Tool at the Pearl Theatre in the Palms Night 1

2007 has been a busy concert year. I am amazed that I managed to see Tool six times this calendar year. Tool sounded superb when they played the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. I was hoping for a repeat performance of their concert in April when I saw them at the Pearl.

I was fortunate to have my brother roll out for both nights of Tool in Vegas. I am still jealous that he saw some earlier Tool shows back in 1992. The one specific show was when he saw Tool and Rage Against the Machine at Club Lingerie. There were no opening bands so the audience was subjected to a random batch of songs. It was funny though when they played Iron Maiden’s “Number of The Beast” and the light technician would trigger some flashing lights during Bruce Dickinson’s screams.

Tool took the stage about a quarter of an hour past nine. Danny Carey (Drums) was sporting a Kobe Bryant Lakers Jersey while Maynard James Keenan (Vocals) had a Orange Puscifer jacket. I was not surprised when the rumbling riff of “Jambi” filled the theatre as the crowd roared. Adam Jones (Guitars) knocked it out of the park with his improvised Heil Talk Box solo. The sizzling electrode sounds served as a premonition to “Stinkfist”. Adam was employing his wah pedal frequently as a filter for his guitar tone. Adam walked over to Justin near the end of the song to signal the part of where they speed up the song to really finish out the tune with a bang. “46&2” never gets old live and is one of the better groove based Tool songs. Adam seemed to be using a combination of a phaser and a flanger for parts of the song. “Schism” is a showcase for Justin’s stellar bass skills. Justin stomped his foot to lead the band into the song. “Rosetta Stoned” had Justin using his pick to scrape the strings for added noise. Maynard’s vocals for the next three songs seemed to have been turned down a pinch. It was not mixed as well as the Nokia Theatre show. “Flood” is always worth the money as Justin teased the audience with various bass notes before launching into the crushing bass line. A slew of blue lights and water visuals filled the Pearl fitting the mood of the song extremely well. The Tool stool was pulled out for Justin for the epic “Wings for Marie” and “10,000 Days” combo. “Lateralus” was simply off the charts. It was a showcase for Danny, as he didn’t have anyone to drum off against. Danny crushed his drums effortlessly and would make me quit playing drums because he made it look so easy. “Vicarious” closed out the show with Maynard pointing the microphone out to the crowd for the final verse and using he hand as guide to mimic the vocals. I was desperately hoping for an extra song but was not surprised when they turned on the house lights.

Tool Setlist at the Pearl Theatre at the Palms (12/13/07)
"Jambi"
"Stinkfist"
"46&2"
"Schism"
"Rosetta Stoned"
"Flood"
"Wings For Marie"
"10,000 Days"
"Lateralus"
"Vicarious"