1997.02.27 - Asbury Park, NJ, USA @ Asbury Convention Center

Source A: DAT --- Core Sound Binaurals > Sony TCD-D8 (Oade Bros Mod II) @ 48 KHZ
Position: Front of Stack, Right
Transfer: DAT-M > Tascam DA-20 > coax > Audiophile 24/96 > Sound Forge > WAV (transfer by cu.org/GSP)
Taper: Jeff Sebastianelli
Gen: Master Recording or "0" Generation (in WAV)

Notes / 2009: This recording, I think, is kind of down-played in regards to what it is a taper sets out to do; accurately record the performance. Not only did this taper record an incredibly strong performance by Tool but the quality, sound quality, is amazing. It really is. on a personal level, the tapers' 11/23/96 recording & this capture are why I purchased CSB mics years ago. I taped at least a hundred shows with those mics & unfortunately only came close to a capture like this only once or twice. This recording, without a doubt, should be in your collection & is so good, in fact, that you should burn it to CD & listen to it in your vehicle or around the house as you do this or that. Superb, superb, superb. I wish that I would have had the opportunity to thank the taper for this excellent capture.

Notes / 2003: Not trying to go far but -- this is a beautiful recording. One of the better clearest recordings of H I've heard in a long, long time. Nice recording. Super clear, balanced & is superb - hard to go any farther than that. Being able to hear the nuances of the songs & the talent of this band in such a bright & clean recording is very rare. The taper was definitely at the front-of-stack, most likely whatever side wasn't full of people yelling Maynard. This is the same taper as the individual who recorded the 11.23.96 show. Unlike that one, this  Some people may, one day, claim that this is a sound board recording, once the source information is lost forever. But that's ok. It really is hard to get a very bad recording with CSBs unless you are a bit away from the speakers. But if you can just take in the show at the front of the stack, standing there - you will get a nice recording. This is no exception. Tool sounds very nice this night & completely in balance. One of the best recordings from 1997 or from any other year. Towards the latter part of 2003, a newly remastered-transfer by the taper surfaced. The new transfer, to me, sounds cleaner & better than the old transfer. IMO, this is one recording to look for. There are other transfers (not from master) that have slightly different disc times as well... CD 2 of a 2003 transfer has a time of 17:45 whereas CD 2 of an unknown but more common rip has a total time of 37:01.

DAT Time: 1:47:04

Third Eye
Stinkfist
46&2
Intolerance
Eulogy
Prison Sex
H.
Merkaba
Sober
Opiate
Ænema

Source B: Hi8mm --- Unspecified Model > Master > DVD
Taper:  R. Simonek
Gen:  1st from Master

Notes: Overall, this very well could be the clearest, sharpest, most detail oriented, cleanest, professional, live and intensely accurate audience recordings of Tool to come out of this particular leg of the tour; or even from the entire AEnima era. Best of 1997 for sure. The camera is more straight & non-jerky than 99% of other Tool recordings and the audio came out superbly well for being sourced from a Hi-8mm. There are few videos of this caliber out there. And to think, according to the taper, this is the only Tool show he has ever taped. There is always the future. Filmed from the center-mezzanine, the screen and band are illuminated in a way that is as raw as it is an accurate capture of Tool on video. Even over 7 years later, this recording definitely is better than many of the modern equipment and taper's - some people set the bar very high or get very lucky while taping. When you watch this recording, you can feel free and be the judge. When you see MJK painted up in blue, convulsing like a schizophrenic on a hot-tin-roof during AEnima, let me know...

Notes: When I asked the taper about what source information (model # of camera), he did not remember as it broke sometime in the late 1990's and he had only recently started to film again. Hopefully, we can look forward to more high quality recordings in the future. There are also numerous VHS-gen cassettes and DVD's just floating around in the trade pool, know what you are getting beforehand.

Time: 83:39