1993
Tapping Into The Alternative or "The Year of the Endless Tour"
Last Updated: 10/2009

Notes:
During this era of Tool's existence, a certain buzz (or was it a Flood?) concerning a certain band's live performances started to make a rippling in the music scene. Undertow was released with a bit of fan fare - the band toured long, hard & all over the globe in support of the album & singles. The edited but no less powerful single release Prison Sex helped to slowly erode the droning of the few 1980's metal bands that were still trying to survive in a grunge era while simultaneously simply not conforming to the non-conforming stance of the seemingly endless array of Nirvana & Pearl Jam clones. Disturbing in lyrical content while enthralling musically + arguably spiritually, this single (and also Sober) raised awareness concerning Tool on radio, MTV & other media outlets - awareness not about the mundane existence of Americans but a kick to the face of a musical landscape would never again be the same. Extensive musical growth from near-constant touring of Europe and America, including an upgrade from the second to first stage of the nomadic Lollapalooza Festival, Tool learned to adapt to faulty instruments, sore throats & lukewarm crowds to build what would become the thirsty, rabid  and fanatical fan-base they continue to dominate Through this period the band learned how to act as an organic whole while delivering explosive content that is as relevant, poignant and powerful then as it is to this day. Interpersonally, Paul is exceptionally 'talkative' throughout this period - there are instances or excerpts from certain performance where you can hear the strain between certain personalities. As it is, this era of performances tends to attract the more 'older school' Tool collectors or fans due to the raw but polished performances.
Notes on live recordings/sources:
The overwhelming majority of live Tool recordings on this site are sourced from CD, cassette or DVD/VHS usually sourced from the taper or a verified, definitive low generation copy - as noted - and not from various downloaded material. The recordings found on this site, unless noted, are not sourced from FLAC, SHN,  or sourced from downloaded video files. Please note that this holds true to ~the 10K Days era. From 2006 on, virtually all recordings of Tool have been released via various torrents. All recordings found on this site have as much legitimate source & lineage history as possible. You can not download any complete recording on this site; only 1 minute (or less)  MP3 samples are provided to give the collector a reference for the source. This entire website is for referential & archival use only & in no way is to be used for commercial gain of any kind. 

Definitive Recordings:
02.04.93 - Berlin, Germany @ The Loft (SBD) (CD)
09.29.93 - Rennes, France @ La Cite (CD)
12.11.93 - Santa Ana, CA, USA @ The Rhythm Cafe (CD)