Author Topic: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up  (Read 2429 times)

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Offline Victimlas

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2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« on: November 13, 2016, 06:21:31 PM »
Hi everyone!

So excited for DT to be back in FL! Second time seeing The Astonishing Live and nice to not have to travel out of the State for this one.

DT USA is hosting a meet-up at the Hard Rock Cafe which is attached to the venue. Parking for the show is at the Universal Orlando parking lots (long walk) so might as well make it a nice evening out. We'll be there from 5:00PM to 7:00PM.  Doors open at 7pm, Show is at 8pm.

Here's the Facebook event page, please rsvp so we know how many people to expect and please share :)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1204064619680242/

Hope to see you there!

Victoria



Online faizoff

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2016, 07:59:26 PM »
I was debating on attending both the Orlando show along with the Clearwater one, but couldn't do it in the end, can't wait to see them tomorrow!
"Oh how am I doing?...eating so much pussy, I'm shitting clits, son!" - Jonah Ryan

Offline the keyboard wizard

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2016, 02:22:16 AM »
Hi guys, we need a review asap!!!
Admin and manager of the French Chapter of Dream Theater World: Your Majesty (one of the first DT fan clubs)

Offline sylvan

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2016, 06:57:58 AM »
I'm not great for reviews, but here's just a little. The show was amazing! The first third of the album is my favorite and I was emotionally in tears taking it in. James sounded pretty damn good, and the rest of the guys were perfect as usual. I actually enjoyed knowing exactly what was coming, as opposed to a regular set where the next song is a surprise. The place was full and the energy was great! When the Astonishing ended, it was no more than 30 secs before Myung was back out for the opening of As I Am, which totally changed the vibe of the show. It quickly turned into a straight up hard rock show, people going crazy down on the floor, and even the older lady next to me on the balcony got really excited. The Spirit Carries On was maybe the highlight of my night. WOW, just WOW! It touched me in a very REAL way.

Offline the keyboard wizard

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2016, 09:48:23 AM »
Thanks a lot, I was referring to the meet-up in fact ;)
Admin and manager of the French Chapter of Dream Theater World: Your Majesty (one of the first DT fan clubs)

Offline Victimlas

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2016, 01:11:53 PM »
The show and meetup were fantastic! We are going back home today and I'll post a review :) So hard to type from the phone.

Online faizoff

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2016, 01:44:58 PM »
I'm sure it was an awesome show and meetup, I wish I could've been there to see DT again but something else came up.
"Oh how am I doing?...eating so much pussy, I'm shitting clits, son!" - Jonah Ryan

Offline Victimlas

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2016, 06:31:55 PM »
Just got home last night after an amazing weekend :)

We had our preshow meetup at Uno Pizzeria in International Drive from 5pm-6:30pm. We ended up changing the location of the meetup because parking at the Hard Rock would have cost everyone $20 at 5pm, while it was free after 6pm.

We had such a nice and enthusiastic group of DT fans! Genuinely nice people, and so happy to be there! We had some people that had already seen The Astonishing, but for most, it was their first time seeing the show. Aside from my kids, we also had two people coming for their first DT show ever, and one person that traveled 22 hours from Myanmar! Also, DT Radio came to show their support, if you haven't checked out their podcasts you are missing out. 

Uno was very accommodating to our group and set us up in a private area. We enjoyed some great food and conversation and everyone that came to the meetup received a DT promo poster. One of the topics of conversation was the JP Meet and Greet at Bass Central which some had attended earlier in the afternoon. We also discussed the I&W tour and how we were also hoping it would come to the U.S.

We waited till the last half hour to hold the trivia contest. There had been some major traffic and accidents, so we had people that were unable to make it in time, but in total we had 17 DT fans in attendance. The trivia contest consisted of 6 questions from the Astonishing and 6 from Images & Words (in anticipation for the 25th anniversary tour). We had everyone pair up in teams of 2, and that made it more fun since they had to work together to figure out the answers. There were some pretty easy questions, and some very challenging ones that left everyone stumped. In the end, we had our winners, and believe it or not, it was the same DT fans that won the Pre-show trivia contest in Baltimore, a father and son team, and yes, they are that good!! As they were going to be presented with their prize, they surprised us all by giving away their prize, which we automatically gave to the team that came in 2nd place by just one question. They had already experienced the aftershow last time, and having met the band, they wanted someone else to have that experience! It was such a nice and incredibly generous gesture :) So the Trivia contest winners were Brian Norwood and Sean White, who were so excited to receive aftershow passes.

Fast forward to the show, this was our second time seeing The Astonishing Live. We first saw it in Baltimore back in April, and for this show we brought our kids. It was their first metal show and they had an amazing time! The show was super tight, JLB was shining despite what seemed like some issues with his monitors, he actually sounded even better than the first show (which is hard to believe!). His soft Fsythe parts were amazing! MM was in a really great mood, really playful and interactive with the crowd. JP was his usual self, nothing but perfection, he came right in front of us to do the solo in a New Beginning, and it was face melting :o ;D  JR and JMX were also perfect as usual. I think the revised setlist worked out amazing and made the show tighter, but I did miss Road to Revolution and Heaven's Cove. The encore was out of this world! The crowd went wild!! The band was just so alive, and The Spirit Carries On was so incredibly touching! Hard to put into words but it was just played with so much emotion. The first couple of rows were all dancing along hand in hand. Pull Me Under was just fantastic! First time I get to see it live, and well, best way to cap an already amazing show! Sound was simply fantastic at the Hard Rock Live. Gotta say so far best venue for sound in Orlando. Security was strict about cameras but VERY nice and friendly about it. They had no issues with pics during the curtain call.

After the show, the DT USA group gathered to the right of the stage waiting to be picked up for the aftershow meet and greet. As luck would have it, there was an additional and unexpected aftershow pass for DT USA, and we took the son from the original winning team with us.  It was a big aftershow group! As usual, JMX was the first one to come in and he was very friendly. He was a little surprised by the size of the group  but he went around greeting and striking up conversations with everyone in the room. JR was next and he looked visibly tired today. He talked to us for a little bit about the meetup and was happy to take a pic with the winners. Mike Mangini came in next, and as usual he was a ball of energy- super friendly and happy to take pictures with everyone. Next in was JLB who was energetic and enthusiastic. He posed with our banner, which he said he really liked, and was happy to hear about the meetup. Our trivia winner, Sean, asked him if he remembered serveral shows from more than 15 years ago and he totally did! Down to the setlist. It was actually quite impressive. I told him that we really enjoyed The Theater Equation Blu ray, and he said that he wwould be in the new Ayreon CD but unfortunately wouldn't be able to make the special Ayreon shows in the Netherlands. After quite some time there was still no sign of JP, though his tech Matty made his way around the room during this time, and several people took pictures with him as well. Finally after another 15 minutes, JP entered the room looking very tired! We were right by the door at this point so we were the first talk to him and he was so personable and friendly as usual. He was very interested in hearing how the meetup had gone and he wanted to look at our banner. He took pics and signed for everyone. He then asked us what we thought about the I&W tour coming to the U.S., and we were all "uh YEAH!!". He said they had originally intended to do the one European 25th Anniversary tour but were now looking into bringing it to the U.S. too *crossing fingers*

It was an unforgettable night for all of us. We got to meet some really cool people at the meetup, had an amazing show, and a really awesome aftershow experience. We hope to keep expanding DT USA and bringing more events to more cities on the next tour. Thank you to everyone that came to the Orlando meetup :)
« Last Edit: December 05, 2016, 06:38:46 PM by Victimlas »

Offline bwm09d

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2016, 08:48:04 PM »
The above post definitely covered the concert well, and I can confirm, it was amazing!

This is the third Astonishing show I went to. I flew up to NYC for the RCMH show by myself, and got the meet and greet package. Honestly, I didn't have a great time. The band seemed preoccupied and in a bad mood for some reason. And the show performance itself was pretty underwhelming and uninspired. I can't put a finger on why it had such a down feeling, but I guess it happens.

I went to the Jacksonville show last week, and brought a buddy of mine who has never seen them live. To quote him, "One of the best concerts I've ever been to." The crowd was very into it, but unfortunately it was a small sized crowd that night. I think a lot of it had to do with announcing the Orlando show weeks before the Jacksonville show, so a lot of people in Florida already planned on only going to Orlando.

For the Orlando show, I was lucky enough to snag the first row, front two seats, center stage for my brother and I, who had never seen them live. It was insanely cool being that close. I felt like I was on stage with the band. The band was extremely tight, and the crowd was really into the show. I believe it was sold out. The band seemed genuinely happy and into the performance, especially for the encore. MM was really funny throughout the show, and all in all it was my favorite DT concert I've been to. Hoping they come back to the states for I&W, I'd fly anywhere to go see it!

Offline bluehaze

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2016, 03:30:39 PM »
I am very happy that they finally made it to Florida even if they didn't make it to Miami...hopefully, they will do their I&W show down here if they bring the show to the states. Unfortunately, I was not able to make the trip to any of the shows in Florida because I was overwhelmed with the sale of my townhouse and the purchase of my new home. We tried to do a simultaneous closing on Dec 2 but it stretched out until yesterday Dec 5 so there was no way for me to drive north from Miami to see any of the shows. This is the first time I've missed them in Florida since I started seeing them in '97. I hope they aren't strangers to Florida on future tours and I really hope they continue to do Evening with... shows down here. Cheers

Offline TheRich13

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Re: 2016-12-02 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL Roll Call/Meet Up
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2016, 07:39:27 AM »
Didn't go to meet up but show was phenomenal...Hard Rock is a beautiful place to see a show, sound was crystal clear and the mix was great...I was 3rd row on the floor center right in between JM and JLB...James sounded incredible, and JP ..what can I say ? You're just in awe watching this man play ...Effortlessly hitting every note perfect all night !! He truly makes that guitar sing !!
Mangini much more animated than the last time I saw him and was having a great time back there...
Best moment for me was when james looked right at me... I had my arms raised and then gave him a thumbs up..he smiled and gave me a thumbs up back !!! My buddy said i had my fanboy moment and a few people around me were all patting me on the back and giving hi fives saying ..
That was for me !!
Our New World was so awesome !! The whole place was singing...Same for the 3 encores !!! Made my way up to the stage for the bow and got a high five from JM, JR, and JP...
Truly an amazing performance ! Seeing it performed live really brought the album to life !!
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