1998.08.09 - New Orleans, LA, USA @ University of New Orleans

Source: Unspecified Hi8 Video > 1st Gen VHS > DVD
Source: DVD > Soundforge 6.0 > WAV > CD (transfer by Galen in 2003)

Notes - Video:Recording position of the filmer was actually pretty good, overall, some decent close-ups but maybe if the filmer was not in the position he was - right mezzanine, towards stage & a stack of speakers the audio would not have the crunch of the bass common is so many video sources. Not as good microphone technology or something? The filmer was not a professional nor a novice, this is a decent enough recording, film-wise. There are a few cuts where the taper sort of smacks the camera. Also, the people around the filmer talk quite a bit more than is necessary. However, this is a rather rare recording & I am not sure why this one simply has not been traded out much. Maybe the taper was not really a Tool fan - but it sure seems like it, listening to the banter betweens songs. There are some very good close-ups of the band & a lot of MJK. Very little screen shots but the camera hand sort of shakes from time to time, like the taper was smoking a cigarette or something. Buzz Melvin out to play with the band on Stinkist & You Lied. Maynard is in top performance form as the 'Preacher' as well, I find this to be a very interesting aspect of Tool during this era.

Notes - Audio:
The recording is a little bit above mildly distorted when the bass kicks in but the overall show is quite listenable. You just have to 'listen through' the noise. There are worse, audio-wise, recordings floating around but it should be noted that the audio isn't really blown, the brickwall is slightly annoying but you can overlook it if you try. Tool seemed to be putting on one hell of a performance & the taper & his friends make some superb comments about Tool, themselves & others. Always a joy. Nit-pickers take note, there are a series of level changes that were done by the taper, manually, during the recording of the show so there are slightly better spots than others. In other words, the taper kept adjusting the levels throughout. On one hand, the bass distortion is quite a bummer. On the other, the overall recording quality really is not 'bad' but could be considered less than average. For the most part, the treble is very clear & the bass is tolerable. The performance is one of my favorites as the band seems loose from touring on Ozzfest & MJK impersonates the Preacher to a T. Unfortunately, this recording is missing the last half of Opiate & the entirety of Jerk Off.

Notes - Not related to Tool:
Only recently in 2004 did I take the time to put this show to CD. For some reason, this particular show is rather rare & I'm not sure why. It is sort of odd how I even got it. Was from a random taper who knew the taper of this show & had his master. He put it to DVD from VHS & we traded once. We had something set up for some random stuff & all was good to go. Until.  He sent me an email saying that the house he was living in, that was a house with a few apartments in it, had something rather odd thing occur  One of the apartment mates  in his house  turned out to exhibit schizophrenia-like symptoms. Apparently, this guy had a psychotic break with reality& ended up naked in the back-yard with the police called on him. When the taper came to his house to discover what his crazy neighbor had done, a bunch of his stuff was smashed on the floor. Last I heard, he was going toget back to me when he had a chance. I didn't think much of it, then I went to check his old site & it was down. It is just a rather odd circumstance.

Maynardism: "Welcome to the Church of Jesus-Fucking-Christ! Not Christ, but Jesus-the-Fucking-Christ. We're going to generate some positive energy tonight. The most positive energy in the whole Universe you can generate. We are going to take all of our clothes off, we are going to grab a pole, we're gonna fill a hole, the holy hole and the holy pole - start fucking. On your mark get set, go. Can I get an AMEN? Can I get a Halleluiah! Can I get a Jesus Fucking Christ?"

DVD
Time: 93:43

Part Of Me
Eulogy
Stinkfist
You Lied
Third Eye
Merkaba
Sober
Pushit
<alt>
Ænema
Opiate
(cut)
Jerk Off
(missing)