Portnoy, Sherinian, MacAlpine and Sheehan playing DT songs [SPOILERS]

[Orbert]

To be fair, I'm guessing that some of the specific keyboards that Derek asks for, and some of the specific make and model amps that any of them want, aren't readily available everywhere they play.  "Manila, Russia, Israel, Indonesia, etc" don't just have a Guitar Center down the street where you can go pick up whatever keyboard or amp you want.  Derek loves his Hammond B-3, for example.  It's not like every venue is going to have one, or be able to get one.  Or a Mellotron.

[nikatapi]

To be fair, I'm guessing that some of the specific keyboards that Derek asks for, and some of the specific make and model amps that any of them want, aren't readily available everywhere they play.  "Manila, Russia, Israel, Indonesia, etc" don't just have a Guitar Center down the street where you can go pick up whatever keyboard or amp you want.  Derek loves his Hammond B-3, for example.  It's not like every venue is going to have one, or be able to get one.  Or a Mellotron.

Well if the promoter is not able to meet these conditions they should tell the band. It seems like they promised that everything was going to be setup as asked, but they fucked up big time.

[Orbert]

There's no excuse for crappy cymbals, or techs that don't know what the hell they're doing.  I'll give you that.  It's just that when he mentioned keyboards and amps, and some of the places they've been playing, I couldn't help but wonder how hard it actually is to get that stuff.

I'm sure it's frustrating, and the promoter shouldn't say that can do it if they can't, but I'd bet that most of the time, a good honest effort is made to find everything they'll need, but sometimes someone will look at the list and just say "there's no way we can find one of these by next week" or whatever.

[Adami]

There's no excuse for crappy cymbals, or techs that don't know what the hell they're doing.  I'll give you that.  It's just that when he mentioned keyboards and amps, and some of the places they've been playing, I couldn't help but wonder how hard it actually is to get that stuff.

I'm sure it's frustrating, and the promoter shouldn't say that can do it if they can't, but I'd bet that most of the time, a good honest effort is made to find everything they'll need, but sometimes someone will look at the list and just say "there's no way we can find one of these by next week" or whatever.

They're not playing third world countries. Philippines, Israel, Russia, etc I'm sure have plenty of places to get what they need.

And if they can't get what they need, then they shouldn't have taken the gig (the venue people). Plus if they can get Zildjian cymbals, then they can get Sabian cymbals.

[The Letter M]

And if they can't get what they need, then they shouldn't have taken the gig (the venue people). Plus if they can get Zildjian cymbals, then they can get Sabian cymbals.

Exactly this - I've never known a music store that carries a good amount of cymbals (at least as many as the kinds that MP uses) and NOT carry at least both brands (and THEN some, like Paiste). To me is sounds like someone was just given cymbal sizes and specs and told to "get what you can" and no regard to brand name or sound/style of cymbal.

-Marc.

[philmcson]

Yes, they could have fixed his initial problem in 20 seconds (once they figured out how, cause apparently they are idiots), but they spent the rest of the time cleaning up the mess he made cause he was pissed. Had he not thrown his cymbals around and stuff, he would have been back to playing A LOT faster.

Well, yeah, but they were Zildjians, after all.  They clearly deserved to be thrown around.

Oh those were Zildjians?

I retract my statement, kill the damn cymbals!

Yes 

[Madman Shepherd]

His on stage rap shows that the quality of his lyric writing has stayed about the same.






But seriously, don't take the gigs if its going to be like this and you aren't going to be tolerant. 

[The Letter M]

His on stage rap shows that the quality of his lyric writing has stayed about the same.






But seriously, don't take the gigs if its going to be like this and you aren't going to be tolerant.

How many gigs have you shown up to that you know will be 100% the way you predicted it to be? Also, on a tour, not every gig/show/venue will be the same, so really each night is different.

The reason they didn't know? No wizard in the band.

-Marc.

[chaotic_ripper]

That was hard to watch.

[Adami]

So I watched the video from that better angle and I gotta say.........MP really could have fixed that himself.


I mean the snare mic fell off of its clip holder, that's all. I mean that stuff has happened to me before during a gig. Did I need a tech to fix it? Nah, I just kept a kick/high hat beat, bent over to grab the mic and then I put it back in the clip holder. Sure it sucks, but it's REALLY easily fixable, even for the drummer. It's not like he was doing a crazy beat or anything and couldn't have done it.


Of course this is assuming that the mic really did just fall out of the clip and it wasn't something worse.

[rumborak]

Yeah, he did kinda aggravate the issue himself quite a bit. I was actually kinda wondering how cool the other guys were with that. MP is somewhat known for saying "we" when it actually means "I".
Another thing I was wondering is whether this also an outcome of this outfit just having to play in not-1st-rate venues. Can you get Paiste cymbals in St. Petersburg? Sure. Is that venue the kind of venue that rents them? Maybe not.
Keep in mind that as much as we think here how awesome this setup is, it's after all a bit has-been-ish. Ex-drummer of this, Ex-keyboardist of that... They're not Madonna, whose drummer surely gets to play Paiste in Manila.

[Adami]

Yeah, he did kinda aggravate the issue himself quite a bit. I was actually kinda wondering how cool the other guys were with that. MP is somewhat known for saying "we" when it actually means "I".
Another thing I was wondering is whether this also an outcome of this outfit just having to play in not-1st-rate venues. Can you get Paiste cymbals in St. Petersburg? Sure. Is that venue the kind of venue that rents them? Maybe not.
Keep in mind that as much as we think here how awesome this setup is, it's after all a bit has-been-ish. Ex-drummer of this, Ex-keyboardist of that... They're not Madonna, whose drummer surely gets to play Paiste in Manila.

....Sabian Rumby, Sabian.

[rumborak]

Sybian, Adami, Sybian. But I digress.

[Adami]

Sybian, Adami, Sybian. But I digress.

Had to look that one up.

Hot.

[BlobVanDam]

Wait, you had to look that up? And you've had the internet how long?

[Madman Shepherd]

Yeah, he did kinda aggravate the issue himself quite a bit. I was actually kinda wondering how cool the other guys were with that. MP is somewhat known for saying "we" when it actually means "I".

On the flip side, he has also been known to say "I" when he should be saying "we"

[keys76]

[sherlock mode]
Somehow it looks like he says WE instead of I when something bad happens.
Somehow it looks like he says I instead of WE when something good happens.


[/sherlock mode]

[wolfking]

I think Portnoy is quite pathetic here.  Throwing the cymbals randomly makes him look like an idiot, and the rap was just insulting.  i understand if the equipment is not what the promoters say they were but he is acting like a drama queen. 

To me, I think it's hard for Mike to handle that he is no longer in DT and doesn't have the crew, and the luxury of being a big time musician that can play anywhere and use their own kit, and have everyone fall all over him.  The rest of the band seemed to be working with what they had just fine, and on that second video, if you check Tony Macalpine's face at 2:09, I think that says it all.

[Madman Shepherd]

[sherlock mode]
Somehow it looks like he says WE instead of I when something bad happens.
Somehow it looks like he says I instead of WE when something good happens.


[/sherlock mode]

I think you're onto something!



Ya know, a lot of people have said, "Those drum techs looked like they didn't have a clue what they were doing!"

yeah, thats true...so instead of feeling bad for them, people increase the blame?  This tour was clearly thrown together and its nobody's fault but the bands.

Yelling at the drum techs is like yelling at a 15 year old that just got a job at McDonald's because you asked for no cheese on your Big Mac and 3/4ths of the way in you realize theres cheese on the damn burger...and you're lactose intolerant. 

[phentalmyst]

this is a perfect example of why i'll never buy anything MP is involved in ever again. regardless of any issues they've been having on the tour, that reaction was completely unnecessary. it's just in bad taste. all he had to do was lean down and pick up the mic himself, but no, he had to make an example out of a hired hand. besides, if all of their contractual promises haven't been fulfilled by the promoter, then why follow through with the tour?

MP was my idol for so damn long, but time after time he disappoints me with his "i'm human" outbursts. not that he cares.

[?]

While I totally understand MP's frustration, he could've handled the situation more professionally instead of throwing the cymbals around.

[Orbert]

Holy shit, I read MP's comments, didn't watch the video, figured whatever happened was justified and really couldn't be that bad.  I finally watched the video, and I take it all back.  I still say expecting to get the exact equipment you want in literally every place you play is a longshot, but that video was just embarassing.  The other guys kinda went with it, as opposed to throwing more gas on the fire, or calling Mike out onstage, but... damn.  So he stopped playing and did a silly rap.  Okay.  He didn't mention that he started throwing shit around like a five-year-old.

[SystematicThought]

I may be wrong in thinking this, but I don't think it would have been as much of an issue to me if he did this here in America, but in a foreign country to start ragging on the crew and calling them motherfuckers, it's a bit much.

[rumborak]

I've seen Steve Vai do something similar (smash his guitar on the ground, calling the guitar techs names) and no matter how justified it might be, it always leaves a bad aftertaste in people's mouth. Does it suck not getting the equipment you asked for? Sure. But there's usually a lot more people in the audience who have to trudge through far worse working conditions on a daily basis.

[iamtheeviltwin]

I've seen Steve Vai do something similar (smash his guitar on the ground, calling the guitar techs names) and no matter how justified it might be, it always leaves a bad aftertaste in people's mouth. Does it suck not getting the equipment you asked for? Sure. But there's usually a lot more people in the audience who have to trudge through far worse working conditions on a daily basis.

From the handful of shows I have been to where a band member "breaks kayfabe" and rants or yells at a tech or the audience, it does really screw with the overall enjoyment of the show.  Sometimes the artists are good enough to overcome the momentary breakdown, but I've been to a few shows where that minute or two of tantrum turned what would have been an enjoyable night into something unbearable.

[bobs23]

Plain and simple, the promoter/ venue received the contract and rider that they agreed to carry out and they didn't. The video only shows the final reaction to the situation not what leads up to that. What I see is that most of that gear he is playing looks nothing like the setup he has been using on this tour. I'm going to guess that he had decided to make the best of it and do the show, and the mic falling off and the way it was not handled by the crew was the last straw. I think he really could have trashed the cymbals ala Keith Moon, but it was more of an act of frustration.

[bosk1]

Yeah, good points, Bob.  I keep going back and forth on it.  After watching both videos, Mike does come across as being a jerk and overreacting.  But as I think Mike tried to say, and as you point out, there is a lot more to it than that.  If things were so screwed up from the time they got to the venue that he was already justifiably furious and straining to keep it in and be professional, I can fully understand him snapping when the proverbial straw broke the camel's back, and while he might ideally have handled it better, his reaction is still pretty understandable under the circumstances.

[Orbert]

I guess I'm also of two minds about it.  It's true that we only see Mike finally losing it, and nothing which really led up to it.  As far as anyone at that gig knows, Mike went nuts because a microphone fell off a stand.

But in a way, that's the whole point, and the reason why professionals must always suck it up and just play the gig.  The audience knows nothing about what has gone into putting the show together, or what anyone has dealt with prior to this event, and frankly, they don't care.  They paid the money to see a show.  They got that, plus an unfortunate tirade which could leave a black mark on the entire gig.  That will be what they remember from this evening.

"Did you go to the PSMS show?"
"Yeah, it was nuts.  A drum mic fell of a stand and Portnoy went ballistic, started swearing and throwing shit around..."

[Cedar redaC]

Like Orbert, I read Mike's statement without watching the video. I'll admit that I had a somewhat similar reaction to him as well.

I still respect him as a musician and as a performer.

[Perpetual Change]

I really can't sympathize much here. Yes, I understand, Mike's on little sleep and his patience with this tour is wearing thin. But there's never really good justification to call teenagers "motherfuckers" in front of hundreds of people on stage while you throw mic stands around. I'm glad Mike's at least apologized, and I hope he's able to find himself in a better place soon.

[Ben_Jamin]

MP handled the situation in good ole MP style, having fun while they fixed the problem.

Some of you saying professionally he should've...doesn't matter. He had to stop the song either way, because the snare wasn't miked and who'd want a snare-less show.

[Adami]

MP handled the situation in good ole MP style, having fun while they fixed the problem.

Really? Having fun while they fixed the problem? He made the problem worse and then caused a delay in the show while they fixed the mess he made while trying to have "fun".

Had he just stopped playing and waited for them to fix the snare, it would have been a 1 minute issue....tops.

[Mladen]

I'd be pissed if I had to work in those conditions as well. And lets not mention how many self proclaimed stars would just walk off stage and not come back - Mike put on a show for the crowd while the problem was getting fixed.

It's an embarrassment that some people are even allowed to book gigs and bring bands...

[wolfking]

Will be interesting to see how long this lineup lasts now.  I mea, I don't think the other guys were impressed at all, especially Tony.

[Samsara]

Honestly, Burning my Soul with Hell's Kitchen in the middle sucked a little. It's like, this full-on metal song with a random instrumental thrown in in the middle. There were LOTS of great decisions with the "executive meddling", as well as a fair or bad ones; just not as bad as Mike Portnoy made them appear.

Agreed. It was a VERY smart move to lift Hell's Kitchen out of BMS. I've said this numerous times and will continue to always beat the drum -- most of the artistic changes that MP disliked for FII, were actually the correct ones IMO.