*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[jakepriest]

Would like for them to get Nolly Getgood and make an album that actually sounds good in all aspects.

What other albums has he engineered? I only know the Periphery stuff and I think he engineered the next Devin Townsend album..other than that, what else is out there engineered by him?

Joy of Motion from Animals As Leaders (along with Misha) and the Good Tiger album. There are a few more I think but I can't recall them.
Anyways every single album where he has been part of the production team sounds phenomenal.

[erwinrafael]

Mike Mangini is human.

From his FB page:

Fan: Great show in Cincinnati..noticed you came in early on a build in Ravinskill..it's reassuring to me as a drummer to know even the BEST can't be flawless all the time.

MM:I did. JP and I were laughing onstage... I was daydreaming and looking at all the lights and ... not kidding, was thinking, "All these NFL and NHL cities have these insane crowds. How cool?" and then I forgot where I was and bamm... John giggled, so did I, and I'm glad you caught it. I don't know why, but I'll remember that more than the 676,443 hits that were dead on the click. I don't remember them.

Also, interesting tidbit by MM on how he composed his drum parts for The Astonishing:

MM:  I also want you to know, if you don't already, that my prep for the Astonishing was done on my 4-Piece E-Pro kit... yes, I did not learn ONE song as to play it. has the 4 hihats and 2 rides for my key signature matching playing. All I did was jam grooves. I made notes for 5 songs on paper, but I improvised this whole album having no clue what the words or vocals would be. Still... when the guys span their instruments from hight to low, I span the kit from high to low (pitch wise.) I suppose you want to know the songs I made notation notes on so I could coordinate my body: Walking Shadow + Last Farewell, Path that Divides, New Beginning and Moment of Betrayal. Just know my DT kit is very hard on the shoulders and upper legs. So what

[pantsofeternity]

Makes you wonder what DT will do next time.

Will be weird releasing another album of 7 eight minute songs and a 20 minute epic.

Would like them to do their own "Tales from Topographic Oceans" with a bunch of epics with unique structures and a loose concept. That or a more compact album in the vein of Train of Thought with song lengths of 3-8 mins.

Oh man.  What I would give for a TFTO-style four-sider from DT.

[bosk1]

Saw the show in Oakland last night, and I just have to say:  This album was really meant to be experienced live.  The Youtube clips cannot do the performance and stage production justice at all. 

[hefdaddy42]

Saw the show in Oakland last night, and I just have to say:  This album was really meant to be experienced live.  The Youtube clips cannot do the performance and stage production justice at all.

That's great to hear. 

Since they apparently won't come anywhere near me (again), hopefully they change their mind a little and record one of the shows for release on Blu-ray.

[bosk1]

They are definitely planning on filming.  They just have not decided on some logistics and other creative decisions.  So, yes, anyone who has not been able to see this tour will still get to see it. 

[mikeyd23]

They are definitely planning on filming.  They just have not decided on some logistics and other creative decisions.  So, yes, anyone who has not been able to see this tour will still get to see it.

That's good to hear! It was a great show and should definitely be captured properly.

[hefdaddy42]

They are definitely planning on filming.  They just have not decided on some logistics and other creative decisions.  So, yes, anyone who has not been able to see this tour will still get to see it.

Ah, fantastic!  I had not heard that!

[bosk1]

I don't think it has been officially stated, but I asked JP last night and he said it is definitely a yes. 

[hefdaddy42]

I don't think it has been officially stated, but I asked JP last night and he said it is definitely a yes.

[MirrorMask]

I assume they would use this first round of concerts to take note of their favorite venues, be it for the aesthetics or just for the sound quality.

[bosk1]

I assume they would use this first round of concerts to take note of their favorite venues, be it for the aesthetics or just for the sound quality.

I hadn't thought about that, but that's actually an interesting thought.  For northern California, I think they have definitely found a new favorite.  This is the first time they have played the Fox Theater in Oakland, and it is a GORGEOUS theater--probably the nicest I have ever been in.  Apparently, it sat abandoned for 43 years, and it was completely restored and reopened in 2009.  JP and James both commented on how much they loved it, and James in particular said he likes it a LOT better than the Warfield in SF (which has been their go-to for years). 

[Enigmachine]

The Youtube clips cannot do the performance and stage production justice at all.

Definitely. Happy to see that a DVD will come of this.

[pantsofeternity]

Great new live video for Our New World! This was recorded in Milan, and features footage from the 18th and 19th March shows. Damn, I squandered my chance to appear on a DT video getting tickets for the March 17th show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLdx2FyNqg

MVP: Mike Mangini's rec specs

[SebastianPratesi]

I'm happy because just 20 minutes ago I was able to buy my ticket for the show in Luna Park next month. I also have my bus ticket (since I don't live in Buenos Aires), so I'm pretty much ready to go. Of course, I'll feel much better once I have the actual ticket in my hands (and once the bus actually arrives in Buenos Aires). Still, this is a start!

[cramx3]

I don't think it has been officially stated, but I asked JP last night and he said it is definitely a yes.

[fadetoblackdude7]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

[smegolas]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

I haven't seen it because they never came to Vancouver, but yes, that seems pretty dumb.  In fact, that's even dumb for a regular concert where all bands pretend its over and then - surprise! - its not!  Haven't we done that to death?  Particularly dumb in this case.

Anyways, just wanted to chime in and say I cant believe I am still loving this album as much as I am.  Its almost been the only thing I've listened to since it was released and am not bored of it at all.  The melodies are always floating around in my head.  My favorite album of all time.  The only bummer is, the next album is sure to be a let down after this.

[Kotowboy]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

I suggested this and we had a big debate in this thread I think - that people prefer the charade of there being an encore even though you get the exact same show if they walk off stage or not.

[earlilano]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

Everyone does the fake encore now. I personally hate it.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

Everyone does the fake encore now. I personally hate it.

For the first show of this tour, they played every song, and left without doing an encore. Some members of the audience reacted negatively, so the band decided to make ONW the set ender and Astonishing the "encore".

[bosk1]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

No, because:
(1) Like it or not, the "traditional" and expected concert structure is to include an encore, even though it is almost always completely pre-planned.  And
(2) The reason they are doing that is because fans specifically requested that after the first show on the tour when they were not doing the "mock encore" and a good chunk of people in the audience were confused and didn't like that structure.

So, no, it's not "completely asinine."  What is asinine is calling out the band for doing something the fans wanted in the first place.

[cramx3]

I like it a lot.  No encore just feels weird and if the band is to chose to not play anything else, than this is the best way to do it.

Sure, it's stupid to say goodnight when everyone knows they are coming back, but that is normal and typical of a headlining act.

[Logain Ablar]

I was there on that first night, and I think there was a significant number of "casual" fans that either hadn't heard the album, or weren't aware of how it was going to be presented. I overheard a few "Is that the end" type comments, and a couple of idiots booed when the band didn't come back out again.

One other possible factor is that the first show was 3 weeks after the album was released, so perhaps this wasn't enough time for folks to absorb the album, the concept, and the buzz around it.

I knew there would be no encore, so I had no problem with it, but as you say, it's what's generally expected, for better or worse.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I personally would prefer no "encore" for this show, but I absolutely have no problem with whatever the band decides is best.

[fadetoblackdude7]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

No, because:
(1) Like it or not, the "traditional" and expected concert structure is to include an encore, even though it is almost always completely pre-planned.  And
(2) The reason they are doing that is because fans specifically requested that after the first show on the tour when they were not doing the "mock encore" and a good chunk of people in the audience were confused and didn't like that structure.

So, no, it's not "completely asinine."  What is asinine is calling out the band for doing something the fans wanted in the first place.

Didn't mean any disrespect, just thought it was kind of odd

[IdoSC]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

They only do it because people actually sit there and wait, and eventually call boo, if they don't. They did the first show or two of this tour without the whole charade, and many people were booing, some for real and some as a joke. You can't force every single concert goer to read the ticket and see that it says "The Astonishing Live" or check details online so they just added the stupid charade.

[CB]

I think Astonishing works an "encore" because Our New World is a perfect song to end the show, they didn't cut the story line just to get an encore. Otherwise it would have been impossible. I prefer this to an unrelated encore, that would feel wrong to me, like performing an aria from a different opera after an opera performance or just some unrelated song after a musical show.
DTs encores are usually planned. Of course I'd like to be surprised, but at the last tour the half hour long SFAM encore was a highlight of the show for me, so I don't complain (as long as DT continues to play long shows)

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Astonishing is the song where all the actors on the stage come out, sing and take their bows. It works fine.

[MirrorMask]

Watched the video for Our New World, I liked it! it was nicely shot and composed, it's a good presentation for the band. And of course it brought back good memories of having actually been there.

Anyway, notice those light panels on the walls? I had one of them in front of me, 'cause my seat was the very leftmost on the above balconies. Damn, what a pain was to strech to my right to actually see Jordan!

[bosk1]

Oh, that sucks.  I thought the panels were awesome in general, but I didn't think the ones on the side were necessary or added much. 

[bosk1]

To those who have seen the show: Am I the only one who thought it was completely asinine for them to say goodnight after Our New World and then come out for the "encore" and do the last 2 tracks?

No, because:
(1) Like it or not, the "traditional" and expected concert structure is to include an encore, even though it is almost always completely pre-planned.  And
(2) The reason they are doing that is because fans specifically requested that after the first show on the tour when they were not doing the "mock encore" and a good chunk of people in the audience were confused and didn't like that structure.

So, no, it's not "completely asinine."  What is asinine is calling out the band for doing something the fans wanted in the first place.

Didn't mean any disrespect, just thought it was kind of odd

Okay, that's fine.  It just annoyed me that you called it "asinine."  You could have just said that you don't get it or that it seemed odd. 

[King Postwhore]

Why are people shocked that a band has an on core and it's a last song when they are only playing only the album? 

[bosk1]

Because people just don't have the time for encores anymore.

[King Postwhore]

I demand an encore.