Parabolus – Parabolus – Complete Tool Experience

Shine on benevolent Star…

March 10th 2023 – El Mocambo, Toronto, ON

The F*cking Elmo

There are venues and there are Venues ! We appreciate every opportunity to go play and we can adapt to almost anything. We have simple requirements to have a great night: a stage, electricity to plug our gears and a crowd . Last night we got more than that; a high ceiling, a vast stage, an immense led display screen, a next level artist dressing room and a crowd of true Tool fans. In addition, the light rig able to hang our newly crafted heptagram star above the stage. (Thx to Pat!) It looked better than we expected and really tied the stage together. The Tool experience was indeed complete. Thank you to the El Mocambo to provide artists with state-of-the-art technology and the hard work of Andre behind the board, we looked and sounded better than ever. For those who attended that show, we thank you very much and truly hope you enjoyed your night. Special thanks to Steve for making this happen for us, to the El Mocambo team hospitality and especially to the management that took a gamble with us and our little circus side show. Looking forward to play again in the near future.

Our journey continues, next stop Sarnia…

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March 11th 2023 – Rustr Music Hall, Sarnia, ON

Whitey’s Big Bday Bash

The Rustr is our home far far away from home, and a proof that a long-distance relationship can work out when the feelings are strong on both sides. We returned to a comfort zone, a room where we already created memories and where we are comfortable spiraling with Mike, Bil, Whitey, Scott, and whole crew at the Rustr. There is something special about that place for us, every visit we are proud to present a different evolution of our show to a returning crowd of connoisseurs, that are expecting the best of us. With restriction on space, minimal stage props and visual, we need to dig deeper to our center. That Heptagram we now install on stage is our statement to the craftsmanship of our idol, we hold it dearly and our not ready to let it go. It represents our dedication and our focus to the project: to always put on the best musical performance possible, aiming for perfection as crazy as it might sound. At Rustr, it seems easier for us to reach to the center and expel our best. If this place was twice as big, we could probably host that many more people, but we would lose that intimacy feeling. We wouldn’t trade it all, we can’t have it any other way, and already looking for the next time.

Spiral Out🌀🖤🌀

In this holy experience, Choosing to be here in

February 11th 2023 – Le Murdoch, Sherbrooke, QC

The first visits are the most memorable, and the Eastern Townships awaited us with open arms in a packed Murdoch.

Gathering in large numbers often adds some discomfort due to proximity. Recent years have accustomed us to the meter distance, a crowd elbow to elbow now seemed a vestige of the past. It was nevertheless a common phenomenon of shows from another era, and it was interesting that we could experience it in our turn. We had planned an old-fashioned show, without elaborate visual support. A raw performance to highlight an amalgam of energetic songs drawn far from the group’s repertoire, and this is what we presented without interruption for nearly three hours.

Maintaining that high level of energy was a tall order but having a dense crowd literally inches from us was a catalyst and a source of motivation. We chained songs that are familiar to us and others that we had never delivered Live before, a feeling of being exposed and vulnerable in front of the TOOL connoisseurs. We lived a unique moment and the comments collected lead us to believe that the pleasure was shared. Now, many also want to see a larger-scale show with a more elaborate staging as we are also capable of. We heard you and wanted to come back to Sherbrooke to offer you this, as soon as possible.

Spiral Out🌀🖤🌀

Taken all you can, taken all you can, we can take

With the winter cold now firmly in place, the holiday frenzy over, a certain blues sets in in January. It’s hard to keep your spirits up, but what better than a concert to get together and see that we’re all alive! For us this weekend did not end with just one but two concerts that made us vibrate. An intimate one, at Le Cerbère de Saint-Jérôme, where it all began. The other, in unknown territory: Quebec City

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January 13th 2023 – Le Cerbère, Saint-Jérôme

It was our third visit to Saint-Jérôme, a first to work with Denis on sound, who did a very good job. Each time we manage to attract new people but also several familiar faces to join the crowd on this Friday the 13th. We felt the receptive crowd from the first notes of the show and we transported them as usual through all the eras of the band’s career. The evening ended with a cake, highlighting the birthday of our cheap Maynard. We are not superstitious and everything went perfectly, setting the table for our trip to Quebec.

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January 14th 2023 – La Source de la Martinière, Québec

The old capital had been waiting for us for a long time (it was the resumption of a show canceled last summer) and to say that we were impatient to tread the boards of La Source de la Martinière is an understatement. The team on site was also waiting for us, and we were well received. A very beautiful scene, a good sound engineer (thanks Sasha!), an effective and pleasant sound test, a surprising ticket sale (FULL), a photographer to immortalize the moment (thanks Alexis!) … the table was set for a good spectacle ! The crowd at the door was intense at the beginning of the evening, the room was practically at capacity when the group had to cross the room to access the stage. The group was in great shape and the large crowd was electrifying. We had selected a lot of songs and managed to establish a cohesive order, we played them to the best of our abilities, with confidence and a lot of fun. We felt all the love from the audience towards TOOL’s music and all felt a sense of privilege to be the messengers. The table is set for future shows in the region and we look forward to returning in the spring.

Can’t wait for the cold season to end 🙂

Spiral Out🌀🖤🌀

Out with the old, in with the new

January 1st 2023

New year is not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming. We hope 2023 is an incredible part of your story, every moment is a fresh beginning, just make sure to do it with love and passion.

Speaking of change, following our collaboration with visionary artist: Cameron Gray, we is very pleased and excited to announce the launch of our new image and our brand new website for 2023. With a fresh new look and user-friendly navigation. With the aim of providing visitors with a much easier way to access information, the Parabolus – Complete Tool Experience home page showcases options for English/French versions, and the essential information for news, events and EPK information. The site also contains the integrated social media buttons for Facebook, Youtube and Instagram to ensure easy browsing between the various platforms.

We hope that we would provide a really positive user experience for our customers. Please take a look around and start to discover more about Parabolus – Complete Tool Experience. We hope that you will enjoy our new site, and thank you 10 000 times in advance for your continued support! Spiral Out🌀🖤🌀

Finding Beauty in the Dissonance…

November 12th 2022 – Taverne 666

For our last show in 2022, we took the road north towards Rimouski. Along the way, winter gave us several clues of its presence, a sign that autumn is coming to an end in our beautiful country. But we were ready to face the cold, the wind and the snow that we had announced. Arrived in Rimouski, the Taverne 666 team received us in a nice way, as they had done a week earlier for our friends from GOATS.

We thank Maître Démon for having had the audacity to take the bet that a show like ours could satisfy its clientele, and in the process, attract new faces. Our mandate was not only to warm up the atmosphere with our show, but certainly to introduce TOOL’s more obscure songs to an uninitiated audience. Sharing the music of TOOL is the raison d’être of our project, we were excited to do it at the Tavern.

The welcome lived up to our expectations; registration at the hotel completed, it was with full bellies that we went on stage. The few latecomers will have been surprised to learn that our show started with an energetic version of Stinkfist (which TOOL usually saves as an encore), and moments later it was 46&2’s turn to ring out loud and clear. Never mind, the three hours that followed included an impressive batch of songs, an amalgamation of all the band’s eras, from 72826 to Fear Inoculum.

We are particularly proud of our interpretations of certain songs which are technical tour de force such as The Grudge, Pushit (Salival version), Rosetta Stoned and Pneuma. The highlight for us was the final moments when the crowd joined us in singing Schism and Sober loud and clear to close the show.

The crowd present accepted our proposal, and let themselves be transported with us in this parallel world thanks to the portal that is the music of TOOL. We never perform in search of personal accolades, we ourselves wish to be carried away by this music which connects us together and takes us beyond our egos. The comments collected confirm what we felt throughout the show from the stage.

For one last time this year, we have managed to reach this point of communion.

Until next time, Spiral out 🌀🖤🌀

Can’t breathe right now, it was so real…

October 22nd 2022 – Brass Monkey

Once again, we are back on the road, heading toward the National Capital. Awating for us, A place familiar by name but where we’hadnt set foot before. We were welcomed by Lars, a man of few words yet nothing more was needed to understand we were teaming up with a seasoned sound professional. Our stage setup is always evolving and we know this can create unexptected technical roadblocks but we knew we were in good hands.

We always manage to perform in less than perfect condition, and we came to expect that it had to be the rule. However we now understand a little more how to turn these into exceptions with a key element: Time. Let’s take all the time we need to obtain the optimal setup, And that is what we did.

We rarely felt as relaxed as we did Saturday night, patiently waiting in the wall-to-wall sharpie drawings covered Artist room locally called the “D**k Room”. All the squiggles have been made by Brass Monkey’s past headliners, we recognized a lot including some we personally know. We felt we were at the right place and the right time.

We are always pleased to see that TOOL fans are curious to give a tribute band the opportunity. Very excited to step out of that room and take the stage. Nine O’clock sharp came along, now is our time. We, one by one , walken thru the crowd to reach to stage. Parabolus Fake Adam leading the way to let resonate the Lateralus intro riff. The rythm section soon followed to reach the climax entrance of our face-painted Fake Maynard.

The crowd took a few seconds to really understand what was happening. Then the first moments of excitement got released. Our theory is that the brains need to adjust and find the balance between sound memories, visual expectations and the reality of what they see and hear.

Yes, Parabolus isn’t Tool, and never will be, however we each interpret our persona honestly without imitating. We will play the songs passionately but rarely perfectly (although we are working hard to achieve it). The results is a genuine show that captures the essential of why WE love Tool, and it usually resonates with others like-mind individuals.

Once again, we were pleased to find over hundred-fifty of them gathered in this venue to share this moment with us. The energy we felt coming back to us after every song is a reward we never take for granted but is a powerful fuel for us to reach in and give it our all. We played 2 sets, 19 songs from all albums, 181min of Tool music is this what every persons presents had in mind when coming in?

“Don’t know, Won’t know. Can’t remember what they said”

So long Ottawa , we wish you well Until next time, Spiral out 🌀🖤🌀

Like one would hope, but never really expect to see in a place like this

October 1st 2022 – Theatre Fairmount

Last night there was a hundred people waiting in line on park avenue to access the Theatre Fairmount. The door were about to open when received the final numbers : over 350 tickets were sold for the event. By far, the most attendees to any single show we did so far…

Rewind six months ago , when we first presented our show in a venue (La Boîte in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu ). We were for the first time stepping out of the small bar gig. A large stage , decent lighting system, a giant display screen , a riser for our tiny Carey and a riser for our cheap Maynard…

Finally we were offering the spectacle we envisioned in our mind. We soon realized that in order to repeat this experience in Montreal, we would need to think bigger, take the risk that in the proper venue like this one, Tool fans would be interested to spend an evening with a tribute band. We took the leap of faith and booked ourselves at the Theatre Fairmount.

Fast forward a few months ago, we were still on the lookout for a great opening act for this show. We struggled to find a perfect fit and we decided that this October 1st event could be even more memorable for us if we took a second leap and invited musicians that we truly admire (they are mentors in their own way for two of our members) to open for our show with their prog tribute band. To our surprise, they counter-offered by offering to un-earth and old rage against the machine Tribute they once had years ago. A Tool/RATM split bill was indeed a better fit and oh my god , we now had all the pieces !

Back to last night: As we were patiently waiting to step on stage. The boys of renegades of funk were killing it (literally playing killing in the name second to last, saving bulls on parade for last … people went nuts !) The change-over between the bands went flawlessly and here we were, ready for our turn under the spotlights. We curated a strong setlist , and played every notes of every songs with all our hearts. We made mistakes here and there, those seems to be unavoidable unfortunately, we aren’t half-gods apparently but the crowd was forgiving, stayed with us, participating and singing loud. Thank you !

After 2 and half hours of bliss , we had to say goodbye , goddam shit the…

Until next time, Spiral out 🌀

But you’re pushing and shoving me…

September 9th – The Rockpile

It is now literally , 10 to 2am. Once again , a full moon illuminates the Toronto sky. (We should get use to this by now , our concerts schedule seems to be in phase with this luminescent confident.) We are drifting away from The Rockpile and heading to our hotel. The radio is barely audible and we are all completely silent. The adrenaline kicked out moments ago trading place with a certain contemplative state. We always try to bring something new to our performances, switching song orders and adding new ones when we feel comfortable enough. We challenged ourselves tonight, adding 2 new songs. Many hours went on these in the last few weeks, and there was a reward to reap. Songs get played, more often than other, some seems mandatory for a tribute to be faithful, and some are probably in the optional category. Those fell right in between, the reception was fantastic even though we could’ve played them better. In the morning we will debrief and decide if we will play them again at Rüstr Music Hall in Sarnia. Tomorrow is another day , another show. Time to close our eyes and get some deserved rest.

September 10th – Rüstr Music Hall

Bright and early, we are ready for another show day. Touring is also a chance to discover new part of our beautiful country, so we spent a couple of hours enjoying the scenery on the shore of Lake Huron. We sucked in all the beauty while our ear got filled with the sound of the tide breaking at our feet. Bill was waiting for us and we were pleased to see him again behind the board at the Rüstr Music Hall. The return of our circus side show was awaited by many that attended our first gig there in march. One peak at the crowd , most of them proudly wearing a Tool Shirt , we knew we were about to have their full attention for the next few hours ! We went on stage and played every single song we could . Adding 6 to our official setlist. We truly got fueled by the crowd energy and it made for one memorable performance. The long trip back to Montreal will be long but so worth it .

Until next time … Spiral out 🌀

Drags me down like some sweet gravity

Ultimately, the moon will have been the confidante of our four tightrope walkers, who rushed without a net on a tightrope. It was dangerous to aim so high and to want to offer so much and this, without restraint after such a long break.

This rope can be seen as a metaphor representing a crimped weave of trust interwoven with rifts in muscle memory.

Our passion took over our reason and drove our decision to tackle this marathon this way. But whatever, we all agreed: 22 songs, 3 hours of TOOL, period.

With the generous participation of an image enthusiast, we concluded that it was appropriate to film the show from a new angle. This association alone was reason enough to mark this date of August 13 as a defining moment for the project. We are impatient to see the fruits of this work, which we will take the time to let mature.

We were happy to see several people who have followed our journey since our beginnings. However, and true to tradition, the audience was mostly made up of new faces, new souls curious to discover our humble project. The comments received lead us to believe that we made the right decision by playing for so long!

We have regained our strength and are ready to tackle the following challenges…

Next meeting in Montreal, October 1st at the Fairmount Theater where the Tool Experience will be COMPLETE.

Until then, we will share Tool’s music with our Western neighbors.

Collaboration Announcement: Cameron Gray

In its beginnings, this project was already intended to be more than a group playing the music of TOOL.

We wanted our passion for music to resonate with others and eventually surround ourselves with talented people who could bring their talents to the project.

We all agree that what makes TOOL unique is its ability to weave all aspects of art into a cohesive whole.

Music is the cornerstone from which all inspiration can blossom into images where complex concepts and mystical references can be expressed.

TOOL has collaborated with many artists over their career including Cam de Leon, Meats Meier, Chet Zar and Adi Granov to name a few, but most notably Alex Grey whose visionary art is a visual expression symbiotic relationship between the band’s music and lyrics since 2001.

In order to define the image of the tribute project, we were looking for a partnership with an inspired and creative artist who would be in harmony with the themes and visions of TOOL. During our research, we discovered the work of a brilliant artist who was also enthusiastic about participating in the Parabolus – Complete TOOL Experience project. Therefore, we are delighted to announce this new collaboration with renowned artist: CAMERON GRAY.

His work is impressive and joins us spontaneously. We invite you to visit his website to see his undeniable talent.

With the existing collaboration with our Graphic Designer, Designer and Concept Artist Karine Borduas-Roy, our future concert posters will now feature selected illustrations of Cameron Gray’s work.

We look forward to showing you the first poster which will be completed shortly.🌀

Website – Parable Visions: Art by Cameron Gray
https://parablevisions.com