2015-8-2 - Kulttuuritalo (Helsinki, Finland) ROLL CALL & REVIEW

[Weymolith]

Tickets Available At : https://www.livenation.fi/event/671027/radio-city-south-park-helsinki-tickets?c=api-000001

Are you going?

Were you there?

Share your concert review and experience with other fans and the band!

[YtseJamittaja]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44110.0

There is already a thread for this event.

[dtfan4ever]

I'll be there! It will be my first time to see them since 2007. I can't wait! 

[Zukuduku]

I'll be there as well. I'm though still pondering whether to show up at 7 or at 8.30 as the opening band is not familiar to me.

How has this concert been promoted by the way? I found out about it accidentally. I don't think it has been announced at DT Facebook or the ticket vendor company Lippupalvelu hasn't sent me an email. And as the new album is not out I haven't been checking the tour schedule actively.

Well, after seeing them 5 times in the ice hall, this is the first club show I'm going to see. Hopefully will be a special show!

[?]

Anathema's atmospheric rock is pretty different from DT's music, but I love them and recommend everyone to give them a chance.

The show was announced on DT's FB page and I saw mentions of it on the websites of magazines like Soundi and Inferno back in June, but the promotion could've been better. Hell, the whole event is named after Radio City, but I haven't heard any ads for the concert on that channel, although they did advertise the Tampere version of South Park earlier this year.

[Zukuduku]

Alright, I ended up skipping the opening band and arrived 15 minutes before DT was scheduled to start. People were smoking and having beer and the audience area was almost empty, so I managed to get a good place in front of Myung, perhaps 2 or 3 meters in front of the stage. And the show was an excellent one!

The sounds were obviously a lot better than in the previous arena shows. I had slight problems hearing MM's toms, but otherwise everything was clear. The band seemed to have a good and relaxed feeling when playing and the performance was almost flawless. I was a bit worried as I had read about "JP getting worse" and JLB's voice issues, but JP played very well and JLB aside from Burning My Soul was IMHO good.

And some extra praise for MM: it was easy to forget the show and just follow his playing. It seemed like the songs were almost too easy for him so he could frequently spice it up with subtle tricks. I also had the feeling that the groove in his playing was better than previously. Or perhaps it was just the better sounds that made the impression. Anyway, 10/10.

Now, let's hope that the gig didn't end up as a financial disaster for LiveNation and that they'll organize a new show in the next world tour. Still, it was shocking how empty the club was. Perhaps around 1000 people?

[?]

This is what happened during Behind the Veil (the song also had a more explosive ending than in the videos I've seen from earlier shows):



JLB sounded better than in the Wacken stream, though he was off-key at times and didn't quite nail the highest parts in Metropolis and CIAW. Props to Pajamathema for playing the show despite the loss of luggage! I'm writing a concert report as my first piece for a music website, so you can read all about the show and my thoughts on it in a few days.

I found a bunch of videos on YT:

Metropolis
Caught in a Web/Innocence
The Spirit Carries On
About to Crash
Panic Attack solos
Constant Motion
Bridges in the Sky

[Stef1]

There seems to be a heck of a lot more than 1,000 people in the Metropolis video.

[Ruba]

Wow, I had no clue Anathema had lost all of their gear, not to mention their clothes. Anyways, I missed the first two songs, but what I saw was great, although I only knew Weather Systems songs. Had totally forgotten how majestic The Beginning and the End was.

DT... I had higher hopes, mostly for the setlist, since their last show in Helsinki had a LOT longer set. I was really disappointed when they didn't come for encore and left after 12 songs. And to add insult to injury, the only +10 minute song played was Bridges in the Sky (which was a nice surprise, I was waiting for On the Back of Angels, I hadn't checked any setlists beforehand). So the overall playing time was maybe around 1h 30min. Playing was top notch of course, James struggled a bit with Afterlife and Caught in a Web and a LOT with Metropolis, but the farther the set went, he improved.

I was kinda disappointed when the gig was moved to Kulttuuritalo, but actually it was quite nice, being so small and intimate. I was surprised by how close the seats were to the stage.

James announced that they will be playing one song from each album after Metropolis and I was excited, but some of the picks were... well, boring. As I Am? Constant Motion? Wither? Innocence from ACOS was great, but since it's rather short, I eagerly waited for Carpe Diem. Bummer.

Audience was a bit lame. There were some people in the front row who jumped and moshed almost the entire gig, but the seats... pretty dead sometimes. Of course I was pretty excited at times and after the gig my T-shirt's back was soaked with sweat, but I'd still like to see more participation from us sulky Finns. No wonder bands rather go to Chile or Argentina.

I might actually have liked Anathema's set more, even though many of their songs were not familiar to me. It had somehow warm and friendly athmosphere, with Cavanagh brothers joking in between songs and stripped down instrumentations. DT on the other hand pretty much focused on their heavier material, which was no bad thing, but I disagreed with a lot of their choices. Even with Jordan's quirkiness, their set felt much more colder and darker. Probably playing As I Am and Panic Attack back to back wasn't the best choice.

There seems to be a heck of a lot more than 1,000 people in the Metropolis video.

I'd say there were approximately 1,500 spectators.

[?]

Hello Ruba, so glad to see you my friend - it's been a while... You should've joined me and YtseJamittaja for our DTF meet-up! How was the sound where you were standing?

There seems to be a heck of a lot more than 1,000 people in the Metropolis video.

The show wasn't sold out, but most of the seats were filled and there were plenty of people on the standing floor as well, so Ruba's estimation (1,500) is probably pretty accurate. I read some comments from a couple of Finnish forums (Imperiumi, Muusikoiden.net) and it seems that the advertising sucked hairy donkey balls and the organizers relied too heavily on the word of mouth, as a lot of people hadn't heard about the event until it was too late.

While waiting for my report, those of you who understand Finnish can read the Helsingin Sanomat review: https://www.hs.fi/arviot/konsertti/a1438569025914 I agree that TSCO is kind of cheesy (though it was fun to wave my hands during it ), but I don't think JLB lacks charisma, though his banter can be pretty awkward and forced sometimes. At least this time the HS reviewer commented on the actual music and didn't leave halfway through the show!

[Ruba]

Hello Ruba, so glad to see you my friend - it's been a while... You should've joined me and YtseJamittaja for our DTF meet-up! How was the sound where you were standing?

Hi too ?. I guessed you'd be there since I remembered you were an Anathema fan. Yeah, I haven't been too active lately, so I didn't know about the meet-up. Maybe next time.

I was sitting on Petrucci's side and sound was pretty decent, although kinda messy in some heavier songs (at first I thought they were playing Caught in a Web from a lower key). Also Jordan was too low in the mix.

At least this time the HS reviewer commented on the actual music and didn't leave halfway through the show!

I heard from my friends that a lot of people were really leaving during the last gig! Me and my friend checked the last time's setlist next morning and I'm truly baffled. A bunch of idiots. Or were they playing bad or was the sound really messed up?

[?]

The report is online now: https://www.musicalypse.net/reports/dream-theater-2015.php

(at first I thought they were playing Caught in a Web from a lower key)

Playing CIAW downtuned wouldn't have been a bad idea, for obvious reasons.

I heard from my friends that a lot of people were really leaving during the last gig! Me and my friend checked the last time's setlist next morning and I'm truly baffled. A bunch of idiots. Or were they playing bad or was the sound really messed up?

I don't know whether they were leaving or just took a pee break, but some people left their seats during the best songs in the first set, like Trial of Tears and BAI. Their loss!

[MoraWintersoul]

The report is online now: https://www.musicalypse.net/reports/dream-theater-2015.php

but in every other way he was fine

AHEM

[Ruba]

The report is online now: https://www.musicalypse.net/reports/dream-theater-2015.php

A good read! Although I'd probably prefer to read it in Finnish, because it's always a bit different to write on a foreign language, it was still well-written.

[wasteland]

but in every other way he was fine

AHEM

Don't you just hate those monday morning lunatics who go to gigs and then write reports?

[?]

The report is online now: https://www.musicalypse.net/reports/dream-theater-2015.php

but in every other way he was fine

AHEM

I was waiting for someone to catch that reference!

The report is online now: https://www.musicalypse.net/reports/dream-theater-2015.php

A good read! Although I'd probably prefer to read it in Finnish, because it's always a bit different to write on a foreign language, it was still well-written.

Kiitos! My friend, who edited the article, said I could write in Finnish if I wanted to, but personally I enjoy writing in English. Besides, that way more people can read the report, and 99% of the content on the website is in English anyway.

Speaking of the content, there are plenty of interviews and reports on the page, including an intie my friend conducted with Devin Townsend earlier this year (which is a fun read!), so I recommend checking them out. I'll also write more reports and album reviews for them in the future.

/shamelessplug

but in every other way he was fine

AHEM

Don't you just hate those monday morning lunatics who go to gigs and then write reports?

You should've seen me running like a lunatic when I almost missed the bus the morning after the show, which happened to be a Monday.

[YtseJamittaja]

Great review Ville!! I could criticize the acustics of venue but overall it was an awesome show!




https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRN82JlW14Nd7HQC_rq3hdQ/videos

This guy filmed the whole Helsinki show! Appreciated! The sound quality is good too! 


(And also Anathema's pyjama concert!)

[TAC]

That is some great video.

[mikeyd23]

Yeah thats good stuff, thanks for posting!

[?]

Great review Ville!! I could criticize the acustics of venue but overall it was an awesome show!




https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRN82JlW14Nd7HQC_rq3hdQ/videos

This guy filmed the whole Helsinki show! Appreciated! The sound quality is good too! 


(And also Anathema's pyjama concert!)

Awesome, thanks for sharing! Full bootlegs of DT concerts in Finland are pretty rare.