seeing mm play the drums live,what are your opinions?

[peruvianskynewhampshire]

sorry if this has been posted before but now that there has been videos of the band live,what does everyone think of his performance? me personally,I think he has done a phenomenal job and have noticed the rest of the band is interacting with him more that with mp. maybe its me but they seem rejuvinated,when i watched jp play his guitar and the rest of the band they just seem so into it and goes over to mm alot.maybe thats because its still new for mm and they are feeding off each other but i feel great knowing it looks like they made the right decision for drummer

[Obfuscation]

He fits like a glove up in stage with them and just sounds awesome as well.

[tri.ad]

He fits like a glove up in stage with them and just sounds awesome as well.

Exactly this. Plus, the band seems to sound tighter than ever. He really brings an immense portion of groove to the music and their live performances.

[Addy]

Watching vids from last two shows - I really like that MM started to play different fills and stuff here and there. And those fills are killer !

[gmillerdrake]

He fits like a glove up in stage with them and just sounds awesome as well.

Exactly this. Plus, the band seems to sound tighter than ever. He really brings an immense portion of groove to the music and their live performances.

Exactly. Being that he is 'new' I'm sure he is making a great effort to play every note as the song was recorded. Something that MP took liberties with. Let me clarify that. MP would play the songs AWESOME, but there were portions of some songs that he would skip a double bass section here or something small there. I remember seeing 'Blind Faith' live in Kansas City on the SC tour and although he played that song and it sounded great, he did deviate from the recorded drum parts quite a bit. He made his playing 'fit' the song, but MM at the moment is nailing every recorded part...and beginning to add his own flare to some songs. I am very impressed and happy with DT's choice, and they are only going to get better and tighter the more they play together.

[?]

After watching some live videos, I have to say he's the perfect fit for DT!

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I'm glad there are lots of new fills in DT land, instead of the "bag of tricks" 3 Portnoy trademark fills.

[GavinMangini89]

The first couple days that I knew they were touring I knew that I had to check out these videos for myself. Once I sifted through all of the ones with bad audio and finally found a decent set HOLY MOTHER!!! This guy is as talented and professional as they come. I've been a big fan of MM for years now and I was pretty familiar with his catalog. As soon as I heard that MM was one of the potential candidates, I was glued to the tube anxiously waiting for each installment.  For me, objectively, it was either going to me Virgil, Marco, or Mike (although I was secretly rooting for Mike the whole time  ). Being a formally trained drummer myself, I know what kind of crazy stamina and dexterity you have to have if you are going to play an entire set of DT material and nail every note, but MM takes it beyond that. He makes playing ambidextrous look like NOTHING...that takes some serious rewiring of the brain!!! DT made the right choice. I can't help but be anything but blown away by this guy. I loved Portnoy, but this new installment of DT proves to be more and more promising. I honestly think we're in for another landmark album in the vein of I&W or SFaM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2t8ANEBMUk&feature=related

Also, this is my first post. Lovely to meet you all.

[Metabog]

I'm 100% sold on MM with DT now.

Long live the new Dream Theater.

[El Barto]

Actually, what I've noticed is that his kit sounds a lot better than the various Portnoy kits.  Particularly when he had acrylic shells,  there wasn't much definition among MP's toms.  MM seems to be getting much better tone.  He also doesn't seem to have to play quite as hard. 

The other thing I've noticed is that for somebody who claimed to never be much into octobans,  he sure seems to be digging the hell out of them now. 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Mangini's toms sound amazing. It's amazing to hear every piece of that enormous kit so clearly.

[ResultsMayVary]

Mangini's toms sound amazing. It's amazing to hear every piece of that enormous kit so clearly.

Especially the octobans! His octobans sound lightyears ahead of the ones MP used.

[ReaPsTA]

Scattered thoughts that kinda sorta represent an opinion:

- Overall, I like it quite a bit.  I don't know if I like it more or less, but I do like it.

- Mangini's definitely not quite as exuberant/balls out a player as MP, which is slightly disappointing.  On the Score version of UAGM, there's the improvised drum solo thing after the second chorus and before the guitar solo that I really like.  That's the kind of thing that I'm not sure MM would really do.

- On the other hand, Mangini's less aggressive with fills in the flow of the music, which is something about MP's playing that I think was starting to get out of control.

- In general, I think Mangini has an excellent sense of flow.  Some of his little alterations play with the groove of the music in a very cool way.  And even when he does MP's stuff it feels a little less like it's calling attention to itself.

- On the other hand, I do kinda feel like Mangini's a little less... organic?  Some of this I don't mind.  What some people call organic I call sloppiness.  But sometimes to me it feels so precise that the feel isn't there.

- But then there are other times when Mangini's style brings moments to a level they never got to with MP.  The acoustic section of TCOT is a good example.  His sense of dynamics there really makes the moment work in a way it never did before.

- My personal jury's out on his drum tone.  There's aspects of it I like, but it feels a little more washed out tonally than MP's stuff at times.  One thing I do want to single out as a positive, the way he does the sections with MP's Stack cymbals sounds really amazing.  I almost like the sound better, which says a lot because the Max Staxx were one of my favorite parts of MP's drum sound.

- I hate to sound lame here, but this is actually the biggest thing I notice about Mangini's drumming and I don't like it - his HiHat always sounds open, even when I know it isn't.  And for some reason he doesn't play the super tight HiHat grooves the way Portnoy did.  For example, from 9:38 - 10:17 in TCOT MP does a lot of 16th and 32nd note rolls that Mangini just... doesn't... do.  The verses in These Walls also sound just wrong to me for this reason.

- So I guess overall I hate to call my opinion mixed.  Because I enjoy hearing the songs with MM and think that in spite of the oddities and complaints that he does a great job.  Like, he clearly "gets" the music and why it works on a number of levels.  And I think he's done a very, very nice job of riding the line between respecting the material and adding his touches.  I don't personally like all the choices he's making, but they feel like an attempt to elevate the music rather than expressions of ego.  Like, during the acoustic section of Learning to Live he alternates between the higher and lower toms on his kit.  That's just cool!  Also, like a lot of other people have said, the band feels a lot tighter with him at the drums.  And, I'll add that purely from the videos his stage presence seems to be 100% there.  The kit is fun to look at and he brings a lot of energy to his performances.  Between his live shows and his interviews, I'd say that just in terms of amount of personality, the change from MP to MM hasn't been nearly as drastic as I think most people expected.  While he's doing the gradually make yourself at home as a new member thing, he's making his mark and I enjoy watching it.

[dongringo]

He's playing someone else's material and I think he's finding a good balance and will only get better. I'd be hesitant to judge his kit's tones just by the youtube clips. All in all, he's doing a phenomenal job for only a few gigs in. Looking forward to hearing his stuff on the new songs more than anything.

[metropofreak]

- I hate to sound lame here, but this is actually the biggest thing I notice about Mangini's drumming and I don't like it - his HiHat always sounds open, even when I know it isn't.  And for some reason he doesn't play the super tight HiHat grooves the way Portnoy did.  For example, from 9:38 - 10:17 in TCOT MP does a lot of 16th and 32nd note rolls that Mangini just... doesn't... do.  The verses in These Walls also sound just wrong to me for this reason.

Thats the only thing I dont like, especially for these walls. Apart from that, I have never seen a guy so tight at playing his instrument. And I love what he does OtBoA, its just insane. I especially love his sense of melody on the drums and how it fits in with the song; thats really special.

One of the most musical drummers IMO.

[John94]

I have a question about "Genie" (as the guys call him) drum kit.

Is it electric? I know it might sound stupid but I'm not in the know with drum sets but I got the impression that it is electric and controlled by the red box thing and pedals.

Anyone correct or confirm me?

[Adami]

I have a question about "Genie" (as the guys call him) drum kit.

Is it electric? I know it might sound stupid but I'm not in the know with drum sets but I got the impression that it is electric and controlled by the red box thing and pedals.

Anyone correct or confirm me?

It's an acoustic kit with a few electronic pads. There's 2 pads near him, and 4 hanging above him.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

I have a question about "Genie" (as the guys call him) drum kit.

Is it electric? I know it might sound stupid but I'm not in the know with drum sets but I got the impression that it is electric and controlled by the red box thing and pedals.

Anyone correct or confirm me?

No, only some of his drums are electronic, and he uses those as cowbells.

[JayOctavarium]

I have a question about "Genie" (as the guys call him) drum kit.

Is it electric? I know it might sound stupid but I'm not in the know with drum sets but I got the impression that it is electric and controlled by the red box thing and pedals.

Anyone correct or confirm me?

No, only some of his drums are electronic, and he uses those as cowbells.

and timpini (sp?) and i think the windchimes

[MasterLomaxus]

Actually, what I've noticed is that his kit sounds a lot better than the various Portnoy kits.  Particularly when he had acrylic shells,  there wasn't much definition among MP's toms.  MM seems to be getting much better tone.  He also doesn't seem to have to play quite as hard. 

The other thing I've noticed is that for somebody who claimed to never be much into octobans,  he sure seems to be digging the hell out of them now. 

I agree, especially when it comes to the part about octobans.  Not that I mind, as I enjoy their sound.