Tool & The Acid Helps @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

So Erik and I try and catch up every once in a while to see a show somewhere, but it's been 3 years since I was in Vegas for Punk Rock Bowling, so when tour announced a tour in my birthday month, it was a matter of when and where. I was hoping for Minneapolis on my birthday, but we opted for Cleveland instead.   I've never been to Ohio before, so tickets, hotels and flights were booked.

I arrived Friday afternoon, and Erik got in in the early evening. Early enough that we could walk down to Noble Beast Brewery for dinner and a couple of drinks.

A lazy Saturday stroll after a pretty ordinary hotel breakfast, before we headed down to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame at 10am to wander through the museum. I wasn't sure what to expect given the always controversy of who's in and who's not, but the museum is awesome.  We started on Level 0, where exhibits included the History of Rock n Roll, individual city contributions, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles - an awesome exhibit finishing with information on the recent Get Back documentary, the photography of Baron Wolman (an Ohio native who worked at Rolling Stone early on) and the music of Cleveland.  The next level was the Garage, an interactive exhibit where anyone could pick up an instrument and play, either to themselves or as part of an impromptu band.  The next level was the the Hall of Fame itself.  Plaqued autographs from all inductees and memorabilia from some on the more recent Hall of Famers. We also watched a movie presentation of some poignant moments in some of the past ceremonies.  None so great as the all star band (Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynn and Steve Winwood) get blown off stage by Prince playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps.  Finally the top floor had a great recreation of Pink Floyd's The Wall.  We ended up spending 4 hours here.  More than I imagined we would've.

Cleveland's Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame

The Cure - Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Pink Floyd's The Wall - Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

We wandered back to the hotel and just hung out for the afternoon.  Later in the evening we ventured into downtown for dinner at Mabel's BBQ in an entertainment district of the city.  Dinner was good, but the night was cold, so an Uber back to the hotel ended the night.

Before I left the boys kept showing me a spoof video of Cleveland Tourism, so on Sunday Erik and I got up and went looking for some of these things and texted them back to the guys (who obviously weren't that impressed by dad trying to be funny.  So we did see the Claus Oldenberg Free Stamp as it was right near the hotel.  Found construction everywhere.  Saw the statue of Moses Cleveland.  And spent a good time with a great host in the Soldier's & Sailor's Monument.

When the time come to head to the show, we walked up to the venue hoping to get dinner.  Apparently a sold out show at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is not enough to get a lot of restaurants to open on a Sunday, as most places were closed.  In the end we had to settle for a quick bite at the Shake Shack before heading to the venue.

The Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is the home of the Cavaliers, so a big size venue.  We had seats at half court, 7 rows back - so a good line of sight.  The Acid Helps had the unenviable task of opening the night, and while they dis their thing, it wasn't for me or the thousand of DadRock Tool fans waiting.

The Acid Helps setlist

Someone recently pointed out to me that to be a Tool fan, you had to be a dad, and tonight this legend was confirmed because the place was filled with people like me and Erik, and some even actually ought their kids - though wives/girlfriends were few and far between.  I wonder what other bands I like fall into this category.  Anyway, just before 9pm Tool came out to a rousing reception and kicked of the night with Fear Innoculum from the new album with the same name.  I had been watching the previous setlists and new it would be heavy with new material, so it was a good chance to get a first listen.  Tool had been rotating Sober & Opiate as a 2nd song, but tonight, much to my pleasure, that opening bass riff over sober made this whole trip worthwhile.  Such a good song, and such a treat to hear them play something off Undertow.  I wish they would do more of that.  The Pot sounded incredible and The Grudge was another highlight.  Maynard finally came out of the shadows to do a Puscifer-ish act for a new song, Descending - it was weird - I had no idea what was going on.  And then they finished with Hooker With A Penis.  Again with the countdown clock before they came back for an encore.  The Danny Show of Chocolate Chip Trip kept all the drummers in the audience enthralled and then 2 more songs off the new album.

Another great Tool show on the books, though I wish I new more about the Fear Innoculum album.  Tool are a great band and a live show comparable to none, but as most shows nowadays for me, I'd like to hear a lot of other songs, but when it takes 2 hours to get through 12 songs it doesn't leave a lot for everyone's favorites.

Tool Setlist

It was great to see Erik again, we may do this again next year and see Rage Against The Machine in Phoenix.  Let's just hope it's not 3 years before we do it again.  Thanks Cleveland, it was great to meet you.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 470th concert.
Rocket Mortgage Field house is the 129th venue I've seen a concert in.
Cleveland is the 53rd city I've seen a concert in..
Ohio is the 16th state I've seen a concert in.
This is my 273rd concert in the US.
The Acid Helps are the 546th band I've seen.
This is my 7th Tool concert.