Would you recommend meet and greet?

[red barchetta]

I understand that a meet n' greet is a source or revenue for the band, and a way to support them, but I attended some free ones and I would never payed to be coached into how I have to behave, and I think the fact that I am paying to be there would make me feel very awkward too.

I've never met DT except James in 2005, when he was touring solo; he was super nice and kind, listened to me, took a photo with me, and signed both DT and his solo albums. It would feel weird to pay to get less than that.

Another non DT example, the first time I saw Halestorm I waited for them at the end for them and met them all, Lzzy Hale included. She was super nice and she even allowed me to kiss her on the cheek, and later posed for a photo in which she was kissing me, with her lips actually on my cheek as well. I believe they do meet n' greets as well, people pay to stand in a line and get told what to do and what not do while I almost go first base with her for free? I'll always be a romantic when it comes to band meetings, waiting around at the end it's the only way. And if I can't catch them or they're not in the mood, fine, I got the concert anyway.

"Making it to the first base", I like that american expression. Nothing in french like that.

[Bill]

Hi, OP here. Really interesting. My overall feeling is that they should limit numbers - maybe 50 tops. Don't think that's likely and my feeling is that Manchester could be mobbed with meet and greeters. Don't like the thought of being herded about so I'm probably going to pass. The main thing is having a great seat for the show.

But I might change my mind ha ha! Will definitely tell all if I do go for M&G.

Thanks all.

[Dublagent66]

I did a M&G in December 2011 during the ADTOE tour.  It was before the show.  Picture, autographs, short conversations while signing, no hand shakes.  You basically stand in line and walk through like an exhibit.  Don't take too long cause there's people behind you waiting their turn.

[Madman Shepherd]

I did a M&G in December 2011 during the ADTOE tour.  It was before the show.  Picture, autographs, short conversations while signing, no hand shakes.  You basically stand in line and walk through like an exhibit.  Don't take too long cause there's people behind you waiting their turn.

I was pretty self conscious about taking too much time but they really weren't rushing many people through.  you could talk to each one for an average of 30 seconds if you wanted. 

The no hand shaking rule was more of a guidelines than a rule.  I saw a few people reach out to shake hands and the band gladly accepted.  On the flipside, the two people I most wanted to meet, James and John Myung, actually reached out their hand towards mine.  It was a small gesture that they didn't repeat with everyone.  Of course, I think it helped that I was gushing about how much I loved their lyrics and how much I want to see a James solo show (which was just canceled the previous year).

[jsbru]

I did it once, I'm glad I did it, but I probably wouldn't do it again unless it was at a smaller city/venue and I had more than 20 seconds to talk to each member.  It's just really awkward to try and make conversation in such a small amount of time.  The picture with the band alone was worth it though.  But now that I have that, if I paid for it again, I'd like to get a chance to talk to each member for a minute or two, which I guess can happen in smaller cities.

[El Barto]

I can certainly understand preferring not to shake hands in their situation, but if they actually refuse an extended hand that's grounds for a glove slap and pistols at dawn in my book. Glad to know they weren't uptight about it.

[Dave_Manchester]

To Bill (the OP) - I did the Meet and Greet on the DT12 tour in the same venue where you'll be seeing them. Assuming things there haven't changed much (and considering what a landmark tour this is), you can bank on there being many people there for the M&G. If you're a sociable person this is a good thing, because you'll all be waiting around for long periods of time while the band does soundcheck and things, so you can talk about the band with fellow fans. If, like me, you're not a sociable person, it's still interesting to hang back and just watch and earwig some of the more obsessive fans who will be there. I can say that for me personally, one of the most interesting parts of the whole experience was seeing what stuff some fans wanted the band to sign, some seriously obscure DT items.

First is the photo with the band, which is pretty self-explanatory. You all line up on one side, get the picture taken, and then wait on the other side for everyone to get through. It took about 20 minutes. Then the band sits at a row of tables and you all shuffle through getting stuff signed (2 items max) and you can have a quick chat with them. Understandably, there's not much time for that part of it because the band's time is short. I saw them on that tour a couple of weeks later in Russia and in Lithuania, where there were only 20 people and about 8 people respectively, so on those occasions it was a proper hang out, with Jordan especially very happy to take lots of pictures on people's phones and cameras. JP gave me a plectrum, and Labrie spoke to me about the Russian language for a while.

The band themselves, at the Manchester gig at least, were a mixed bag in my experience. Myung was the biggest surprise for me, he seemed genuinely appreciative of the fans, offered me his hand during the signing. Petrucci, Rudess and Labrie (especially Labrie) are also cool in that environment (Petrucci always shook the hand of anyone who extended theirs, though it was made clear at the beginning that fist bumps are prefered), and Mangini was a bit stressed out that night because of technical issues at the previous show (written about on here at the time), so he was actually a bit rude, but a couple of weeks later he was a different person. Just an off night for him, we all have them.

Is it worth it? It depends how big a fan of the band you are. I'm pretty rabid, so I didn't think twice about doing a bunch of them (primarily because at that time, the ticket and the M&G were part of the same package, so if you wanted the best seats, you had to buy the Platinum package. I mainly wanted front row seats opposite JP each night). The price is relative, for some it's a lot, for others it's nothing. I think I paid, at that time, 190 pounds for everything, but frankly it was worth it to me to get JP and JR to sign my copy of their Evening With CD (which JP momentarily didn't recognise when I handed it to him), and also to quickly tell them how much their music meant to me.

Finally, I don't know if she's still working for the band, but in 2014 there was a young woman who organised the whole thing, who walked the fans through how it all works and tried to get some 'excitement' going. She's absolutely superb at what she does, very helpful if you have any questions or problems. A shout out to her, if she's around.

[Madman Shepherd]

and Labrie spoke to me about the Russian language for a while.

What about specifically?

[Dave_Manchester]

and Labrie spoke to me about the Russian language for a while.

What about specifically?

Firstly he expressed surprise at how good my English was, so I told him I actually was English but lived in Russia. So (clearly just being polite, but still, it was good of him to at least feign interest) he asked me if it was a hard language to learn and what parts specifically were difficult. At that time the Winter Olympics in Sochi had just finished and he asked me how to say a few phrases in Russian about that (pertaining to Russia leading the medals table, I think he was considering attempting some kind of congratulations from the stage). Just simple things like that.

[Bill]

To Bill (the OP) - I did the Meet and Greet on the DT12 tour in the same venue where you'll be seeing them. Assuming things there haven't changed much (and considering what a landmark tour this is), you can bank on there being many people there for the M&G. If you're a sociable person this is a good thing, because you'll all be waiting around for long periods of time while the band does soundcheck and things, so you can talk about the band with fellow fans. If, like me, you're not a sociable person, it's still interesting to hang back and just watch and earwig some of the more obsessive fans who will be there. I can say that for me personally, one of the most interesting parts of the whole experience was seeing what stuff some fans wanted the band to sign, some seriously obscure DT items.

First is the photo with the band, which is pretty self-explanatory. You all line up on one side, get the picture taken, and then wait on the other side for everyone to get through. It took about 20 minutes. Then the band sits at a row of tables and you all shuffle through getting stuff signed (2 items max) and you can have a quick chat with them. Understandably, there's not much time for that part of it because the band's time is short. I saw them on that tour a couple of weeks later in Russia and in Lithuania, where there were only 20 people and about 8 people respectively, so on those occasions it was a proper hang out, with Jordan especially very happy to take lots of pictures on people's phones and cameras. JP gave me a plectrum, and Labrie spoke to me about the Russian language for a while.

The band themselves, at the Manchester gig at least, were a mixed bag in my experience. Myung was the biggest surprise for me, he seemed genuinely appreciative of the fans, offered me his hand during the signing. Petrucci, Rudess and Labrie (especially Labrie) are also cool in that environment (Petrucci always shook the hand of anyone who extended theirs, though it was made clear at the beginning that fist bumps are prefered), and Mangini was a bit stressed out that night because of technical issues at the previous show (written about on here at the time), so he was actually a bit rude, but a couple of weeks later he was a different person. Just an off night for him, we all have them.

Is it worth it? It depends how big a fan of the band you are. I'm pretty rabid, so I didn't think twice about doing a bunch of them (primarily because at that time, the ticket and the M&G were part of the same package, so if you wanted the best seats, you had to buy the Platinum package. I mainly wanted front row seats opposite JP each night). The price is relative, for some it's a lot, for others it's nothing. I think I paid, at that time, 190 pounds for everything, but frankly it was worth it to me to get JP and JR to sign my copy of their Evening With CD (which JP momentarily didn't recognise when I handed it to him), and also to quickly tell them how much their music meant to me.

Finally, I don't know if she's still working for the band, but in 2014 there was a young woman who organised the whole thing, who walked the fans through how it all works and tried to get some 'excitement' going. She's absolutely superb at what she does, very helpful if you have any questions or problems. A shout out to her, if she's around.

Thanks man, bloody interesting!