Tool @ CIA Cardiff - 30.11.2006

December 3, 2006, 05:09 PM

When it comes to concerts I am usually quite happy chilling about three quarters back so I can see and hear everything but this concert was different. For some reason I was compelled to get as close to the action as possible and I was quite happy with 4 rows back from the front .

Anyways I won't even bother talking about the Mastodon performance because thats not why I went there and to be honest I was too busy being excited about Tool to even care about what Mastodon were doing. They leave the stage and the tool show begins slowly.

They start off by playing some quite weird American radio show in the background while the audience conversates. You can tell this is the beginning of their performance but most people don't notice. This gradual build continues for another 40 minutes or so and by the time the band grace the stage I am so ready for this.

Tool storm the stage and instantly break into their first track. Now I am a fairly new Tool fan (few years) and although I don't know the names of all of their songs I recognize and know all of the tracks that they play. I am for a moment amazed at how good these guys sound live. I shut my eyes and I could be in my living room listening to the album but I'm not I'm listening to these guys play this shit right in front of me .

Maynard looks daper in an Orange Hoody and shades. The first track finishes and Maynard states "Do You Want the Good News or the Bad News?" he continues by telling us the good news is that the Bassist is English, Drummer is Irish, He is Scottish and wait for it...the guitarist is Welsh! The room roars with excitment at this news only to be disjoyed to hear "So you want the Bad News?"...silence..."There is no Bad News!!" and they break into their next track. By this point I am entranced. Now I rarely dance, I'm just not that good but something about this band makes me lose my inhibitions and sing and dance away to their amazing performance.

I am stoked when they break into the beginning of "10,000 Days" the title track of their latest release, my personal favorite and overall epic at a whopping 12 minutes long. They pull this song off amazingly and I am really happy that they played this track and I was present to hear it.

Now two strange things about this concert are the requests from the band to the fans. One is no pictures, the second is no smoking. I personaly respect both of their choices which is why there is just a generic picture accompanying this article but people all the way through show how stupid they are by trying to snap pics, smoke fags and spliffs. Each time a member of the security staff stand up and shine the torch on them. Kind of annoying and I almost wish everyone else at this point would dissapear so I could appreciate this concert with no interruptions but no such luck on that front.

Barring a few technical difficulties this bands performance live were second to none. I have seen hundreds of concerts in my lifetime and have not been blown away at many. This was one of the slim few where I am truly blown away by the talents of these guys. The audience is strangely mixed too with people from many different cliques being present for this show. Many people don't get Tool and thats cool I think the fans and the band themselves like that fact. You need to be a certain type of person that listens to and appreciates certain aspects of music to like this band. It took me two years to start to get them but I'm so glad I spent that time learning now.

The lighting, the video visuals, the 10,000 days artwork murial and everything else in this concert are amazing and add up to an outstanding show. If anyone was at this show and didn't love it then there seriously is something wrong with you and maybe you should stick to your Pop Punk music huh?

If you're looking for a band to change your life then go buy a Tool CD and next time they are coming into town make sure that you are there.

One of my top 3 gigs of all time.