Tool and King Crimson - Lateralus Tour
By Logan Legacy
The most anticipated show of the summer hit Berkeley, California this weekend. The Tool/ King Crimson Lateralus tour came to the Berkeley Community Theater and rocked the roof off the old auditorium. The dates played were August 10th and 11th. The small venue housed only a little over three thousand of Tool’s closest friends. It was a great privilege for the always vocal, Logan Legacy, and the controversial, Popcorn Avenger to be part of this grand event. Tool’s Lateralus tour marked the return of Tool to the Bay Area and a rare performance of King Crimson.
Opening act, King Crimson, set the mood of the evening with their hour-long set. Their influence is very apparent in the music of Tool. King Crimson’s show was a little too long for Popcorn and myself. We appreciate the fact that we can now die knowing what King Crimson sounds like live, but damn! We wanted TOOL!!! Audience response was similar to Fat Sacs Inc. All and all, King Crimson was nice but nothing spectacular. Once their set ended, the sound crew rushed the stage and got ready for Maynard, Drew, Adam, and Justin.
Tool’s stage design was amazing. There was a full sized canvas screen hanging above the band. Upon the canvas were random scenes of Tool videos and video based on Tool album art. The videos were a crucial part of the performance. Maynard interacted with the images on the screen as if he was part of them. Mr. Keenan’s dancing reminded me of Tim Burton’s character, Jack Skelington. The band began with their song, The Grudge. Once Maynard’s vocals were heard I knew I was in heaven. Tool’s two-hour show was in short, ecstasy. The only drawbacks to the show were the lack of air-conditioning and the extra long break during the Tool set. I could probably write another ten pages about the show but the lowdown is simple, it kicked ass. This show is by far more exciting than any Depeche Mode show. I would have to give this a rating of 9 out of 10 |
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