2002.11.22 - Fresno, CA, USA @ Selland Arena
Source A: Mini Disc --- Core Sound Binaurals > Denecke AD-20 > Sony MZ R-700
Taper: Armen <Zh'ian Osatch>
Gen: 1st from Master
Notes: This recording has been mistaken for DAT on some trader's lists. It has occurred in the past & an in-depth listen to this recording may make others have belief in the same vein. Recording is balanced, crisp, clean, clear, concise & is an all-around nice job by the taper. Is this a very enjoyable source? For sure. Although this is in an accurate capture of a rather good performance of Tool, this is unfortunately an incomplete recording. According to the taper, the D/A box's battery failed thus an incomplete recording resulted. This was understandably a disappointment. Right at the transition of Disposition>Reflection, a sound of static is audible & then - the end. The recording is well above average in sound clarity but is not complete, it is debatable as to what collectors will think of this. Myself, sometimes, incomplete recordings (and the rationale around them) are just as interesting as the complete sources.
Maynardism:
"Good evening Fresno. Fresno? Fresno? Fresno? You don't sound too convinced. Let's begin, shall we?"
CD 1
Time: 71:59
Tuva
Cold & Ugly
The Grudge
(-) Ions
Stinkfist
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Schism
Parabol
Parabola
Ænema
CD 2
Time: 16:59
Intermission
Disposition
Reflection
Triad
Lateralus
(Reflection-Triad-Laterlus missing from this source only)
Source B: Mini Disc --- Sony ECM-MS908 > Sony MZ R-700
Taper: Sean <Omar Osatch>
Gen: 1st from Master
Notes 2024: I actually spoke with Sean and Omar way back in 2002 on the phone; they were roommates at their University. And to be clear, we spoke via a landline - look it up if you don’t know what I mean. At the time, they were in University and I was in Graduate School - different schools as we lived coasts apart. The thing I really remember was their enthusiasm for taping and for Tool. They both recorded Tool a couple times and had a good go at it. Last I recall of either of them was a picture of Armen with a big ole cigar in his mouth working for a hedge fund(?) in New York City. Yo, you guys ever read this, send me an email: gaspcdz@yahoo.com
Notes 2002: Although the sound on this is slightly distant, is sounds much better than it should, given the equipment. The taper + the rather basic recording equipment simply did a good job. Not much more to say but, damn, not all recordings are bad with Sony ECM's despite my feelings? As for the band, I think they were a bit happy to be almost done touring. Hard to find a flaw with the performance as I have found none but it just seems that they would be looking forward to a break. I don't want to say that they seemed rushed at all, because they weren't, but...I don't know, hard to explain. If this makes any sense, we will see what shows are included on the live DVD, not sure if much of this one will be.
CD 1
Time: 66:21
CD 2
Time: 58:20
Source C: DAT --- Danish Pro Audio 4060 > Attenuator Cable -20db > Sony PCM-M1
Taper: Elec
Gen: 1st from Master
Notes: A very nice recording. It would be nice if more recordings sounded this good but, alas, that is not the case. The sound is a little distant & hall-e for the first half of Cold & Ugly until the taper turns up the recording volume on the DAT where the entire thing gets quite a bit better in quality. There is a bit of crowd noise, talking, all that shit but that is minimized by a very life-like recording; very realistic & interesting. Probably one of the better recordings of this particular show. This is the last time Tool played Cold & Ugly in 2002. All in all, a recording & performance worth keeping on some form of rotation on your CD player. This may arguably one of the better sources for this performance.
CD 1
Time: 62:38
CD 2
Time: 65:38
Source D: Mini Disc --- Realistics 33-1065 > Sony MZ R-700
Taper: Joe
Gen: 2nd from Master
Notes: This is an incomplete show. Apparently, the taper accidentally put his microphone into the wrong slot of his MD, the headphone slot rather than the microphone slot. When he went to change discs, the taper noticed that he was a MD 80 minutes or so short but there was no music. Ouch. Didn't record anything. So, he taped from halfway from the Dr. Leary speech on. After think that may be some of the worst news for a taper... terrible realization. After the work of planning ahead, smuggling the equipment in & getting everything set up, it is truly a shame the this happened to the taper. However, if you took this source + source A, you may get a fairly interesting & "complete" recording.
Time: 71:51
Ænema
<cut>
Intermission
Disposition
Reflection
Triad
Lateralus
Source E: DAT --- Danish Pro Audio 4061 > Zefiro Inbox > Sony PCM-M1
Taper: Brad
Gen: 2nd from Master
Notes: Very nice recording. Slightly distant sounding initially but the levels get turned up during the opening feedback of Cold & Ugly. Not much more to really mention other than the fact that this is most likely the best sounding recording for this particular performance. The crowd can be slightly loud at times but the overall clarity definitely makes up for any drawbacks on it. This is potentially the best sounding recording of this performance known to be out & about. For fans of a rather "live" versus "front of stack" sound, this recording is for you. There are a couple level changes by the taper as well. Q: What is cool about this show besides the last performance in 2002 of Cold & Ugly? A: A standard but nonetheless enjoyable setlist.
CD 1
Time: 66:23
CD 2
Time: 61:07
Source F: Mini-DV --- Panasonic Canon ZR50MC
Source F: Master > DVD
Taper: Pr1ck
Gen: 1st from Master
Notes: Filmed from the right side, up, this is a rather clear, focused & solid recording. Interesting, you can see some guy in a yellow jacket stand on the side of the stage watching the band play, for some reason. Seems to me like it sort of spoils the 'darkness' of the performance. Oh well. The recording is very clear, crisp & the sound is pretty darn good. There are some very cool merging of screen + band shots as well. Randy had a rather steady hand this night. For fans of Justin & Dan, this is a good DVD to see. All in all, actually, this is one of the better products the filmer has manufactured. Very nice.
Time: 1:49:38
Source G: DAT --- Schoeps MK4s > Rmod2K1 box > SBM-1 > PCM-M1
Conversion: Fostex D5 > SP/DIF > DIO2448 > Soundforge 7.0b > shntool 2.0.3 > flac 1.1.1
Taper: Coluzzi
Notes: Excellent recording. Obviously, this is the most accurate capture of this performance available. This was released on easytree.org in early 2005. All known copies are FLAC. Nothing I can add, the recording speaks for itself. Please refer to the original notes associated with this recording.
CD 1
Time: 64:24
CD 2
Time: 65:03