Source A: Solid State - Sony ECM-719 > Sony MZ-NH700
Taper: Peter

Notes: This particular recording is quite decent. A true ‘live sounding’ live recording. The crowd is ambient enough in the mix that you do get used to it after a while. Clearly an outdoor festival, the taper was closer than far away from the PA’s thus a good location was had. Some sonic phasing but it’s not to the point of annoyance.

Time: 77:42

Jambi
Stinkfist
46 & 2
Schism
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Lateralus
Vicarious

Source B: The Sound Professionals SP-CMC-4 > Sony MZ-NH700
Taper: Chester

Notes: Now, this recording is where it’s at, in reference to the other versions floating around. Crowd is not intrusive in the recording although you can hear talented fans sing along at times, if anything, this is endearing. Vocals mixed and captured just enough that if they were any lower we would complain about a muddy mix with low Maynard. Clean guitar, crunchy bass and dominating drums by the one and only Mr. Danny Carey - some people say he is most likely the best drummer on the planet - CU.ORG agrees 110%.

Time: 77:39

2007.08.12 - Katowice, Poland @ Metal Hammer Festival

Source C: Video --- Canon HV20 + Ohrwurm II (custom built omni microphones)
Location: Upper Tiered Seating
Gen: 1 from Master
Taper: Kurt


Notes - Taper: My first taping ever and I am quite happy how it went. Polite, enthusiastic crowd. Easy security, concentrating on the lower areas, undisturbed filming at least in the upmost seating. Show sounded well-mixed in that position, Maynard maybe a little low. Setlist was the usual festival lineup. As I had hoped the HV20 delivered a vivid, well-focused picture and good black levels. Thanks to low security I was able to tape relatively open (no security ducks) and rest the cam on my legs. The external mics could not really handle the bass, but a lot of the clicks and overload were still removable in post. The first 90 seconds are relatively shaky and audio is less good, because I had to set up the audio levels and correct my setup in general. My priority was to capture the show as a whole and to avoid shaky close-ups. The result is a sometimes boring to watch zoom out shot, but it could be worse. Still, there are some nice band member shots. I think it is a nice capture of Tool, the show. Big thanks to my sister who helped stealthing the equip in and assisted during filming.

Notes - Galen: This is simply a wonderful recording. Yes the bass tends to thud when it hits deep but then again with most video recordings that seems to be the case (even with custom mics) but that is really not a detractor in my opinion. The overall quality of some of these captures (i.e.: take a look at picture #2) is close to breathtaking. Great, great stuff. No joke here this could be one of the clearest captures of Tool. I do not completely understand what the taper meant when he said this could be considered almost boring - nothing could be farther from the truth! I suppose it depends on how you look at it really. This filmer managed to get some amazingly clear, concise & quality shots of individual members of Tool, the stage/light show & also managed to capture the ambience of the evening. Nicely done. Beginners luck or is it skill? Time will tell won't it - we hope to see more.

DVD
Time: 76:50

Jambi
Stinkfist
46 & 2
Schism
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Lateralus
Vicarious