Author Topic: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?  (Read 10502 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Duke59

  • Posts: 10
On March 18 I will go to see DT in Milan.   :)

I can understand the will of the band to play the Astonishing in full colours, with orchestra and choir, but I am a little concerned with the choice to use recorded backing tracks.

I am 56 yo and I remeber having read that in the '70s the Who toured with their album Quadrophenia using tapes for the brass and extras instruments, but the things didn't go well because those were other ages and the technology was raw.

Pete Towshend got often pissed and various times he stopped the show accusing the sound engineer for tapes starting in the wrong moment or for out sync situations.

At the end they threw away the tapes and went on with the tour as a 4 pieces band.

I know that now things are different but I frankly would have preferred the DT playing the full opus by themselves, changing the arrengements to fit a 5 pieces group.

But the tour is already started with the "tapes" so I have few curiosities about:

How they mantain the sync with the "tapes?
Do they use a clock signal in earphones?
How much the necessity to stay in sync with the tapes can affect their playing?
Will they be stiffer?



Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2016, 12:45:19 PM »
They use a "click track" throughout the show to stay on the proper pace.  Mangini can hear it in his monitors, so as he is setting the pace with the drums, he always stays on pace with the click, which makes sure the videos and backing tracks are in sync with the music.  Not sure if the other band members can hear the click in their monitors or not. 

I would not worry too much.  The band used a click on the entire Along For The Ride tour as well, so they are used to it.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Online MirrorMask

  • Posts: 13328
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2016, 01:00:12 PM »
Since we're at it, one thing I never figured out - how the drummer knows the *exact* moment when to start? he hears a pre-intro click, something that warns him when he has to start to count in the song for the rest of the band?

Drummers have a computer beside them, I've seen them many times clicking on it to start intro tapes and atmospheric beginnings of songs, but how does the drummer know / decide the precise moment where he has to start the song? Imagine a full click-track performance of A Nightmare to Remember, for example, it has to be done to the millisecond the way it's done on the album, so Jordan has to start the piano intro the very exact moment it starts on the album and not just whenever he feels the right moment is after the rain intro fades - how does Mike (any Mike, hehe) would know when to signal him to start playing?
I use my sig to pimp some bands from Italy! Check out Elvenking (Power / Folk metal), Folkstone (Rock / Medieval metal), Arcana Opera (Gothic/Noir/Heavy metal) and the beautiful voice of Elisa!

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2016, 03:17:27 PM »
he hears a pre-intro click, something that warns him when he has to start to count in the song for the rest of the band

^This.  Kinda similar to what Mike Portnoy used to refer to as "invisible cowbell."  He had a pad as part of his drum kit that was programmed to a cowbell sound that the audience could not hear, but would sound in the band members' in ear monitors.  That way, Mike could count into a song and the band would hear it and know when to start, but the audience would not hear it, and it would sound like the entire band was just spontaneously starting together.  Similar principle, except that the count-in is pre-programmed as well.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline erwinrafael

  • Posts: 3436
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2016, 07:16:42 PM »
My understanding is that Mangini is very much involved in the programming of the click tracks (he often alludes to them in his FB posts). Which is why he does not really have a lot of time to shoot drum cam performances of DT songs. :p

Playing to a click track is very stressful. Mangini has an anecdote of him playing to a simple beat for Annihilator early in his career and he was actually hospitalized because his body was so stressed playing to a click track. That's when he learned that having crazy chops is not enough to become a good studio drummer.

Offline mikeyd23

  • Posts: 5479
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2016, 10:42:52 AM »
Playing to a click track is pretty common for a lot of bands and/or musicians in a lot of situations. For example, if you wanted to volunteer to play in the worship band at my church, you'd have to be able to play to a click. Most musicians are pretty comfortable with it after they get used to it. Obviously, it's hardest on drummers and obviously MM programming and playing along to DT's material is much harder than playing a simple groove in 4/4 for 3 minutes, haha.

That being said, the technology is easily accessible to create great loop tracks with not only count-in's (as discussed above) at the beginning of songs, but also cues through out letting you know when you should be transitioning to a chorus or a verse or a bridge, etc... Ableton is a good example of software that lets you create loop click tracks with cues (and do a LOT more).

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2016, 11:21:50 AM »
Playing to a click track is pretty common for a lot of bands and/or musicians in a lot of situations.

Yup.  I would say there are at least two driving factors:  (1) where the timing and pace is critical; (2) where the band has a lot of piped in sound or video. 
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline Cyclopssss

  • Vocal Dinosaur pre-heat combustable
  • Posts: 2993
  • Gender: Male
  • Connoseur of love
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2016, 04:00:47 AM »
Given the amount of keyboard intro´s in this show, I wouldn´t be surprised if Rudess doesn´t have a clicktrack of his own going for the tracks he does the start-ins.
From the ocean comes the notion that the realise lies in rhythm. The rhythm of vision is dancer, and when you dance you´re always on the one. From the looking comes to see, wondrous realise real eyes....

Online MirrorMask

  • Posts: 13328
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2016, 05:03:43 AM »
Given the amount of keyboard intro´s in this show, I wouldn´t be surprised if Rudess doesn´t have a clicktrack of his own going for the tracks he does the start-ins.

Well, but if the videos are all synchronized, he can't start whenever he wants just because he's the sole player at the beginning and the others come in later, he has to start at the right moment the videos will do... so Mike Mangini would still have to cue him in, for the band to follow in later at the precise moment the click track demands it.
I use my sig to pimp some bands from Italy! Check out Elvenking (Power / Folk metal), Folkstone (Rock / Medieval metal), Arcana Opera (Gothic/Noir/Heavy metal) and the beautiful voice of Elisa!

Offline Volante99

  • Posts: 1044
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2016, 11:12:53 AM »
I'm pretty sure they ALL have click tracks in their in-ear monitors

Offline mikeyd23

  • Posts: 5479
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2016, 07:27:18 PM »
Haha yeah don't over think this, there is one click track that everyone can mix into their in-ears. Just like there is one bass guitar that everyone can mix into their in-ears.

Offline Adami

  • Moderator of awesomeness
  • *
  • Posts: 36093
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2016, 12:42:01 AM »
It's very likely that they are all hearing the click, or at the very least, having the click mixed in while Mangini isn't playing.

As far as when to start, you just know how many clicks to hear before you start. It's pretty easy. I've played tons of shows/practices to clicks with backing tracks. Usually if there's no sound or introduction, you just count 4-8 clicks or however many you want.

So Jordan likely is hearing the click if there's a piano intro and just knows how many to listen for before he starts playing. It's actually extremely easy.....well, the counting in part is. Playing DT music to a click is a little less easy with as many odd times and changing tempos they must have.
fanticide.bandcamp.com

Offline aurorablind

  • Posts: 705
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2016, 01:32:08 PM »
I met this guy (and three other guys) after the Oslo-gig yesterday, and asked him about this.  :metal



He said that MM had the click going the entire time. The other band-members had click tracks in their in-ear monitors to que them in when they started alone or had a click going when they played alone. MM wasnt hitting a "hidden cowbell" for these sections, but was keeping the time for the most part of the show.

One example: On "Begin Again", Jordan and John had a click going until MM came in right before the second verse. James proably had a click to count him in before he started singing, but the click ended once JP started playing.


Offline Adami

  • Moderator of awesomeness
  • *
  • Posts: 36093
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2016, 01:48:06 PM »
Woooo.
fanticide.bandcamp.com

Offline Duke59

  • Posts: 10
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2016, 04:30:10 PM »

He said that MM had the click going the entire time. The other band-members had click tracks in their in-ear monitors to que them in when they started alone or had a click going when they played alone. MM wasnt hitting a "hidden cowbell" for these sections, but was keeping the time for the most part of the show.

One example: On "Begin Again", Jordan and John had a click going until MM came in right before the second verse. James proably had a click to count him in before he started singing, but the click ended once JP started playing.

This is the best answwer that I could have dreamed of. Straight from a band's guy.

Thanks for asking Jordan the question.

Offline rumborak

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 26664
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2016, 05:35:12 PM »
I have mixed feelings about click tracks. On the one hand I understand they are necessary when you want to pipe in backing tracks, or show a video that is synchronized to the music. On the other hand, they obviously deprive the show of any spontaneity. Your won't hear an extended jam, unless it is part of the click track. It also sometimes makes DT's songs seem slow because they didn't emulate the speed up a live performance has due its adrenaline rush.
It also invites backing track creep. You'd think a band of 5 people would have only sparing need of backing tracks, but these days many of James' vocals are doubled, and JPs solos often harmonize with a backing track guitar. And a rhythm guitar track. I personally find it a bit lamentable that I have to guess what parts in hearing are live, and which are not.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2016, 05:42:52 PM by rumborak »
"I liked when Myung looked like a women's figure skating champion."

Offline SchecterShredder

  • Posts: 1597
  • Gender: Male
  • The 'other other' Rich
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #16 on: February 29, 2016, 12:42:49 PM »
Pretty much every professional touring band uses click tracks for recording and live performances. That's goes double for technical bands like DT. If you've ever played with a full band before on stage, you know how easy it can be to speed up with the surge of adrenaline. As good as JP and JR can play their instruments, I'm sure they couldn't handle some of those solos if they're 10 or 20 bpm faster than normal.

Offline Chino

  • Be excellent to each other.
  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 25282
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #17 on: February 29, 2016, 12:55:36 PM »
Pretty much every professional touring band uses click tracks for recording and live performances. That's goes double for technical bands like DT. If you've ever played with a full band before on stage, you know how easy it can be to speed up with the surge of adrenaline. As good as JP and JR can play their instruments, I'm sure they couldn't handle some of those solos if they're 10 or 20 bpm faster than normal.

As far as I know, Dream Theater didn't start using click tracks until MM came on board.

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #18 on: February 29, 2016, 01:41:17 PM »
Correct.  And you can tell from their live shows.  The older shows are all over the place in terms of pacing.  And that is not meant to be a knock on the band.  It just is what it is.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline BlobVanDam

  • Future Boy
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 38940
  • Gender: Male
  • Transform and rock out!
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #19 on: February 29, 2016, 09:30:36 PM »
I have mixed feelings about click tracks. On the one hand I understand they are necessary when you want to pipe in backing tracks, or show a video that is synchronized to the music. On the other hand, they obviously deprive the show of any spontaneity. Your won't hear an extended jam, unless it is part of the click track. It also sometimes makes DT's songs seem slow because they didn't emulate the speed up a live performance has due its adrenaline rush.
It also invites backing track creep. You'd think a band of 5 people would have only sparing need of backing tracks, but these days many of James' vocals are doubled, and JPs solos often harmonize with a backing track guitar. And a rhythm guitar track. I personally find it a bit lamentable that I have to guess what parts in hearing are live, and which are not.

I agree with you. It's not that I'm against click tracks and backing tapes, as I understand their place, especially this tour with the full video show and timing the show, but it's a completely different experience for me, and doesn't really have that "live" feel. I don't even watch live clips on YT any more, because vocal performance aside, it just sounds like the studio albums to me.
But as I said, I understand that they're essential for what DT want to achieve now, and pulling off this album live without a click would have been a logistical nightmare, if not impossible.
Only King could mis-spell a LETTER.
Yep. I think the only party in the MP/DT situation that hasn't moved on is DTF.

Offline Adami

  • Moderator of awesomeness
  • *
  • Posts: 36093
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #20 on: February 29, 2016, 09:37:07 PM »
I have mixed feelings about click tracks. On the one hand I understand they are necessary when you want to pipe in backing tracks, or show a video that is synchronized to the music. On the other hand, they obviously deprive the show of any spontaneity. Your won't hear an extended jam, unless it is part of the click track. It also sometimes makes DT's songs seem slow because they didn't emulate the speed up a live performance has due its adrenaline rush.
It also invites backing track creep. You'd think a band of 5 people would have only sparing need of backing tracks, but these days many of James' vocals are doubled, and JPs solos often harmonize with a backing track guitar. And a rhythm guitar track. I personally find it a bit lamentable that I have to guess what parts in hearing are live, and which are not.

I agree with you. It's not that I'm against click tracks and backing tapes, as I understand their place, especially this tour with the full video show and timing the show, but it's a completely different experience for me, and doesn't really have that "live" feel. I don't even watch live clips on YT any more, because vocal performance aside, it just sounds like the studio albums to me.
But as I said, I understand that they're essential for what DT want to achieve now, and pulling off this album live without a click would have been a logistical nightmare, if not impossible.

I hear that. Based on many of the posts I've read on this forum, I also feel that many DT fans want their live shows to be as accurate and precise and like the album as possible. I'm not one of those fans, but I feel that DT are aiming for that general feel.
fanticide.bandcamp.com

Offline hefdaddy42

  • Et in Arcadia Ego
  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 52785
  • Gender: Male
  • Postwhore Emeritus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2016, 08:14:37 AM »
I would love for DT to go back to NOT using click tracks for their next tour (after all of the Astonishing shows).
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline Chino

  • Be excellent to each other.
  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 25282
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2016, 08:24:53 AM »
Same.

Offline BlobVanDam

  • Future Boy
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 38940
  • Gender: Male
  • Transform and rock out!
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2016, 09:01:29 AM »
I would love for DT to go back to NOT using click tracks for their next tour (after all of the Astonishing shows).

So would I. I can't imagine MM would drift too far off tempo, but it would give them the freedom to improvise a bit and feel out what tempos work best live.
Only King could mis-spell a LETTER.
Yep. I think the only party in the MP/DT situation that hasn't moved on is DTF.

Offline Setlist Scotty

  • Posts: 4474
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2016, 10:58:30 AM »
I would love for DT to go back to NOT using click tracks for their next tour (after all of the Astonishing shows).
So would I. I can't imagine MM would drift too far off tempo, but it would give them the freedom to improvise a bit and feel out what tempos work best live.
I doubt it will ever happen, but add me to that list too! Not only is playing to a click track restrictive, I understand it's an extra challenge for MM. And it takes away from the songs coming to life, IMO. So often I hear songs live (both DT and other bands) where the tempo is a little faster and it seems to heighten the excitement of the song/performance. I'd rather them force their video guy to earn his keep more, rather than having MM be a slave so that the video lines up correctly.

Even Neil Peart rarely used a click track live. Here's what he said in a recent DRUM! magazine article:
Quote
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.
I wish the same thing were true of MM-era DT - I definitely wish JP would apply his mindset of WWRD in this case!
As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #25 on: March 01, 2016, 11:12:30 AM »
I can see both sides, and neither approach really bothers me.  That's just one of many creative decisions that I don't feel it is any of my business to offer my two cents on.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline mikeyd23

  • Posts: 5479
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #26 on: March 01, 2016, 12:31:01 PM »
I can see both sides, and neither approach really bothers me.  That's just one of many creative decisions that I don't feel it is any of my business to offer my two cents on.

Agreed, there are definitely pros and cons to each approach, regardless of what DT has done/is doing now, the trend certainly is that more bands are starting to play to click live for better or worse.

Offline El Barto

  • Rascal Atheistic Pig
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 30572
  • Bad Craziness
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #27 on: March 01, 2016, 04:01:47 PM »
I've got two pro-shot vids of Roger Water's DSotM tour and they both contain SB audio, which includes the click. It's interesting to hear all of the information and cues in there. All of those guys have Roger in their ear telling them who starts when and what the count is. "Snowy, come in in 1 2 1 2 3, now play 3 more." Fascinating, really. Also annoying as shit if you're not having to play it. We all know that material well that a constant high hat clanging away is borderline infuriating. Ruins the videos for me.

As for DT, there's no mixed feelings about it at all for me. I've always thought the switch to a click was a huge loss. I'm actually surprised others are now chiming in about it. I don't recall having many supporters when this came up in the past.
Argument, the presentation of reasonable views, never makes headway against conviction, and conviction takes no part in argument because it knows.
E.F. Benson

Offline TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74108
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #28 on: March 01, 2016, 04:15:04 PM »
I've got two pro-shot vids of Roger Water's DSotM tour and they both contain SB audio, which includes the click. It's interesting to hear all of the information and cues in there. All of those guys have Roger in their ear telling them who starts when and what the count is. "Snowy, come in in 1 2 1 2 3, now play 3 more." Fascinating, really. Also annoying as shit if you're not having to play it. We all know that material well that a constant high hat clanging away is borderline infuriating. Ruins the videos for me.

That's be cool to hear.
There's a DT boot (I forget which one) where you can hear MP's cowbell. It's a cool behind the scenes type thing.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline nattmorker

  • Posts: 490
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #29 on: March 01, 2016, 05:55:27 PM »
I've got two pro-shot vids of Roger Water's DSotM tour and they both contain SB audio, which includes the click. It's interesting to hear all of the information and cues in there. All of those guys have Roger in their ear telling them who starts when and what the count is. "Snowy, come in in 1 2 1 2 3, now play 3 more." Fascinating, really. Also annoying as shit if you're not having to play it. We all know that material well that a constant high hat clanging away is borderline infuriating. Ruins the videos for me.

That's be cool to hear.
There's a DT boot (I forget which one) where you can hear MP's cowbell. It's a cool behind the scenes type thing.

Both things sound awesome to hear! I've always thought it would be intersting to hear what the guys hear in their monitors.

Offline TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74108
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #30 on: March 01, 2016, 06:10:39 PM »
I think it's the Cleveland '07 show.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline rumborak

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 26664
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #31 on: March 04, 2016, 09:16:58 AM »
I would love for DT to go back to NOT using click tracks for their next tour (after all of the Astonishing shows).

So would I. I can't imagine MM would drift too far off tempo, but it would give them the freedom to improvise a bit and feel out what tempos work best live.

I really doubt they would go back. I get the impression MM prides himself in being to able to play so well to click, and the other guys are probably happy that they can play the music to album pace. In the MP days, JP struggled occasionally with solos because they were playing it faster than on the album.
At the same time, it feels sluggish in places because of that. It's the exact adrenaline rush of the band that gets suppressed that way.
"I liked when Myung looked like a women's figure skating champion."

Offline Chino

  • Be excellent to each other.
  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 25282
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #32 on: March 04, 2016, 09:21:44 AM »
I would love for DT to go back to NOT using click tracks for their next tour (after all of the Astonishing shows).

So would I. I can't imagine MM would drift too far off tempo, but it would give them the freedom to improvise a bit and feel out what tempos work best live.

I really doubt they would go back. I get the impression MM prides himself in being to able to play so well to click, and the other guys are probably happy that they can play the music to album pace. In the MP days, JP struggled occasionally with solos because they were playing it faster than on the album.
At the same time, it feels sluggish in places because of that. It's the exact adrenaline rush of the band that gets suppressed that way.

I see the arguments on both sides and will be happy either way. That being said, Stream of Consciousness is significantly better sped up when played live.

Offline rumborak

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 26664
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #33 on: March 04, 2016, 09:33:03 AM »
Overall I would personally love to see them to dial back the "production" for the next album, both in studio and live. There's been a bit of a arms race going on, with the backing tracks and click, JR's ever-expanding list of toys, James' vocal effects and double vocals, JM's Taurus pedal board... I'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice if they went a bit back towards a simpler setup.
"I liked when Myung looked like a women's figure skating champion."

Offline Chino

  • Be excellent to each other.
  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 25282
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Astonishing live - How do they play in sync with the "tapes"?
« Reply #34 on: March 04, 2016, 09:39:16 AM »
Overall I would personally love to see them to dial back the "production" for the next album, both in studio and live. There's been a bit of a arms race going on, with the backing tracks and click, JR's ever-expanding list of toys, James' vocal effects and double vocals, JM's Taurus pedal board... I'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice if they went a bit back towards a simpler setup.

It's too bad there wasn't smart software out there that could store any backing stuff as triggers, and then in real time determine when to play them based on whatever speed the band was currently playing at. I'm sure it's possible, but it'd be a hell of an effort for just a concert/tour.