Distant Memories - New live release

[fischermasamune]

They could very well speed up the click and the visual effects by the same amount, keeping synchronicity. Say 5% faster than studio. I think it would bring more energy and be more fitting for a live performance. For some reason, they don't do it.

[erwinrafael]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

[nikatapi]

Also, JLB sounds as good as he possibly can in his age, but I'm really curious about his physique. It's weird because he's noticeably getting older (which is of course normal and OK) but he keeps dyeing his hair and putting on new tattoos and stuff, kinda trying hard to pull off a rocking persona in his 50s. I really don't mind, as long as he's happy and he's healthy but it I really liked more his choice of clothing during the Train of Thought era, for example. I overall liked a lot DT's visual aesthetic during those days, as they didn't really fit visually into the "metal band" stereotype which was something cool (at least to me). Also, I dunno if he had something health-realted going on during those days because his face looks huge (I'm sure this has been discussed already lol). He looks fine nowadays, though, judging from his most recent videos.

Yeah this feels awkward to me as well. I'm not a fan of the aesthetic, and i recall when i first saw DT (during ToT era) that i thought it was pretty cool they didn't try to look "metal".

[MoraWintersoul]

They've been looking more metal since the mid 2000's - even Jordan wears t-shirts with skulls and shit. It's funny, you'd think people wouldn't have the problem with them "trying to look like rockers" when that's the life they're living - if anyone has a right to wear that stuff, it's the guy that earns a living by playing/singing metal songs live to people

[erwinrafael]

What if the members really just want to wear what they want to wear and looh how they want to look? Even JP is selling a line of beard products now, loving his glorious hair.

[ReaperKK]

Stupid question but has the pre-order for the vinyl been released? I can't seem to find it if it has.

EDIT: found it, I'm dumb.

[genome]

Really really enjoyed Fatal Tragedy, much more than Pale Blue Dot (although that might have something to do with it being a significantly better song) Great stuff. Love that drum fill before the unison.

[Willthescout7]

Blind Guardian usually draws livelier crowds though, Their style would just be weird with a sitting audience like this.

In all honesty, The crowds at the Dream Theater shows I've been to have been relatively calm. The crowd is so laid back, that Me being the One who stands, sings along, and headbangs, is considered obnoxious and detrimental to their show experience. I have only seen that type of crowd at shows here where the Audience tends to be more on the older end of the Age Spectrum, and happen to be more older bands. Rush, Kansas, Joe Satriani, Zappa Plays Zappa, Deep Purple, all these bands audiences are exactly the type of audience I see at Dream Theater shows now.

So, it's not the band that is getting old. It's the fans that are getting old, and they aren't really drawing much of a younger crowd. Or rather, the younger crowd, for some reason, are not going to the shows.

[/quote]

As one of their younger fans (low 20s), I don't attend their concerts because I can't afford to. I have school debt, current grad school, housing, insurance, ect. to pay. I went to this most recent tour, but only because of a surprise school refund. I feel like my case is pretty similar across the spectrum which is why young fans don't attend the concerts.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

They've been looking more metal since the mid 2000's - even Jordan wears t-shirts with skulls and shit. It's funny, you'd think people wouldn't have the problem with them "trying to look like rockers" when that's the life they're living - if anyone has a right to wear that stuff, it's the guy that earns a living by playing/singing metal songs live to people

I don't believe anyone ever said they had a problem with their clothing and such, it's just curious thing as I think it kinda feels that instead of slowly giving up the metal look (as you could guess would happen to aging men) they have slowly embraced it wholeheartedly. It's not a bad thing of course, they can do whatever they want, but their mid 2000s look had this very classy and elegant feel all over that I miss every now and then. 

[Ben_Jamin]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

Mangini did the Drumfill, to buy time for Rudess to get his Keytar on. 

I really like Rudess' Tone and what he added to the " I tried to get more answers..." section.

And also, the shot of Myung, and Rudess with his Keytar is a neat part. And Manginis face when he looks back at jordan. 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

Mangini did the Drumfill, to buy time for Rudess to get his Keytar on. 

I really like Rudess' Tone and what he added to the " I tried to get more answers..." section.

And also, the shot of Myung, and Rudess with his Keytar is a neat part. And Manginis face when he looks back at jordan. 

One thing I have liked a lot from both this tour and the Astonishing tour is how timed and staged everything is. It really makes you feel like you're watching a well rehearsed theater play.

[Ben_Jamin]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

Mangini did the Drumfill, to buy time for Rudess to get his Keytar on. 

I really like Rudess' Tone and what he added to the " I tried to get more answers..." section.

And also, the shot of Myung, and Rudess with his Keytar is a neat part. And Manginis face when he looks back at jordan. 

One thing I have liked a lot from both this tour and the Astonishing tour is how timed and staged everything is. It really makes you feel like you're watching a well rehearsed theater play.

I sure hope they did. Or else this might happen...

https://youtu.be/IFYxakkDNmg

[ErHaO]

I'll be honest, with Fatal Tragedy the vocals sound very processed to the point where I personally have issues with it. I'd rather have significant, natural sounding overdubs than vocals sounding like this to be honest.

And yes I like Labrie as a vocalist very much and have seen clips from 2019 where I thought he did good. Unfortunately the EU tour was very rough for whatever reason.

[cramx3]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

Mangini did the Drumfill, to buy time for Rudess to get his Keytar on. 

I really like Rudess' Tone and what he added to the " I tried to get more answers..." section.

And also, the shot of Myung, and Rudess with his Keytar is a neat part. And Manginis face when he looks back at jordan. 

One thing I have liked a lot from both this tour and the Astonishing tour is how timed and staged everything is. It really makes you feel like you're watching a well rehearsed theater play.

That's pretty much exactly what their show has become.

I did enjoy the drum roll to, sure it was to give JR time to get the keytar, but it was a nice change to the song in this version.

[devieira73]

The extended drum roll by Mangini before the unison was a nice touch.

Mangini did the Drumfill, to buy time for Rudess to get his Keytar on. 

Yes and very cool way to do so!
I think Mangini could make it a bit longer, there wasn't almost enough time to Jordan to get the keytar... maybe in some shows the drum fill wasn't enough!

About the click track discussion, I think DT was compared to a lot of musicians and bands that do this, which it seems to be the default nowadays. I don't have anything against the click track, but I really don't like when it's used to add some significant instrumentation or backing vocals in the live performance (which unfortunatly also seems a trend nowadays). As exemple, I think Fates Warning, Steven Wilson and Haken, with the exception of some pre-recording voices (more like speaking words) or minimum drum loops (wich Haken do this live), don't use aditional guitars nor keyboards nor backing vocals, and I think it's cool that way.

[Pettor]

When I saw them at the Octavarium tour it was def like a rehearsed theater show and mostly been like that every time. Never been a problem to me and kind of expected. The energy of Blind Guardian shows or more classic metal acts has never been their thing. Portnoy had a cool energy but that never changed the overall impression to me that much.

The best energy I ever seen from Dream Theater by large margin was the tour after DT12 (4th Wall). That was something else and still one of my favorite concerts of any band. I don't even like DT12 🤷‍♂️ When Illumination Theory started the crowd went kind of wild, haven't seen that much otherwise.

I must also say that the best look was def Budokan era. The metal style really isn't my thing and I thought it was awesome when LaBrie had a shirt and looked more classy. Think that fit their more musician oriented style and fits them. But ofc their choice and all that! 😁

[Pettor]

Duplicated post somehow.

[Ben_Jamin]

All this proves to me, just how much MP spoiled us Dream Theater Fans to Band related things. MP is himself a music fan, and still is that music fan. He is like one of us, whom made it, and is seeing everything for his own eyes that is the Music Business. He gave us things he wanted himself, from his favorite bands. His mindset is still of a fan, everything he does is for us fans. He wants our experience to be the best it could be. I am grateful for all of it, and appreciate the amount of behind the scenes stuff he has given us. There is no other band where we have gotten as much as we have, and we are very fortunate for a guy like MP to have been in the band.

Now that he is gone, the Mindset of the band is entirely Musician/Band.

I myself am happy where the band is at the moment, I am enjoying it. The only thing I wished would've been different is the decision to have done these anniversary shows. I do not fault the band for this decision, as I still enjoyed those shows. I also, am concerned about LaBries live vocals, and am starting to believe we are starting to see JLB affected by old age and other related things, an unfortunate reality we will have to accept one day, it's inevitable it's going to happen, and I am ready for it. As Things don't last forever.


This mix though, does replicate how it sounded live. I guess I got lucky, JLB was pretty good at the Denver show, he wasn't as bad as people are saying he is on here that's for sure.

He did though, have an effect on his mic. He usually uses effects live, as is documented on Budakon.

[ReaperKK]

Ok being in a hungover stupor this morning I preorded the vinyl boxset from recordstore.uk, are all the vinyls the same clear ones? I couldn't find any info on recordstore

[jadiggerdt]

https://youtu.be/mkUlZHxjMY0 well!

Ok.  This will not be a live DVD but a great visual show with world class musician on the speaker!😀.

[gzarruk]

https://youtu.be/mkUlZHxjMY0 well!

Ok.  This will not be a live DVD but a great visual show with world class musician on the speaker!😀.

The original sounds quite good... until the high vocal part

[NoFred]

https://youtu.be/mkUlZHxjMY0 well!

Ok.  This will not be a live DVD but a great visual show with world class musician on the speaker!😀.

I forgot the crowd at show I attended sang along with the opening too... definitely would've liked some of that on this "recording"

[Ben_Jamin]

https://youtu.be/mkUlZHxjMY0 well!

Ok.  This will not be a live DVD but a great visual show with world class musician on the speaker!😀.

The original sounds quite good... until the high vocal part

It's not that different. His voice does resonate differently in person then it does on video though, especially on these bootleg videos.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Man, I don't care at all if they overdubbed or pitch-corrected any of JLB's lines. The last couple of times I've seen him live he has kicked ass and that's good enough for me, and nowadays he sounds as good as a 50+ year old JLB can possibly sound like. I'm tired of the "fire JLB now/awesome musicianship and horrible vocals lol" because people don't seem to see the bigger picture. The day JLB leaves is the day DT ends and I'm willing to argue with anyone on that subject if it came to that lol. Luckily, that's never going to happen.

Also, his "Live at the Marquee" '92 performance was entirely rerecorded and that doesn't make him any less of a singer. The thing is, I feel, that he put the bar so up high during his prime that no one can live up to that expectation, not even JLB himself. YouTube videos documenting concerts are something super common now, and people can basically go and nitpick any little detail and mishap to their hearts' content if it pleases them to do so, so I don't care if they went an extra mile in making sure the "official" Blu-Ray presentation is as polished as possible.

[wolfking]

I was actually planning on skipping this release because it's quite pricey, but that Fatal Tragedy vid changed my mind.  I really enjoyed that a lot.  If we are speaking of overdubs, there was one part of JP's solo I thought didn't match up, but I'd have to watch again.  I liked James here actually too.

[wolfking]

Hmmm...yeah, 4:46 looks overdubbed.

[Architeuthis]

It seems like JLB is overcompensating with his approach to singing these songs. It just made the video feel awkward. I'll  definitely  buy the blu-ray, but it seems that James has morphed into a different version of himself. He's  always been one of my all time favorite singers and still is, but his performance in this version of fatal tragedy seems forced and has me a bit worried.   
I don't  blame it on age. Roger Daltry, Jon Anderson, and Bruce Dickinson are still killing it..

[jingle.boy]

Man, I don't care at all if they overdubbed or pitch-corrected any of JLB's lines. The last couple of times I've seen him live he has kicked ass and that's good enough for me, and nowadays he sounds as good as a 50+ year old JLB can possibly sound like. I'm tired of the "fire JLB now/awesome musicianship and horrible vocals lol" because people don't seem to see the bigger picture. The day JLB leaves is the day DT ends and I'm willing to argue with anyone on that subject if it came to that lol. Luckily, that's never going to happen.

Also, his "Live at the Marquee" '92 performance was entirely rerecorded and that doesn't make him any less of a singer. The thing is, I feel, that he put the bar so up high during his prime that no one can live up to that expectation, not even JLB himself. YouTube videos documenting concerts are something super common now, and people can basically go and nitpick any little detail and mishap to their hearts' content if it pleases them to do so, so I don't care if they went an extra mile in making sure the "official" Blu-Ray presentation is as polished as possible.

This is exactly where I'm at.  I'm still unsure about getting this, because the 'live' feel simply isn't there due to the audience being so subdued.  Granted, I watch live DVDs for the on-stage experience, but there are elements of the crowd vibe that plays an important part.  I mean, just thinking about some of the crowd shots from L@B or Score make me yearn for that kind of experience here.  This is like watching bingo hour at an old-age home.

[Evai]

It seems like JLB is overcompensating with his approach to singing these songs. It just made the video feel awkward. I'll  definitely  buy the blu-ray, but it seems that James has morphed into a different version of himself. He's  always been one of my all time favorite singers and still is, but his performance in this version of fatal tragedy seems forced and has me a bit worried.   
I don't  blame it on age. Roger Daltry, Jon Anderson, and Bruce Dickinson are still killing it..

Vocal training for rock singers is such a mixed bag. Looks like JLB's had a coach tell him to act out every line like he's a character. (I've seen clips on Youtube of coaches giving this advice and getting bad results, instead of something actually useful)

[darkshade]

Sorry, but these JLB vocals are the worst vocals I've ever heard on a main Dream Theater release. The band sounds real stiff too. I can't believe this is a real live album.

Question, would you be against the band improvising their solos especially if it's one of the older songs where JP and JR trade off? The Fatal Tragedy solos JP and JR both sound so bored, or maybe it's sloppy sounding because they've played those solos hundreds of times, but it's like they're playing a solo that their younger selves would have played but they now would do something different. I can understand playing the solo in Under A Glass Moon, or Octavarium, as those are more composition than solo.

[Dedalus]

It seems like JLB is overcompensating with his approach to singing these songs. It just made the video feel awkward. I'll  definitely  buy the blu-ray, but it seems that James has morphed into a different version of himself. He's  always been one of my all time favorite singers and still is, but his performance in this version of fatal tragedy seems forced and has me a bit worried.   
I don't  blame it on age. Roger Daltry, Jon Anderson, and Bruce Dickinson are still killing it..

This kind of comparison is a very common misconception that fans make (not just DT fans). You are talking about a technical capacity that has BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES.
Daltrey, Anderson, Dickinson, LaBrie are different people. They have different genotypes and phenotypes. They have different histories with the environment. They have different histories of using this biological resource. Therefore, their biological resources respond differently.

Some go bald as they get older, others don't. Some people died of SARS-Cov-2, others recovered. Some people suffer more from the aging of the voice. It depends on your biology and your life history.

[Architeuthis]

Question, would you be against the band improvising their solos especially if it's one of the older songs where JP and JR trade off? The Fatal Tragedy solos JP and JR both sound so bored,

I wouldn't  have a problem with them improvising solos if the improv part is an extension of the solo. Also you might have a point about them being bored. Look at the BIG YAWN JP let's out at the 3:54 mark. 

[Pettor]

I always thought LaBrie must feel agony for every release. Whatever he do there will be critisism against him. It's too processed or overdubbed, but if he don't it sounds awful and out of tune. Ofc comparison videos showing every mistake and overdub etc. At the same time fans want perfection from them. Solo should be perfect but emotional and spontaneous.

I know this is the thing with DT and the fans. Nothing wrong with expression it as well. Every release it's the same procedure but it must be hard for DT to do it all right, even trying to understand what the hell that is.

[NoFred]

I always thought LaBrie must feel agony for every release. Whatever he do there will be critisism against him. It's too processed or overdubbed, but if he don't it sounds awful and out of tune. Ofc comparison videos showing every mistake and overdub etc. At the same time fans want perfection from them. Solo should be perfect but emotional and spontaneous.

I know this is the thing with DT and the fans. Nothing wrong with expression it as well. Every release it's the same procedure but it must be hard for DT to do it all right, even trying to understand what the hell that is.

For live releases I'd want it to be as close to what I saw at the show, with literally a full pro release of the show I attended being the ideal 

Of course they can clean mistakes up, but it starts to cross the border of too many nips and tucks

[hunnus2000]

For the life of me I don't know why they chose to shoot the video that far into the tour where JLB has put a ton of hours on his voice. You would think that he would want to shoot the video earlier in the tour where his voice would be much fresher. At the Chicago and St. Louis shows the whole band was on fire. Rush would do the exact same thing and I could never understand why.