1996
"What's it like to be French? Hey, brainwave, what's it like to be French?"
Last Updated: 02/2008

Notes:
With the release of Ænima in 1996, Tool solidified their relevance in not just  the last decade of a dead century, but also as a band that is not merely a musical act but an evolving, organic creation between four human beings. During this era of touring, the band members, individually, continued to fade into the darkness as the music & the art became clear focuses during live performances. Shunning live interviews except when necessary, the band would often answer questions with riddles of some kind and even cynical remarks geared toward not answering the original question in the first place. MJK began painting himself in blue & seemed to adopt a ghost-like presence on stage. Justin became not just a bass player but an integral component of the band. Adam expanded his art both musically & artistically with the assistance of the very talented Camella Grace. And Dan, he continued to be the foundation of Tool's beats. Of particular interest during this year are the the debut of many Ænima pieces including a classic quote by James: "This song is about a friend of mine who was trying to buy some love for sale in Santa Monica... turns out she had crowded pants". One guess what introduction that is to. Also to consider is the case of one of the most distributed & illegally sold Tool recordings possibly ever... the 11/23/96 performance also known as Dirge / Third Eye / Third Leg / 12/12/96 TX & other labels. The audio quality is wonderful but the taper & his friend are, apparently, responsible for the mass distribution and sale of this... although, someone close to this subject one told me that he sent a copy to some guy on the West Coast of the USA who then sold it to Kiss The Stone (KTS - a bootleg company) & was then killed by the mafia. If you believe that then good for you. It is my opinion that this recording is one of the reasons why Tool has so much animosity to Tool tapers at this point in their career. Nevertheless, the year 1996 was a good year for Tool & there are some very good recordings of performances available.
Notes on live recordings/sources:
All recordings on this site are sourced from CD, cassette or DVD/VHS. The recordings found on this site are not sourced from FLAC, SHN, APE, etc.  or sourced from downloadable video files. Unless otherwise noted, all recordings have as much legitimate source & lineage history as possible. CU.org does have information pertaining to download sizes of sources. 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:
10.16.96 - Pomona, CA, USA @ The Glass House (DVD / 2CD)
10.18.96 - San Diego, CA, USA @ Soma (2CD)
11.14.96 - Chicago, IL, USA @ Aragon Theatre (2CD)
11.23.96 - Philadelphia, PA, USA @ The Electric Factory  (2CD) (Source B)
12.17.96 - Las Vegas, NV, USA @ The Huntridge (2CD)
12.19.96 - Los Angeles, CA, USA @ Universal Amphitheatre (DAT / 2CD)