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I flew into Chicago for the Christmas holiday a few days earlier than I normally would have, in order to catch the Sleeping At Last show at the House of Blues on December 20th. Not only has it been a long time since I've seen Sleeping At Last, but for this special Christmas show, they were backed by a string quartet. The show was pretty great - the House of Blues is a great
venue, and I don't think it was sold out - so it was easy to get fairly close to the stage. I had my iPhone in tow, and I managed to get a few pictures to turn out:

Sleeping at Last, with string quartet

Here's the set list:

1. a Christmas Carol (I can't remember which one)
2. Hurry
3. Careful Hands
4. Needle and Thread
5. Dreamlife
6. Say ("This is an older song")
7. Side By Side (New - first time ever performed in front of an audience)
8. Levels of Light
9. Chandeliers (Another new song)
10. Heaven Breaks
11. Sliver Bells (Christmas carol)
12. Hold Still
13. Ghosts
14. Envelopes
15. Keep No Score
16. Quicksand
17. Umbrellas
Encore
18. Currents
19. O Holy Night (Christmas carol)

Dan Perdue on bass, with the string quartet assisting in the background

This show was amazing. Sleeping At Last tends to produce some pretty amazing music, but the string section just put it over the top. My particular favorites included "Dreamlife", "Say", "Levels of Light", "Hold Still" (the strings really enhanced this one), and "Envelopes". I found the songs to be enjoyable as well - although they didn't really stand out in my mind as much as the ones that I listed above. Given the more intimate setting, the band played things a bit more loose - the in-between song banter was more like conversation. And not every song was played without a hitch. But it didn't matter, because on the whole, an amazing evening was crafted out of a variety of instruments, some old, and some new. It really felt like there was a lack of pretension - both from the short interval between the opener (Matthew Santos) and and Sleeping At Last, and the immense number of songs that were played.

Just Sleeping At Last

Even with just the core three members, Sleeping At Last is able to produce an amazing sound. Both the lead singer, Ryan O'Neal, and the bassist, Dan Perdue, were able to switch between guitars and keyboards - sometimes playing both within the confines of a single song. All in all, I was pleased that I forced Sara into making the trek down to Chicago to see this band, and I will definitely check out their new album. If you're looking to give this band a try, I recommend their second album, "Ghosts" - it's definitely the best album produce by Sleeping At Last (thus far).

-Andy.

Amazing show - I could definitely see how the live show has evolved since I saw them at Coachella (where they basically kicked off the tour for 10,000 days). There are now 7 independent video screens, plus three moving platforms of lights, as well as high-intensity lasers. Throughout the show, Tool synchronizes the lasers, lights, and videos with the music in some intense and engaging ways.

A "net" of lasers, from near the end of the show

Here is the setlist:

1. Jambi
2. Stinkfist
3. 46&2
4. Schism
5. Rosetta Stoned
6. Flood
~10 minute break
7. Wings For Marie
8. 10,000 Days
9. Lateralus
10. Holiday in Cambodia - Cover with Jello Biafra
11. Vicarious

The three moving light platforms, doing their thing

Most laid-back Tool crowd that I've experienced in awhile. And also the most stoned. "But there's no connection, and you'd be a fool and a communist to make one", to quote Bill Hicks.

The biggest surprise of the night was that Jello Biafra joined the band on stage for one song - he did basically all of the singing. Unfortunately, it was really hard to hear him. I think they adjusted his mic during the song - it was a bit easier to hear him at the end than at the beginning, but I didn't make out much of what he sang.

Jello Biafra, on stage with Tool

The other cool thing was when Tim Alexander (Primus) and Sebastian (from Trans Am) joined Tool on stage for an extended drumming bridge during Lateralus. This is similar to the extended bridge that they did with Tom Morello at the Bonnaroo show. It was basically Danny, Tim, and Sebastian going back and forth on the drums - while the rest of the band watched. Before they started, Maynard said "Let the drum silliness begin". And as they finished, he walked around stage holding two signs - one reading "8", the other "9".

Only disappointments - didn't play "The Pot", or anything from "Undertow" other than "Flood".

Only the second time that I've heard "Flood" live. Totally amazing song - they really blew it out of the park, and surprisingly, most of the crowd knew the lyrics. Glad to hear at least one thing from "Undertow", even though I'm still wishing to hear "4 Degrees".

Adam, doing his thing

First time I saw Tool live where they didn't play "Sober". Thank God (zilla).

This was the first time that I heard "Wings For Marie" and "10,000 Days". Of course they are incredibly amazing live. The crowd didn't get as restless during Wings as they did when I saw tool play "Disposition" live earlier this decade.

Bringing the lights up at the end

All-in-all, incredibly tight, mind-blowing experience. They played for just under two hours - which is actually a pretty long show, by Tool standards. My guess is that Tool is going to be winding down on the touring (hints from Maynard otherwise), so this might be last time that I see them for like, 5 years. If so, it was a great way to go out.

More photos available in the gallery.