On Sunday, I headed up to Oakland to catch Tool live at the Oakland Arena. I'm not sure if Tool managed to sell out the entire arena, but the floor tickets (where I was) were definitely sold out, and the crowd was as wild as ever. Contrary to the last couple of shows, I actually tried to get up close, and as a result, had to fend off some of the mosh-pitting idiots. Here's a shot of the stage while it was still being setup:

The stage, being prepared for Tool

The setlist was fairly similar to the last time that I saw Tool play, with the major exception that they played "Right In Two" live:

1. Stinkfist
   
2. The Pot
   
3. Forty Six & 2
   
4. Jambi
   
5. Schism
   
6. Rosetta Stoned
   
7. Right In Two (with an intro that sounded like a bit of "Intension")
   
8. Sober (with extended intro)
   
9. Lateralus
   
10. Vicarious
    
11. Ænema
    

Tool's live show has certainly evolved since the Lateralus and Ænima tours. Thinking back, it was probably possible to see the change on the last tour, but it is certainly more striking now.

The main change that I am referring to is that you can actually see the members of Tool now while they perform live and on stage. The large video screens that used to take up the main stage have been diminished, and now actual lights focus on actual band members during the songs. How very... Rockish.

Look, you can actually see the band. And check out the half-displays. Weird.

The video screens that were present on the stage of at the Oakland Arena were much shorter than usual - they only came up to MJK's shoulders. As a result, it was very hard to see most of the video from my vantage point (on the floor, reasonably close to the stage). The video was also played on the giant ceiling-mounted monitors, which was probably a lot more visible to the crowd that wasn't on the floor:

My view of the scoreboard at the Oakland Arena, showing Tool videos.

The other big change that was revealed towards the end of the show (for the last 4 or 5 songs) was the addition of lasers to Tool's visual effect repertoire. Oh so rock.

The new stage setup - the lights dropped down, and the lasers flared.

MJK really didn't talk much at all - he only talked in between songs like, 5 times. It added to the more "mechanical" feel of the concert -- Tool is usually so tight, that their live shows can take on that sort of feel. With the modified visual elements, the show feels even more mechanical than usual.

Diffuse green lasers and smoke for the grand finale.

All in all, I'm glad that I went (even though it was actually pretty expensive), but I think that the last show at the Paramount was better. At least, I was far more into it. The pluses of this show: Adam was in fine form, and I got to hear "Right In Two". The minus was that it lacked a certain sort of energy. I get the feeling that Tool might be on the verge of wrapping things up after this tour cycle finishes. While I really hope this isn't the case, "10,000 Days", and this tour, will certainly be a fitting send-off.

-Andy.

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