Should I see DT Live even though I've heard that Labrie is doing badly?

[Polis]

I want to take my non-proggy friends to go see DT, but from videos online Labrie seems to be doing painfully bad. Is it worth the 200+ dollars and trip to NYC?

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I want to take my non-proggy friends to go see DT, but from videos online Labrie seems to be doing painfully bad. Is it worth the 200+ dollars and trip to NYC?

Different things are worth different amounts to different folks.

To me... it is well worth it. How many times will we get to see something like this performed in its entirety?

I'm going to the Baltimore show... and even if James isn't top notch, I'll still have a blast watching my favorite band do their thing.

[MirrorMask]

Yes, 'cause LaBrie is not doing painfully bad at all. I saw him perform sick (the day after the show got cancelled) and still at least half of the songs were done in studio quality.

And you still get the show, the other band members playing, and a unique experience never seen before or again after. If you're a fan of the band and you like the new album just GO!!!!

[MirrorMask]

To me... it is well worth it. How many times will we get to see something like this performed in its entirety?

Never again.

I mean, they're touring now all over the world and they'll do it again next year, but this will be it. SFAM was resurrected in some special occasions, to let countries that were never visited in 2000 have a chance as well for it, but you can't just wake up one day and go "Well, we'll perform a 130 minutes rock opera with the huge production and light show because we didn't play here 5 years ago".

So this is something to not be missed at all!

[TAC]

James has good nights and bad. That should never matter as far as going to see DT.
They'll probably never play this great album in its entirety again. It's definitely worth going if you can.

[Madman Shepherd]

You should always see Dream Theater any chance you get.  I don't even like the new album and I'm going. 

[erwinrafael]

I want to take my non-proggy friends to go see DT, but from videos online Labrie seems to be doing painfully bad. Is it worth the 200+ dollars and trip to NYC?

What shows did you watch online? He is pretty good in Barcelona bootleg that I watched. The bad vids I watched were really jist the early shows and the shows when he had the flu.

[BlobVanDam]

Even if JLB is not at 100%, you probably won't notice much when you're there live in the moment. People don't notice mistakes as much in person.
I say if you like the album, go see the show.

[red barchetta]

I think that he still has a pretty good voice for his age. People were already complaining about his voice in the past. He doesn't always hit the notes he wants or the ones we think he should but I think he does a great job. He is not the missing link of that tour.

[Mladen]

I can see LaBrie's condition being relevant, because he's probably the star of the new album as far as I'm concerned. So if the star of the album isn't able to perform it even half as good as it is recorded, I can see it throwing some people off. I'd still go, though, I've seen LaBrie kicking it out of the park enough times.

[Jinx]

To me, especially in the early shows, it seemed like he was just shouting some of it. It's like he's trying to be louder than the other instruments. Whether they are loud in his ear (AFAIK James hears a mix of the other instruments in his earpiece) and so he's judging the volume of his voice against that or what I don't know, I was just thinking "Just sing it!". We all know own he can!!

[Lynxo]

I hope to be a downer but here goes:

I've seen DT on every tour since the Octavarium tour and this one was, by far, the worst I've ever heard him sing. It was not only that he couldn't reach the high notes without doing this awful scream, he was off pitch even on what I perceive as the easy bits. I was actually quite disappointed.

That being said, that was early in the tour (it was in Stockholm 1th march) so maybe he's improved. But I gotta say, he would have to improve quite a lot to be acceptable, if you ask me. So I guess the only correct answer is: go watch some recent bootleg footage and decide for yourself!

[TheOutlawXanadu]

When I saw Rush last year, I had the time of my life. I later watched a bootleg and realized Geddy was missing just about every note, but I didn't notice in the moment because everything else was so top notch. I'd imagine the DT experience will be the same unless JLB dominates the mix.

[Enigmachine]

I enjoyed the hell out of the live show on the 18th of Feb. Didn't notice any massive issues.

[pantsofeternity]

When I saw Rush last year, I had the time of my life. I later watched a bootleg and realized Geddy was missing just about every note, but I didn't notice in the moment because everything else was so top notch. I'd imagine the DT experience will be the same unless JLB dominates the mix.

^^^^^^^
I had this EXACT experience.  Like, of course Ged can't sing "Lakeside Park" anymore... but when I was there in the crowd, he MADE ME BELIEVE.

[hefdaddy42]

Why are taking non-prog fans to a DT show?  What makes you think they will like it?

[Dublagent66]

Good question.  Especially if they are playing TA in its entirety.  I've been a DT fan for 25 years and even I don't want to see that.   

[rumborak]

I hope to be a downer but here goes:

I've seen DT on every tour since the Octavarium tour and this one was, by far, the worst I've ever heard him sing. It was not only that he couldn't reach the high notes without doing this awful scream, he was off pitch even on what I perceive as the easy bits. I was actually quite disappointed.

James has had pitch problems as long as I remember really. They fix it for official releases, but you can't be too discerning during the live performance.

[KevShmev]

When I saw Rush last year, I had the time of my life. I later watched a bootleg and realized Geddy was missing just about every note, but I didn't notice in the moment because everything else was so top notch. I'd imagine the DT experience will be the same unless JLB dominates the mix.

This.  I have seen DT 7 times, and I have no idea at which shows he did the best...or the worst.  Heck, I have had a hard time with the last few Rush live DVDs because of Geddy's vocals, but at the shows themselves, they were fine.  Unless you are someone who is intent on standing there intently listening to make sure every note is played and sung right, the euphoria and fun of a concert makes it easy to overlook, or not even notice, off notes and whatnot.

[red barchetta]

Good question.  Especially if they are playing TA in its entirety.  I've been a DT fan for 25 years and even I don't want to see that.   

Amen

[JLB-Fan2002]

I want to take my non-proggy friends to go see DT, but from videos online Labrie seems to be doing painfully bad. Is it worth the 200+ dollars and trip to NYC?

James LaBrie is NOT doing badly. I saw Dream Theater recently at the final show of the european leg (on March 24 in Luxembourg). It was my 16th DT concert, and James did an absolutely fantastic job. On last year's summer tour, he had some really bad shows (due to illness), but not this time. He nailed every single note. So buy a ticket, go to the show, you won't regret it.

[AtmosphericV]

I saw him in Oslo at the second show there, and LaBrie was performing well! I am not a LaBrie fan boy so take it from me. Some of the upper parts in the ending stages of the show he was struggling a bit, but other than that he was on pitch and powerful.
It's so different to hear it live than hearing it through a camera recording too. It sounds just better live anyway. You should go, it'll be worth it.

[CB]

Have your non-proggy friends listened to the album? If they have and they like it, why don't they decide if they want to see the show? With an extremely tight tour schedule like that of DT you never know if the singers voice is in perfect condition at a particular show. Judging by the shows of TA I've seen and the bootlegs I listened to JLB isn't doing "painfully bad" at all. A few bits are different from the CD (at every show), to preserve the voice I guess, that didn't bother me at all. In the third-in-a-row show in Milano he was sick, his voice was overstrained but, from what I heard, he still did well. In many of the shows he was perfect.
 
It depends on what your priorities in a live show are. I want it as natural and raw as possible, I never expect a live performance to sound like the album. (If JLB should ever start to use autotune on stage I'd stop attending DT concerts at all...)

[pantsofeternity]

Yeah honestly I think the question has less to do with your or anyone's perception of how JLB is doing and mainly concerns whether you and your friends would have a good time!  If you wanna see the concert, go see it!  Have your friends check out the album... if they know what they're getting into and are down, great.  If that's not their bag, fine. 

[MirrorMask]

In the third-in-a-row show in Milano he was sick, his voice was overstrained but, from what I heard, he still did well. In many of the shows he was perfect.

I was there too, I can confirm that at least half the songs were absolutely great! In Three Days he was even more theatrical and passionate than the studio version.

[El JoNNo]

Pretty damn close to the album

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

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Pretty damn close to the album

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

Yeah that's a nice clip, but I think that JLB's worst problem is inconsistency (and I think that this tour has been one of his worst from their post-Portnoy tours). He can sound great one night and totally off the next one, so that's kind of what you risk getting.

I agree with what has been said on the thread, tho. Lots of these 'mistakes' we can easily spot in bootlegs and fan recordings are not so easily heard live, so you shouldn't stop going to see the show just because you have some predisposition that JLB is not gonna sound good. The concert itself seems like an amazing experience and you should totally go and watch it if you have the chance to do so.

[El JoNNo]

Pretty damn close to the album

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

Yeah that's a nice clip, but I think that JLB's worst problem is inconsistency (and I think that this tour has been one of his worst from their post-Portnoy tours). He can sound great one night and totally off the next one, so that's kind of what you risk getting.

I agree with what has been said on the thread, tho. Lots of these 'mistakes' we can easily spot in bootlegs and fan recordings are not so easily heard live, so you shouldn't stop going to see the show just because you have some predisposition that JLB is not gonna sound good. The concert itself seems like an amazing experience and you should totally go and watch it if you have the chance to do so.

Meh, he's been getting worse live and in studio for a number of albums now. He's letting his bad habits take over.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

He still sounds awesome in studio, so I don't agree with that entirely.

[Sycsa]

Meh, he's been getting worse live and in studio for a number of albums now. He's letting his bad habits take over.

Studio? No way. I still remember how my face melted off the first time I heard the "Mothers for their children" section in Illumination Theory. I was like "wtf, he can still do this?". He also pulled off one of his most versatile performances on the latest album. Also, what bad habits? You make it sound like he's at fault here, I'm sure he's working his ass off to perform as best he can.

[Mladen]

I'm sure he's working his ass off to perform as best he can.

This. I think he absolutely proved himself on the last three albums, especially on The Astonishing.

[JLB-Fan2002]

Yeah that's a nice clip, but I think that JLB's worst problem is inconsistency (and I think that this tour has been one of his worst from their post-Portnoy tours). He can sound great one night and totally off the next one, so that's kind of what you risk getting.

James was fantastic at the final shows of the european leg. Some of my friends, who went to the shows in Zürich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt praised him a lot. And so did the italian fans who attended the first two shows in Milano. It's true that he suffered a bit due to illness at the third show in Milano, and due to illness Dream Theater canceled the show in Trieste.

I've seen Dream Theater 20 times now, to be exact three or four times on each tour since 2002. I can very honestly say that James' performance at the final show of the european leg (March 24 in Luxembourg) was easily one of the best I've ever seen of him. Except for last year's concert in Bonn (Germany), when James had the flu, he did a fantastic job on every show.

I am sick and tired of so called Dream Theater fans blaming James' performances!!!

[Infinite Cactus]

I mean, if they're bad James performances, who would they blame?

[Dream Team]

I mean, if they're bad James performances, who would they blame?

Mike Portnoy.

[Peter Mc]

I'd say go for it, the bootlegs may be an accurate representation of what happens at the show but it sounds much much better in person.  He wasn't perfect when I saw the opening night in London, not as perfect as the DT12 tour when he was incredible, but this is a demanding album for him and he was still great.  If they come back to the UK (hopefully Manchester this time) then I would not hesitate in going to see it again.