1993.10.22 - London, England @ Astoria II

Source: Analog --- Realistics > Unknown Analog

Notes: Sound is very good. I am pretty sure that this is the same taper of two earlier gigs in 1993; 05.27 & 05.28. This is unverified though; listening to the overall quality, it sounds quite a bit like the two mentioned recordings. Tool are performing in good form tonight, even though the crowd is sometimes less than excited to really do much. The recording itself is quite clear, crisp & was most likely transferred to cassette then to CD, somewhere down the lane. A slight layer of fuzz coats the recording but it is really noticeable if you let it be. Good recordings to match a good performance are a nice match. The scream on Jerk Off is one to not be missed -- I think it may be the best ever. For those that may know Ryan A - I wonder if his handle (Potsey Monkey) is sourced from this show? The mind boggles.

Notes: - by Ryan A: This is one of my favorite shows from the Undertow tour. It's goddamned HEAVY. You'll find yourself slamming your foot on every downbeat, to every song. Danny makes that happen. He's grooving it here. The band has a fire lit, headlining a larger London venue for the first time. Too bad the guitars get buried somewhat on this recording (the only downside). Upon another listening, the show's pace is pretty laid back. It's the last show of their first European tour and they are letting off some steam. They take their time and fuck around before just about every song (as you can see from the copious quotes below). Not very professional I guess, but it's an interesting juxtaposition to the intensity of the music. Because once the song begins, it's on. MJK's story about the abused cornered cat who, in self-defense, rips out an eyeball from his attacker to get away, is a true classic. And in many ways encapsulates the album "Undertow

Time: 70:32

Setlist/Quote:

Intro:
Newscast excerpts (Tool used this intro at various shows up until 1995 - then again at a few shows in 2006 but this is one of the first shows cu.org can recall being recorded) 

Paul: "Heh ah ah ha ah ha ah. Hey how’s it going?"
MJK: "Hep hep."
Paul: "What's up? Ewhhhahhh!!"

Cold & Ugly 

MJK: "So, that all concert clothes? Don't have anything better to do than come here? One of those guys from Green Jelly are here if any of you guys want to kick his ass. We'll bring him right out here you can just beat the shit out of him. You like that? That's what I thought."

Intolerance

MJK: "The sock pottsy."
Paul: "Is there anyone from Wanachi [sp?] here? Oh my god. Fucking hillbillies."
MJK: "This is the title track from our latest release. It's called Undertow. You won't be finding it in any of your stores though. Record stores don't seem to want to carry it. So you might to go in and break some shit and tell them to order it."

Undertow

Paul: "Ladies and gentlemen ..." (cut off)
MJK: "We have a special guest with us ... on this song. Guitar player from Peach. His name's Ben. This song's called Sober."

Sober 

MJK: "Here's to Ben… Here's to Ben! Becooah (?)"
Paul: "I get to introduce you to our bass."
MJK: "Marlon come down from there."
Paul: "This song is called Prison Sex."

Prison Sex

 MJK: "I notice there's a lot of you people smoking tonight. In Los Angeles now there's a law passed that no restaurants in Los Angeles county, there's no smoking in any restaurant. Doesn't that suck? But see cigarettes have been killing a shitload of people and the government kind of apparently can't run from the facts anymore, so they kinda have to tell you. Funny thing is, more people are quitting having sex than smoking cuz their afraid of dying from AIDS. I say that since you people are disregarding the smoking thing, and continuing to smoke, that we should all continue to fuck too. Because I think that feels a lot better. And we're all going to die anyway. This song's called 4 degrees."

 4*
Sweat

 MJK: "Nicky, who's birthday is it? Oh fucking raise your hand. Who's birthday? Can't hear you there's all these people .. there you are. We've got a t-shirt for you buddy. Stay away from that girl she had a fucking big attitude. She'll beat your ass if you get to close to her. It's Sylvia's birthday? Is that right? Silvia? I can't see you. It's Sylvia's birthday. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you, etcetera. Opiate."  

Opiate
Flood 

Paul: "This is our last song. Thanks you guys for coming out. This song is dedicated to our mighty road crew. Mike, say hi to Mike. Ant. Gorby, I mean Satan. Roger and everybody else who helped out. Thank you.
MJK: "I'm going to be home tomorrow jerking off furiously ... in a waterbed ... [inaudible]"
Paul: "We'll be in California. It's 90 degrees in California. Fuck you."
 
Jerk Off

Paul: "Because we love you so much, one more."
MJK: "I'm going to tell you a little story. Some of you've heard it. If you've heard it already shut the fuck up and listen. I had this friend once. [inaudible] ... from Michigan. His name was Jack. He was your typical older brother fuck. Used to fuck with his sister's cat constantly. He would kick it all the time, throw it around the room, take its food away. The cat was pretty much a survivor though. It would always seem to get away. Find a tree or hide under a stove or something like that. I saw Jack one day downtown and he had a big patch over his eye. I said, 'Jack, what the fuck happened buddy?' He said 'that fucking cat took a big shit on my pillow in my room. So I was going to kill it. I went chasing it and cornered it back in the washroom. He couldn't get away. He didn't have a tree to climb up or a stove to hide behind. I guess it figured the only way out was through my face, and he ripped my fucking eye out.' This song's called Bottom." 

Bottom 

Paul: "Thanks London. Thanks [inaudible]."
MJK: "[inaudible] ... Potsy Menshot."