The Top of the World Tour 2022 v. Who's Goin'?

[KevShmev]

The DT show here on Tuesday now has a "buy one, get one free" offer. 

Still not going, most likely.

[UndercoverMyung]

Still not going, most likely.

Why?

[Kram]

The DT show here on Tuesday now has a "buy one, get one free" offer. 

Still not going, most likely.

Take your wife - would make a great Valentine's gift - just kidding LOL

[KevShmev]

No wife in this household, so that is not a hindrance.

Still not going, most likely.

Why?

The main reason is that it is on Tuesday night.  My sleep isn't great most of the time anyway (mild case of apnea), and I cannot stay up late and go into work on Wednesday being dead tired. We are too busy right now at work for me to go in unfocused and out of it.  I could have taken the next morning off, but I ultimately decided against it.

[Deadeye21]

Would go in mere more than a heartbeat if the option arose. However, travel out of the country is beyond my means, and to date no shows have been announced on my continent. I technically already have my ticket since they never actually cancelled the Distance Over Time tour dates here, meaning no refund from almost 2 years ago.

[TAC]

Would go in mere more than a heartbeat if the option arose. However, travel out of the country is beyond my means, and to date no shows have been announced on my continent. I technically already have my ticket since they never actually cancelled the Distance Over Time tour dates here, meaning no refund from almost 2 years ago.

Where are you?

[TAC]

Looks like Boston may get a foot of snow on Friday. Fuck. I'm not going to be happy if I miss this show because of snow. We already had to cancel a planned vacation at the last minute last month because of it.

[Mitchgo61]

We're scheduled to leave Maine at 5ish. Not entirely clear we will be able to get there.

Pretty infuriating. We have great seats and love the Wang. Now I'm even more pissed off they needlessly postponed in November.

Given this storm and how widespread it will be I'd say there's a non-zero chance of the show being cancelled. Either way a whole lot of fans won't be able to get there. Argh.

[TAC]

We're scheduled to leave Maine at 5ish. Not entirely clear we will be able to get there.

Pretty infuriating. We have great seats and love the Wang. Now I'm even more pissed off they needlessly postponed in November.

Given this storm and how widespread it will be I'd say there's a non-zero chance of the show being cancelled. Either way a whole lot of fans won't be able to get there. Argh.

I was happy it was postponed honestly. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving was going to be a horrendous commute in.

In Dec '92 and March '93, I twice drove in snow to see DT, and in Feb '93, the snow was so bad on my way to the show, I literally got on the highway and got off at the next exit saying I can't do this.

[Mitchgo61]

We're scheduled to leave Maine at 5ish. Not entirely clear we will be able to get there.

Pretty infuriating. We have great seats and love the Wang. Now I'm even more pissed off they needlessly postponed in November.

Given this storm and how widespread it will be I'd say there's a non-zero chance of the show being cancelled. Either way a whole lot of fans won't be able to get there. Argh.

I was happy it was postponed honestly. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving was going to be a horrendous commute in.

In Dec '92 and March '93, I twice drove in snow to see DT, and in Feb '93, the snow was so bad on my way to the show, I literally got on the highway and got off at the next exit saying I can't do this.

If you thought that commute would be bad...imagine driving south on a Friday in a heavy snow event! 

I've seen over 1000 concerts since 1975. Lived in NH, Syracuse, ME....never once has weather stopped me from getting to a show. I was hoping to keep that record going! Again we love the Wang, have great seats, and given it's only half sold out, this will be the only chance to see them at this amazing venue. Again, argh.

[TAC]

Not sure what's more impressive.

This..

I've seen over 1000 concerts since 1975.

..or this..

Lived in NH, Syracuse, ME....never once has weather stopped me from getting to a show.

[Mitchgo61]

Not sure what's more impressive.

This..

I've seen over 1000 concerts since 1975.

..or this..

Lived in NH, Syracuse, ME....never once has weather stopped me from getting to a show.

Hah, thanks!  Well I'm 61 this year and all I've done with my life is live gigs so maybe it's not all that impressive! We do have tix for 34 shows this year and I've managed to see 21 post Covid since August. I'm desperately trying to make up for those 17 months. 

[pg1067]

Pardon me while I revert to my 14-year old self.

We ... love the Wang.

[TAC]

Nice!

[Mitchgo61]

Pardon me while I revert to my 14-year old self.

We ... love the Wang.

Man did I leave myself open for that. You owe me one! 

[tofee35]

I haven't heard any news about the DT Show in Boston tonight. Boston has not declared a state of emergency or parking ban as far as I can tell. DT expects to be in the Great White North for a show tomorrow, so I would think that it would be cancelled by now. The storm is narrow in scope and their bus would be out of it pretty quick. I'm just so pumped for this show, and I keep checking everybody's social media for any updates one way or the other.

On a side note, DT's opening band sounds really good...50% Prog, 25% Metal, 25% Fusion, 100% instrumental. It's a nice change from the times that I've seen them opened by a purely metal band.

-Tof

[TAC]

I work in Hyde Park and there's easily 3, maybe 4" here now.

I'm coming from the south and hopefully it's just rain later today.

[Lonk]

All we got here NYC was iced rain. My car had about 1/2 - 1 inch of ice I had to clean up.

Anyways, the CT Show is a week away  (well 8 days, but still).

[Mitchgo61]

Probably three here in Portland ME as well right now. NWS sent an alert saying snow would taper off after noon....maybe the storm is ahead of schedule. I see no alerts on the T Orange line which we need to get down from where we park to Tufts. Fingers crossed. I'm still not sure we'll get out but here's hoping....

[TAC]

DT was AMAZING tonight!!!!

[Mitchgo61]

It was great. Brutal drive from Maine though....and the damned orange line shut down when we were a half hour away. Had to drive in to the city, something I always dread. Probably the worst driving conditions I've seen en route to a concert in 40 years.

But DT killed it. JP was the master as usual. And I thought  James sounded great, despite some early reports to the contrary. Endless Sacrifice was perfection. Saw it three times on the ToT tour and this rivaled those versions.

[tofee35]

That Boston show was fantastic! Highlights for me were Endless Sacrifice, The Alien, About to Crash and The Count of Tuscany. Man finishing with 2 epics was a surprise to say the least. The 3rd to last song of which I actually didn't know was fairly long too.

These guys are just at the top of their game. I saw them on the ADTOE tour and they were great but after 11 years with MM, they just look at home with each other.  At this point they just don't make mistakes. I was most impressed by Petrucci and Mangini. JL's presence on stage is in such contrast to the other guys that it works. He's like a guy that just wanders on stage when he's got something to say, then leaves again. I funny skit would be from backstage during JL's breaks.

Anyway, it was a great show with amazing energy. It made me want more. I hope they come back with An Evening With Dream Theater again. They have so much material, I left the show wishing there would be another hour of rock. These guys are masters and love what they do. It's evident in their playing and chemistry on stage. I can't wait for the next one.

-Tof

[Kram]

DT was AMAZING tonight!!!!

How was James?

[TAC]

DT was AMAZING tonight!!!!

How was James?

So...

I actually thought he was pretty good. There are only a couple of clips so far on youtube including..

TCOT..full
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNQ-UYexovk

BITS...partial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gR_n3iT95M
"lip synch part" at 2:00


Overall, he was way better than the first few shows. His voice seems to have gained some strength over the last few weeks. The show was pretty loud and maybe masked some things, but I was really focusing on James, especially with all of the controversy. He seemed a bit more goofy on stage, more than usual. But kind of cool, actually. I thought he did a great job, and definitely held up his part of the deal.

The canned backing vocals were really subtle, but they were there. I'm on record as being totally against them, but what are you gonna do at this point? They've crossed that line. But they were not in anyway overpowering, and did not detract from the show.

The above clip of BITS shows that the shenanigans during the chorus are still going on. He did seem to be singing live over the canned lead vocals, or maybe he was trying to harmonize with them. I kind of think that's what he was actually doing, putting his finger in his ear. Still, I just think this is a bad look, and I don't understand why they'd risk the scorn that this brings.


Also, I was thinking about the click track thing...This really doesn't bother me. I mean, they ARE PLAYING the music LIVE aren't they. This is some complicated shit, especially The Alien. I'd be shocked if this song is played again after this tour. Sure, everything sounds like the record, but holy shit, the record is amazing. But actually, it doesn't sound like the record at all. The mix is different, the live musical instruments are different. Mangini can't help but put fills in constantly (not a complaint). The only constant is the pace.

EDIT:
The other thig I forgot to mention was just how awesome AVFTTOTW was. Holy shit, that was fucking epic. The intro, the outro, and everything in between. I've complained about the non climactic vocal ending, but live it's really not that noticeable. That outro just slayed. I loved the song to begin with, but it jumped up IMO.

[Kram]

DT was AMAZING tonight!!!!

How was James?

So...

I actually thought he was pretty good. There are only a couple of clips so far on youtube including..

TCOT..full
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNQ-UYexovk

BITS...partial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gR_n3iT95M
"lip synch part" at 2:00


Overall, he was way better than the first few shows. His voice seems to have gained some strength over the last few weeks. The show was pretty loud and maybe masked some things, but I was really focusing on James, especially with all of the controversy. He seemed a bit more goofy on stage, more than usual. But kind of cool, actually. I thought he did a great job, and definitely held up his part of the deal.

The canned backing vocals were really subtle, but they were there. I'm on record as being totally against them, but what are you gonna do at this point? They've crossed that line. But they were not in anyway overpowering, and did not detract from the show.

The above clip of BITS shows that the shenanigans during the chorus are still going on. He did seem to be singing live over the canned lead vocals, or maybe he was trying to harmonize with them. I kind of think that's what he was actually doing, putting his finger in his ear. Still, I just think this is a bad look, and I don't understand why they'd risk the scorn that this brings.


Also, I was thinking about the click track thing...This really doesn't bother me. I mean, they ARE PLAYING the music LIVE aren't they. This is some complicated shit, especially The Alien. I'd be shocked if this song is played again after this tour. Sure, everything sounds like the record, but holy shit, the record is amazing. But actually, it doesn't sound like the record at all. The mix is different, the live musical instruments are different. Mangini can't help but put fills in constantly (not a complaint). The only constant is the pace.

EDIT:
The other thig I forgot to mention was just how awesome AVFTTOTW was. Holy shit, that was fucking epic. The intro, the outro, and everything in between. I've complained about the non climactic vocal ending, but live it's really not that noticeable. That outro just slayed. I loved the song to begin with, but it jumped up IMO.

Glad to hear James is getting stronger as the tour progresses.  I was at the 2nd show of the tour, and thought it wasn't his best.  But being rusty after not playing live for two years, probably had a lot to do with it - and now he's hitting his stride, so I'm quite happy about that.  Yes, Mangini's a beast.  I was watching him quite a bit during the show, and he was awesome!

[Setlist Scotty]

The above clip of BITS shows that the shenanigans during the chorus are still going on. He did seem to be singing live over the canned lead vocals, or maybe he was trying to harmonize with them. I kind of think that's what he was actually doing, putting his finger in his ear. Still, I just think this is a bad look, and I don't understand why they'd risk the scorn that this brings.

Yeah - seems a bit strange to say the least. Almost like he forgot that section was coming up, so he quickly changed which way he was facing and with his finger in his ear, makes it easier for him to hide his face.

Also, I was thinking about the click track thing...This really doesn't bother me. I mean, they ARE PLAYING the music LIVE aren't they. This is some complicated shit, especially The Alien.

They are, but it's not necessary. They never did it at any of the 1100+ shows while MP was in the band. And complicated stuff? They did TDoE well over 100 times without ever using a click and did just fine. So I beg to differ. This is one area where I wish they would apply the "What Would Rush Do?" mentality. I like what Neil Peart said about not using one:

Until the Clockwork Angels tour I had never used a click track live, except once years ago to stay in sync with a rear-screen film. For this tour it was helpful because we had eight string players in the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble, and they sometimes needed it when I wasn't playing. Even in certain passages when I was playing, it helped us all to stay together.

I was also required to stay in tempo with some long, legato sequences of keyboard or vocal effects, and the tambo-click helped with that, too. Even so, I am glad to say that the click appears in only a tiny percentage of the show, and only when absolutely necessary - or at least, "absolutely helpful."

On most songs, I prefer to hold it together myself, and let the band be a living, breathing organism that can push and pull naturally. These days many bands perform to a preprogrammed basic track, often a computerized software program. We always resisted that rigidity.

The other thig I forgot to mention was just how awesome AVFTTOTW was. Holy shit, that was fucking epic. The intro, the outro, and everything in between. I've complained about the non climactic vocal ending, but live it's really not that noticeable. That outro just slayed. I loved the song to begin with, but it jumped up IMO.

Great to hear! Looking forward to seeing it in person!

[TAC]

Yeah, Scotty, I get it. I really do. And I love old live DT.

I guess being there and watching them play, it's less of an issue for me.

[tofee35]

Yeah, Scotty, I get it. I really do. And I love old live DT.

I guess being there and watching them play, it's less of an issue for me.

This is really the key point to me. Seeing it live and watching the video playback afterwards is a totally different experience. The phone picks up audio in a compressed way that my ears don't. James was incredible live albeit buried much more in the mix than the phone recordings pick up. I didn't notice any vocal deficiencies myself, and am on board for some canned backing vocals and effects. I've accepted that they have perfection and the overall quality of the show in mind now. It's more important to them than spontaneity and variety. My comments earlier about JL's performance being the complete opposite to the other guys is probably on purpose. He is the spontaneity in the live performances. Mangini has some of this too just by the nature of drumming.

-Ant

[Lax]

If european dates are done, I'm not going :
-I prefer "an evening with DT" 3 hours shows
-I'm not that excited by the setlist
-First youtube videos capturing James' singing frightened me

But of course, I miss seeing them live since 2020 !

[Madman Shepherd]

Yeah, Scotty, I get it. I really do. And I love old live DT.

I guess being there and watching them play, it's less of an issue for me.

This is really the key point to me. Seeing it live and watching the video playback afterwards is a totally different experience. The phone picks up audio in a compressed way that my ears don't.

Exactly. The timbre of his voice can also make this much more noticeable on a phone video versus live too. That's the price we pay for getting his truly unique sound and style. If you ask me, it's worth it to "suffer" through some questionable youtube videos to get the real experience, not to mention the studio albums.

[crystalstars17]

Exactly. The timbre of his voice can also make this much more noticeable on a phone video versus live too. That's the price we pay for getting his truly unique sound and style. If you ask me, it's worth it to "suffer" through some questionable youtube videos to get the real experience, not to mention the studio albums.

💯

[Deadeye21]

Would go in mere more than a heartbeat if the option arose. However, travel out of the country is beyond my means, and to date no shows have been announced on my continent. I technically already have my ticket since they never actually cancelled the Distance Over Time tour dates here, meaning no refund from almost 2 years ago.

Where are you?

I'm in Western Australia. Have travelled over to Victoria to see them in I&W25, was due to again for DoT.

[Stadler]

Yeah, Scotty, I get it. I really do. And I love old live DT.

I guess being there and watching them play, it's less of an issue for me.

This is really the key point to me. Seeing it live and watching the video playback afterwards is a totally different experience. The phone picks up audio in a compressed way that my ears don't. James was incredible live albeit buried much more in the mix than the phone recordings pick up. I didn't notice any vocal deficiencies myself, and am on board for some canned backing vocals and effects. I've accepted that they have perfection and the overall quality of the show in mind now. It's more important to them than spontaneity and variety. My comments earlier about JL's performance being the complete opposite to the other guys is probably on purpose. He is the spontaneity in the live performances. Mangini has some of this too just by the nature of drumming.

-Ant

Honestly, I don't bother listening to shows I've been at, because my experience is so often so much different than what I hear, later.  There are two exceptions:  I saw Kiss at Madison Square Garden on the reunion tour, and they released a DVD of the previous night, and it was just like I remember, and I watched the Legacy Of The Beast show in Hartford, because the guy who recorded it got the whole show in HD and he was probably 25 feet from where I was.   It was also every bit as good as I remembered it.  Even good bands with singers who don't have a ton of trouble live; I have a boot of Marillion in a small club on the Seasons End tour, and I can't listen to it because it's not what I remember. 

[TAC]

I love listening to shows I've been to. It really helps to keep the memory.

[Ben_Jamin]

I love listening to shows I've been to. It really helps to keep the memory.

I'm the same way. Only because I want to hear how they sounded on that night, flubs and all.

I was so happy that Redemption recorded their set at ProgPower, so I have a good sounding release from that show. Haven't really watched enough to search for myself, but I think I found myself in the audience shot they used for the inlay where the CD is housed.

I found a bootleg of Dream Theaters set during the Iron Maiden tour here in Albuquerque and I still listen to it. It's a great memory for my last time seeing MP with the band.