11/17/07: Tool

Sorry it took me so long to get around to writing this. Past week has been pretty busy.Last Friday was awesome. A Tool show may cost a lot of money, but it's worth every penny.We went down to Houston and got to the Toyota Center (where the Rockets play) as soon as we could. For whatever reason the traffic on the freeways going into downtown was terrible. At 7 PM. Maybe it was just the roads I was on, but it sucked.The arena was so crowded. You couldn't walk anywhere. We got there when the supporting band, Trans Am, was in the middle of their set. And by the time we got situated and to our seats they were done, so that kind of sucked. We heard a lot of it, though, and from what I could tell they rock.Tool came out to loud cheers. Before they were about to start rockin' it, Maynard leans into the mike and exclaims a comedic "woo-hoo!". Then straight into Jambi. Adam and Justin pound their guitars at opposite sides of the front of the stage, while Danny beats on the drums with Maynard next to him in the back. Most of the time you can just see Maynard's silouette, which is of course the way he wants it, were as the other members were lit up at one point or another. Music was so loud even we were sitting. Great to headbang to. They mostly played stuff off 10,000 Days, but they had selections from all their other albums as well.Now what really made this show great was the visuals. By far the best visuals I've ever seen. The stage was white, so lights and images could be projected onto it from these three mini flying saucer-looking things above it (which at one point moved to face the crowd). Behind each of the band members and on either side of the stage were large video screens that would play images or clips from music videos to accompany the appropriate song. And above the stage there was a backdrop that stuff would be projected on as well. All these working in combination was amazing. It really takes a concert to the next level.After a brief intermission following the first hour of the set, the band quietly returns to launch into "Wings For Marie (Part 1)" and "10,000 Days (Wings Part 2)" back to back. That song is simply a progressive rock gem. I think it's amazing how well that song is arranged. Anyway, it was then that they brought out the lasers, which were in the middle of the front of the stage as well as on the floor behind the sound booth (with smoke of course). Trippy trippy trippy. At one point the lasers stopped moving and were just layered on three different levels right at us. It was like staring into another dimension or something. Trans Am's drummer came out during the middle of "Lateralus" for a sweet little drum off between him and Danny, and the boys ended hour 2 with "Vicarious". After many bows and cheers they left. There was no encore, because no encore was necessary.If definitely hope to see Tool again, which at the rate they tour and record will probably be in 4 years, but the wait, as with anything they do, will be well worth it.