review by: Matt Smith

I arrived at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City about an hour early so my friends and I wouldn't show up late and miss Meshuggah. Good thing we did, too, because they went on right at 7:30 (It's not often that a concert I go to starts exactly on time). And after their performance, I'm glad I didn't miss a song. I hadn't had a chance to see Meshuggah live before, but my first time makes me want to attend a tour that they're headlining so I could see them play for more than 30 minutes. In fact, the only thing wrong with the concert was Tool. But I'll get around to that later.

Meshuggah only played for a half-hour or so, which was a bit disappointing. But they hit a lot of great songs. They started out with a few tracks from Nothing: "Nebulous," "Closed-eye Visuals," and "Rational Gaze." They went on to play some of my favorites, including "Future Breed Machine" (which they picked the tempo up on), "Soul Burn," and "New Millennium Cyanide Christ." And they put it down like they were in the studio (although they got lost twice that I noticed - it's to be expected). The crowd didn't seem very receptive - there was some quiet cheering from the true fans like my friends and I, but almost everyone else was there to see Tool and clearly didn't care that Meshuggah is far superior.

Meshuggah's lighting was simple - just enough to see Jens Kidman's bald head swinging around. It was all about the musical content. I wish I could say the same for Tool's end of the show.
In sharp contrast to the basic lighting offered Meshuggah, Tool had two screens flashing computer-generated 3D animation, two elaborate backdrops, and multiple colored lights timed to their songs. It was a truly psychedelic experience that helped to take one's mind off of what was happening up on the stage. First there would be an ambient, atmospheric noise for about ten minutes. Then someone would start plinking out a rhythm on the guitar, and the crowd would cheer. They would slowly get into it, getting louder and louder as the mediocre groove ensued and then stopped. The energy was broken in between every song by the 10-minute intermission. The band would leave the stage only to walk back up after they forced their audience to listen to one synth note for so long it was burned into their brains for life. Then Maynard would wander out with his guitar and not even touch a string. Get some instruments, dark CG animation, a few bright props, throw in some religious iconography and call it a show.

But the crowd ate it up. The size of the audience doubled by the time Tool was on, and everyone was going crazy. It made me wonder if they had been listening when Meshuggah was on, or if they only took their earplugs out when they saw Tool take the stage.

Not that there was nothing good going on but eye candy. Tool's drummer was pretty impressive, and one of the highlights of their show was a special percussive entry into one of their songs featuring Tomas Haake from Meshuggah on the quads. But the slow build-ups to go-nowhere songs were just too much. For a good portion of Tool's time on stage, I was imagining (and hoping against hope that it would happen) Jens Kidman leaping from offstage to attempt a flying head butt at Maynard. At this point, the other members of Meshuggah would come up and kick ass until Tool relinquished their instruments. Yep, that would have been awesome. I would've really appreciated something other than 4/4 time. If I ever have the chance to see Meshuggah in concert again, I'll take it and hope they're followed by someone with talent.

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