of mine, Janelle's, Julian's, Verity's and Tom's and we were all there together while it played. Tom had told me (in his ahem 'state') earlier in the day that he wants to be 'The Other Sister' and I so loved having the opporunity to share Tool with them. I was so happy with the set list - I was so happy with everything (except the dumping of the unconscious chick near us really). The only other thing I could have asked from them was for them to play Prison Sex but you know, with the set list as spectacular as it was, wanting more would just be selfish.
They also played Schism, Jambi, Forty-Six & 2, Opiate, Lateralus Sober, Vicarious and Aenima.
The band played behind screens and they had awesome green lasers as part of the lighting spectacular. There was a 'Hand of God' sculputre which was a huge hand that had flames so high we could feel the heat from over 300m away which wasn't part of Tool's show but was set up by the organisers to start during the gap between Muse & Tool which only added to the atmosphere. They mixed the lyrics up a bit - not that I really expected them to come out and just churn through exact replicas of the recorded versions. I felt like throwing a bottle at some guy's head in the car park after the show though because he was whinging he couldn't sing along because 'Maynard kept getting the lyrics wrong'. I dare him to tell Maynard James Keenan he got lyics 'wrong'. Nay, I DOUBLE DARE HIM!!
I haven't ruled out asking Janelle to call me before Tool play and let me listen to the whole show from her mobile. We both have 3G phones, I also haven't ruled out asking for a video call. Once was not enough. I want to go to every Big Day Out in Australia and the Sydney & Melbourne shows.
2007 is over for me. There's nothing left to look forward to now.
Oh. And yes the rest of the BDO was fun. I did not get sunburnt, sans a small patch on my cleavage & a weird strip across my forhead. The Sun Sense 30+ Clear Mist Spray Sunscreen rocks. Mammal were great; I love Trivium even more, Katey Steele from Little Birdy can actually sing (I wasn't sure ... I think she sounds better live than recorded), John Butler is even more annoyed at all the nuclear talks than I am and Muse ... I know they were great at the time but seriously time stood still and everything that's wrong seemed right the second the lights dimmed and Tool took to the stage.
Possibly the most important thing Maynard said to the crowd was "I'll see you again in November or December" - not sure if he means he'll be back with Tool or A Perfect Circle ... but I'll take him any way he's offering.
Just before Muse played, there was an announcement that they had closed the "D" barricade and would not be reopening it so people should find an alternate spot to see Muse & Tool. This was ok - we'd already scoped out what we felt was pole position. We were actually quite far back, but had full visual view of the stage and excellent sound quality. We'd decided ages ago that it was going to be all about where Tool sounds the best, not necessarily where they look the best anyway so were stoked we found a spot that combined sight & sound. We were in position for all of Muse & I'd love to be able to tell you how great they were ... and they did play brilliantly...but I couldn't take it in.
The 90 minutes went by too quickly. Maynard greeted the crowd and advised he had some good news and some bad news ... then proceeded to announce that the good news was that there is no bad news. There was a split second of silence as myself and 60,000 of my closest friends took in what he was saying before the crowd erupted into laughter & cheers. It was really hard to pick which song they were breaking out with - they had experimental instrumental introductions for everything that eventually became 'that' rift or 'those' lyrics.
About 98% of revellers in front of the stage they played on were hardcore, genuine fans. Everybody was singing out, everyone was nearly creaming their pants when their favourite tracks started up. The only slight blot on the day was when a girl was carried out unconscious from the pit and was put down near us. Somebody had already gone to fetch help and there were more than enough people crowded around so we did the only thing we could in the situation - continued enjoying the show, although in a little more subdued fashion because it is bad taste to continue acting like a crazed Tool fan when there's somebody needing medical attention five metres away. BDO First Aid crews arrived within 5 mins and we read the paper today and nobody died, so that's ok.
The paper didn't mention her specifically either so I guess as dramatic as it seemed at the time it was probably one of the many heat/dehydration/alcohol/drug related incidents of the day ... which gives me the shits a bit. PACE YOURSELF PEOPLE! Know your limits. Slip, slop, slap & keep the H20 intake regular. I don't agree with drugs & alcohol at concerts - for me it's always about the music. Especially for someone like Tool - I don't want to risk not remembering the awesomeness (it is so a word). I had about four beers all day - three of which were Tom's that he couldn't finish. For me it was all about the slushies (mmmm slushies), water and Ice Green Tea samples. ("Sure I'd like to try some Lipton Green Ice Tea for the 20th time today ... it's not like I always have a big bottle in my fridge at home ... noooo")
They played around ten songs, opening with Stinkfist & then playing The Pot. The Pot was a highlight. It's a favourite of mine, Janelle's, Julian's, Verity's and Tom's and we were all there together while it played. Tom had told me (in his ahem 'state') earlier in the day that he wants to be 'The Other Sister' and I so loved having the opporunity to share Tool with them. I was so happy with the set list - I was so happy with everything (except the dumping of the unconscious chick near us really). The only other thing I could have asked from them was for them to play Prison Sex but you know, with the set list as spectacular as it was, wanting more would just be selfish.
They also played Schism, Jambi, Forty-Six & 2, Opiate, Lateralus Sober, Vicarious and Aenima.
The band played behind screens and they had awesome green lasers as part of the lighting spectacular. There was a 'Hand of God' sculputre which was a huge hand that had flames so high we could feel the heat from over 300m away which wasn't part of Tool's show but was set up by the organisers to start during the gap between Muse & Tool which only added to the atmosphere. They mixed the lyrics up a bit - not that I really expected them to come out and just churn through exact replicas of the recorded versions. I felt like throwing a bottle at some guy's head in the car park after the show though because he was whinging he couldn't sing along because 'Maynard kept getting the lyrics wrong'. I dare him to tell Maynard James Keenan he got lyics 'wrong'. Nay, I DOUBLE DARE HIM!!
I haven't ruled out asking Janelle to call me before Tool play and let me listen to the whole show from her mobile. We both have 3G phones, I also haven't ruled out asking for a video call. Once was not enough. I want to go to every Big Day Out in Australia and the Sydney & Melbourne shows.
2007 is over for me. There's nothing left to look forward to now.
Oh. And yes the rest of the BDO was fun. I did not get sunburnt, sans a small patch on my cleavage & a weird strip across my forhead. The Sun Sense 30+ Clear Mist Spray Sunscreen rocks. Mammal were great; I love Trivium even more, Katey Steele from Little Birdy can actually sing (I wasn't sure ... I think she sounds better live than recorded), John Butler is even more annoyed at all the nuclear talks than I am and Muse ... I know they were great at the time but seriously time stood still and everything that's wrong seemed right the second the lights dimmed and Tool took to the stage.