Likes: 
Faceplams: I'm hoping to catch them in Manchester UK this year, just to say I've seen them really, it'll be a while if ever before Tool hit again and Puscifer does nothing for me, so I'd love to see APC for some live Maynard.
Throbbing Member
I'm hoping to catch them in Manchester UK this year, just to say I've seen them really, it'll be a while if ever before Tool hit again and Puscifer does nothing for me, so I'd love to see APC for some live Maynard.
Stubby Member
Tickets were like $60 with fees for 5th row seats when I saw them last october. $400 is fucking ridiculous surely that's a reseller or some crazy meet and greet package or some shit.
I personally thought they were really great live. The band sounded perfect and maynard's vocals were on point and they played pretty much every song I wanted to hear from them. They aren't jumping around on stage and there isn't an insane light show or anything like that but it was an expertly-executed show from beginning to end that I felt I got my money's worth from. It's definitely not worth 400 fucking dollars (no show is IMO) but $60 is perfect
Active Member
I saw them in 2003 and it was amazing. Granted, I was on the floor, close to the stage with half a dozen close friends, so of course we had a blast. I saw them in 2011 (seats in the lower balcony) too and like you, I thought it was pretty low on energy and enthusiasm. That 2011 show was honestly among the worst shows I've gone to, mostly because it was a bit boring and the set was very heavy on eMotive material, which isn't my favorite. I saw them again in November of 2017 (seats on the floor) and I thought they played awesome and the setlist was great, so I would recommend seeing them, personally. I'm seeing them again in May at Northern Invasion. I wish I had paid a little more attention when I saw them open for NIN in 2000, though. That show (lower level seats) was actually a month before Mer De Noms came out, so I was only familiar with Judith at the time and while I was a big fan of Tool and was aware that the singer was Maynard with a wig, I mostly concerned with seeing NIN for the first time.Originally Posted by aggroculture
Last edited by sonic_discord; 02-10-2018 at 03:10 PM. Reason: Clarification
24.24.2.2866
Wow yeah, section A B C row 1, picked a random date... i think it was Birmingham? i looked it up on Ticketmaster.
Front row package = US$379.55 ea + Fees
That is insanity, then 2 rows back and the price drops considerably but it's still listed as a VIP package thing. Yeah this is why other than NIN I don't bother going to these things anymore, I'd rather pay $15-$30 for an intimate club show.
€○●○€
My first APC show was exactly the same as yours. Me and my friends were like, wtf is this, we want nine inch nails. But in hindsight, that was their best incarnation live no doubt.
Only time they ever sounded great live to me was when they covered "ashes to ashes".
But I've never been a huge APC guy. They are on par with Manson to me meaning, I don't really give a shit but will give each new release a spin or two but haven't heard anything I liked in a loooooonnng time (a few off mer de noms and a few off 13th and counting bodies, and gimmie gimmie, everything else is forgetable) This new stuff is def not doing anything for me. So wait, that is the real album cover and not a joke?
Stubby Member
I've really been digging the new material. It's interesting because it's been so long since that long ago era when I was obsessed with Tool and A Perfect Circle. I've since been a big fan of many different bands of vastly different styles and done many more things in my life since then. I'm not the same person as I was back then. So it's really interesting to reconnect and plug back in and see where the band has gone with their musical style and how it meshes with a radically different perspective on life and on music since then.
I dig it a lot.
I have always liked eMotive more also. It rocks harder and keeps my attention better and has a theme I relate to much more.
(I'm one of those anti-war, Bernie Sanders loving liberal types, but I've never been addicted to drugs and while I sympathize with those struggling with addiction it's an element I tend to keep out of my personal life)
Last edited by think i'm a fire engine; 02-10-2018 at 08:25 PM.
I was nobody. Nothing.
I personally thought they were pretty transcendent live in the early 2000s
The Virus Inside
I know this won't be the popular opinion around here, but I found they were on the top of their game for MDN and then they kinda just went downhill after that. 13th step is OK, but nowhere near the same level as MDN. Then once eMovtive came out, that was the final nail in the APC coffin for me.
Took them announcing those shows to play their albums in full to get me interested in them again. I went to the MDN show night, it was good. I remember the show being a little off though. Not sure if it was the change in members or the fact they were out of the spotlight for a bit, but something was off. They didn't re-capture the magic I was hoping for during the show I saw in 2000. I think maynard may have been sick that night, or the venue mix was shit, but the sound was terrible. You could barely hear maynard, he was drowned out from the other instruments.
Only By Night
Funny, I just checked my ticket stubs and I saw them back in 2011 as well but it was a much different experience for me in New York. I was on the floor so I was pretty close and the sound was amazing. They opened up with Annihilation and I immediately started tearing up from how good it sounded. Wow, now after looking up the setlist, most of the set was eMOTIVe, but they happened to play all the songs that I loved off of that album along with mixing it up well with the other two albums. They even played By and Down which just had me cracking up because I do not remember that song live at all.
Now that I look at eMOTIVe, I just put it on since it has been years and forgot how much I actually enjoy this album. Funny because everyone (Including me) hates the new album art, but eMOTIVe's was pretty terrible as well.
Active Member
Serious, non-trolly answer:
You thought TOOL was "intense and passionate" and not "clinical and detached"? Tool just stands there. They walk on stage, play, and walk off stage again. They're as clinical and detached as any band I've ever seen.
A Perfect Circle: Maynard engages with the crowd during numerous mic breaks. Billy talks to the crowd. James Iha has his turn at open mic night (usually cracks a few really, really bad jokes during the show). First time I saw them, Jeordie and Billy were messing with each other on stage. Tool? They stood in one spot and played without talking.
I'm honestly confused by your interpretation of stage presence. Maybe Tool used to be more dynamic decades ago (I saw them in 2001 and it was the same thing - they all just stood there and Maynard only spoke for 15 seconds at the very end of the show). I'd put APC > Tool any day in 2018 in the stage presence category.
Throbbing Member
ive seen APC in 2000 and 2003 and 2004.
All fantastic shows! The intensity of the 2000 show was awesome because it was before Dimebag's death so Maynard was cool being up front and center...
Active Member
How and whether bands engage with the crowd by speaking to them is a separate thing from how they perform the music. I'm generally talking about the musical performance here - though how bands connect with the audience by speaking to them does factor into the overall live show experience. For example I often think Jon Davis of Korn does a terrible job of speaking to the crowd, and I think it's probably out of ineptitude, or maybe he's out of breath and focused on the singing. I don't think I've seen a Tool show where Maynard didn't break his "silence" at some point along the way, and address the crowd - he knows the audience are waiting for it, and draws it out, so that when it comes, it's like this sense of relief that he's finally acknowledging us and we're here together, and we got through this cathartic experience and now we can remember we're human again and come back down to earth and joke around. I think on the whole Tool are very focused on playing, on creating the experience, that's their thing, this creation of a kind of transcendent moment that maybe would be broken by too much stage banter. And the Melvins: King Buzzo sometimes can go almost the whole show without saying a thing, looking maybe pissed off and haughty, but in the meantime the music and the performance has been super intense and engaging.
Last edited by aggroculture; 02-11-2018 at 08:25 AM.
Stubby Member
I have seen APC twice in 2000, once on 2003 and the last time was a miserable experience in 2011. I will tell you that those first 3 shows were excellent. The band was engaged with the audience (the Fred's got Slacks cover by Jeordie in 2003 was priceless) and the set lists were VERY strong. I was very lucky to see them in a small club in 2000 with the Mer De Noms line up and it was a perfect show. Borderline artsy/creepy feel they were going for was spot on. They had a good vibe and you can tell they were enjoying themselves is what I am trying to say.
But that last show in 2011 they were not the same. Disengaged and almost seemed to take a delight in not playing some of their more notable work. I remember Maynard even asked the audience "What's wrong?" at one point, and it was really condescending. When 6 of your first 9 songs are covers it sorta can kill the mood. The best way I can describe what it did to the audience at that show was like when a band you love, in the middle of their set, plays 3 new songs that haven't been released yet. The audience didn't know what to do/how to react. Yeah, there are some die hard fans that LOVED hearing all the covers, and good for them. But if I want a show made up of covers, I can hit up my local bars Thursday-Saturday and catch the local bands cover John Lennon and I won't be paying $70+ to see them do it. Might even get cheaper beer. Sadly, the show screamed 'cash grab' which I hate to write but that is how it felt.
Last edited by renton44; 02-11-2018 at 08:31 AM.
Dis-member
Has Maynard ever said Dimebag’s murder is the reason he stands in the back? I’ve honestly never heard that before.
Dimebag was killed in December 2004, so chances are good all three shows you saw were prior to his death.
A Decade In Oblivion
Im not sure since he was in the back during the Lateralus tour if i recall
Active Member
Yes, he was upstage left in the shadows on the Lateralus tour, as well as on the APC tours for Thirteenth Step - both of which were before Dimebag's murder. Maybe it had an impact on his mentality afterwards, but he was in the dark in the back long before that happened. From what I've gathered from his book and interviews, it has much more to do with simply not enjoying the whole "celebrity" culture and preferring to stay out of both the literal and proverbial spotlight.
Throbbing Member
Perhaps i'm misremembering and he used the death as validation for being near the back... though i read that somehwre.. but now anytime you search its like 15 pages of TOOL in turmoil from January...
Active Member
Maybe the Pushit incident influenced his performing in the shadows?
Dis-member
Yeah, I recall him saying something like “I just feel more comfortable back there”.
Active Member
That tour and the 2012 show were probably the most underwhelming shows I have been to. The band did give us a heads up that it would be an eMotive support tour but who knew half the set was from that album. I recall vaguely people leaving the venue feeling disappointed, even some stating that was it for them. It wasn't until the tour last year that kind of renewed my hope for the band.
she/her/hers
what's the Pushit incident?
Active Member
Dis-member
Frozen Beach already posted it, but every time I see it it reminds me of the Trent and fan incident.
EDIT: now I can’t find the Trent incident on Google or YT. Pretty sure it was during Closer, 94 or 95 tour, and was attached by a person in a rabbit costume. Been awhile since I saw it.
Last edited by Krazy; 02-11-2018 at 02:43 PM.
Unintelligible Whispering
When I saw them during Fragility it was a pretty damn good show. Maynard seemed really into it, but I recall being impressed by the songs first and foremost. The show a few months ago was definitely spectacle over interaction - still good, a feast for the yes if you're close to the stage, but they were there to play and not kick your ass. I wouldn't say they have no energy - Billy rocks out a lot - but they're definitely focused on performance.
House Always Wins
We always got this.
Stubby Member
i saw them for only the second time ever in November in Toronto and i thought they were good.
Maynard's vocals, lets just say...not many others can challenge em and that was the first and probably the last reason i wanted to actually see APC live.
the other guys seemed into it as a couple others have mentioned from these other shows so i don't know about the "no energy" comment but you know what? this band has not been this "energy" band that people want.. well anyway i don't see it that way.
Throbbing Member
Live at Red Rocks sounds absolutely incredible.
I saw them last fall, and everything was perfect, sounded even better. I didn't think it was possible.
Dis-member
Was at the 2011 Red Rocks show, and it was awesome. Yes, was the Emotive tour but still one of my favorite shows I ever saw. I’m guessing the venue kind of jaded me but the crowd was great (exact opposite of seeing them at Hollywood Bowl) and they sounded fantastic too.
Theyll never be NIN or Tool but they’ve always sounded really good the few times I saw them. And Maynard always sounds the best during an APC show, for whatever reason.
I was nobody. Nothing.
Regarding Maynard not facing the crowd: I always thought he got that from Tricky. he started doing it pretty quickly after Tricky opened for Tool.
Active Member
I saw them on their 2003 club tour just prior to Thirteenth Steps release and goddamn was it an amazing show. I saw them in 2004 at an outdoor venue and it was just as good but definitely a different atmosphere.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
