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

[IdoSC]

Going to see the guys tonight in Israel

[MoraWintersoul]

We'll be expecting a report

[chaotic_ripper]

It's nice to see Mike and Derek playing together again and using it as an oportunity to exploit the music they made together.  That was a really cool and unique time for the band.  Hell's Kitchen and Lines In The Sand are two of the greatest things DT (or anyone!) has ever created.

[IdoSC]

We'll be expecting a report

So I'm a few days late for that but if anyone cares (), here's my awesome little experience in Israel's show...

So I arrived by the venue about 30 minutes before the gates opened, which means about 2 hours before the show began. And after spending a while in a typical Israeli "line", I've managed to get inside and the place looked kinda empty. Luckily, by the time the show started, you could look around and see that it was pretty crowded - not quite sold out but the crowd was big enough to make some noise!

When I bought the tickets, I also glanced at a few other setlists of the guys, and honestly as you can see in setlist.fm - our set wasn't anything special, I knew pretty much what I was getting into. Crimson Sunrise, Acid Rain, Hell's Kitchen, Lines in the Sand and all that jazz, along with Sherinian's Been Here Before which (if you don't know that already) is a beautiful instrumental piece that sounds a lot like Anna Lee. I was also surprised to find out that Portnoy was the only member of this supergroup who DIDN'T have a solo spot. It's unnecessary to point out that every single instrumentalist out of the four rocked. I never got to see a bass solo in any live concert I've been to before, and Sheehan just blew my mind. As much as I love Derek, and while MacAlpine definitely rocked too, Sheehan was the highlight of the solo spots to me.

I didn't know some of the songs in that show but it seriously inspired me to go ahead and check out Talas. Honestly, other than the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd during the DT songs, I barely see them as the highlight of the show. I mean, seeing Hell's Kitchen played live by 2 of the 4 instrumentalists who wrote and played it originally was surreal, and probably won't happen again, but the absolute "creme de la creme" of this instrumental madness is, in fact, the encore song named "Shy Boy", sung by Sheehan and Portnoy. During the instrumental section of that song the three instrumentalists (again, except Portnoy) threw in a few tradeoffs, akin to Metropolis Pt. 1 in When Dream and Day Reunite. That part was just as awesome as every single solo spot in the show, and a great note to finish the night with. Strangely, I wasn't bothered by Portnoy's vocals one bit, probably because he finally gave up on the raspy, heavier vocals and just sang the song like a backup vocalist should (IMO). And either way, the vocals were so low on the mix that you could barely hear them anyway, but the song itself just rocked.

As for the show itself, other than the songs - while I only got to see DT once before MP's departure, it felt so weird to see him playing in such a small venue. I was standing kinda far from the stage, and I could see everything perfectly nevertheless, which is a plus I guess. Portnoy handled all the stage banter, joking around with the jewish cliche called "Ma Nishtana", introducing the other players before solo spots and whatnot, and even "commanding" us to clap in a specific tempo during one of the songs. More than anything else, he seemed to have fun with this entire experience, which definitely felt nice as a fan after everything that happened.

So yeah, all in all, it was a great concert. I've had tons of fun, and while it's quite a long shot, I hope to see Portnoy coming back to Israel at one point or another, whether it's in this supergroup or in any other way.

[Orbert]

Thanks for the review!  I know some people are ripping these guys apart (well, one place in particular), but it sounds like a good show.  You put four talented guys on stage together, playing some good music, you've got a good time.

[robwebster]

I know some people are ripping these guys apart (well, one place in particular).

Oh, well, of course they are. I could've told you that before they'd played a single note.

[Cedar redaC]

Sounds like a distinctly fun concert, I'll have to try and make it to one if they come by.

[IdoSC]

Thanks for the review!  I know some people are ripping these guys apart (well, one place in particular), but it sounds like a good show.  You put four talented guys on stage together, playing some good music, you've got a good time.

Well, you're welcome of course. I can only assume what's the place you're talking about, but if that's the case indeed, they pretty much rip everything apart. As far as the concept of the tour itself goes - I don't see anything wrong with 4 musicians playing some of their older material together. Hell, I'd rather see Mike&Derek play DT material than go to an Adrenaline Mob/Flying Colors concert (regardless of how good they are), and Derek's solo material/Talas' stuff and the other songs rocked too.

And if it wasn't obvious by my giant wall of text - I absolutely recommend anyone who can to go ahead and buy a ticket. While the amount of Dream Theater material is kinda minimal, if you like Prog-metal or even just DT, you're going to have a great time.

[Ben_Jamin]

Sounds like a great show.

[MoraWintersoul]

Well they look mighty cool together.

[clinks63]

 

watched the guys hours ago here in Manila..really really great..especially MP..he really loves the fans..

[OsMosis2259]

Apparently MP had a meltdown in Manila...

https://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2802466.aspx

"Not to excuse my actions, but at least to explain the situation:
This PSMS tour has been VERY difficult on all of us in terms of gear and production. The only way we have been able to make it to such far away places such as Manila, Russia, Israel, Indonesia, etc (where it is normally VERY expensive to tour unless you are a "name" band that has been around for many years) is we've have had to make concessions by using supplied gear and local techs at each show.
 
Granted, WE agreed to these terms and are willing to make it work - however, on at least a half dozen occasions on this tour we have been incredibly frustrated to arrive at the venue only to find the band's gear requirements were simply blatantly ignored (wrong keyboards, wrong amps, Zildjian cymbals, etc) AND were not setup and ready for us as was supposed to be the case and what the promoters had promised.
 
We have been as patient and understanding as we possibly can be...but when you get 4 guys who haven't slept more than a couple of hours every night in order to fly to these shows without sleep...sometimes our patience can wear thin.
 
In the case of the Manila show, we arrived hours before the show to find out the drums weren't setup, cymbals were missing, Billy's amp was wrong (again) and Tony had a buzz on his gear that would not go away...but we forged ahead because we were VERY excited to play for the fans!
 
At the start of Stratus (where the video on youtube is from) - my snare drum mic fell off and I motioned for the tech to come put it back on the stand/drum...and instead, he comes up to the drum kit and takes the mic away...leaving me playing with NO snare mic!!! (you'll hear I begin playing the high tom instead of the snare)...realizing he had no idea what was going on or how to fix the situation, I stopped playing and did my little "rap" while they fixed the situation and we wouldn't have to play the whole song with no snare in the mix.


In the video, you can see I was at least making a joke out of it and wasn't maliciously trying to hurt anybody or storming off in anger.
 
Moral of the story: WE ARE HUMAN! And sometimes frustrating circumstances create frustrated behavior. I'm not saying I was right in stopping the song...but if you see a video from later in the show, you'll see I explain to the audience that I've been waiting my whole career to play in Manila and I wasn't going to let ANYTHING ruin my night or their show!!
And we carried on and everybody had a great night...
 
And I look forward to returning...
(although this may be the last time I tour without my own kit and my own drum tech...hahahaha!!!)
 
MP"

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAHgEzH9raA   
 

[Orbert]

MP haters are gonna have fun with this one, but he sounds pretty justified to me.

[The Letter M]

Temper-tantrums suck, but he soldiered on only in the way MP could. I'm not saying it's good, or bad, but just the way MP would do it.

Seems like an incredibly frustrating situation and I had no idea they weren't touring with their own instruments! I guess it saves a lot of money, but for instrumentalists as good as these guys, they should have definitely toured with their own equipment.

-Marc.

[BlobVanDam]

MP haters are gonna have fun with this one, but he sounds pretty justified to me.

Yeah. Not to say he was right to throw stuff around or call them names in his rap at all (it was a bit immature), but I don't think he overreacted given the frustrating circumstances of the show/tour as he explained, and they recovered well and gave the fans the show. I guess that's the price a small band pays to be able to tour these places.

[Orbert]

I noticed in the YouTube videos that Mike's kit was significantly smaller than... well, pretty much anything I'd seen him play in recent years, but I just figured he was keeping it basic because they're playing smaller venues and it would look ridiculous for literally half the stage to be taken up with drums and the other three guys squeezed to the other side.  I didn't realize that they haven't been using their own gear.  Seriously, that's gotta suck, but Mike's post makes it sound like it was really the only way to make it work.

[The Letter M]

Seriously, that's gotta suck, but Mike's post makes it sound like it was really the only way to make it work.

Indeed, and these guys don't have a label backing them up for the tour, AFAIK, and so their tour costs are likely out of pocket and whatever they're making out of ticket sales and from the venues. Only their names seem to be the big draw for these guys, especially Sherinian and Portnoy, both having been in Dream Theater and the former in Black Country Communion and the latter in A7X, if you want to relate to their bigger name acts.

-Marc.

[Adami]

As a drummer who has played a ton of shows where all kinds of crap goes wrong and none of the techs seem to care or know how to fix it....I can totally understand his rage.


More than once I'd been tempted to just do exactly what he did......you know, minus the improv "rap" song thing.

[MoraWintersoul]

Oh yeah, I'd get pissed off too. Nice that he explained what was going on.

[KevShmev]

Honestly, I see no problem with his reaction.  If you are gonna force the musicians to use your gear and your techs, at least get it right.  What's funny is those techs that came out looked like a bunch of young kids who probably don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

[rumborak]

Yeah, what the hell are those places thinking? I mean, you're inviting a group of extraordinary musicians that play really intricate stuff, and then just cobble up second-hand equipment for the gig.

I didn't realize though that they weren't shipping their own equipment. At least the keys and the amps I would think they would bring along.

[bosk1]

MP haters are gonna have fun with this one, but he sounds pretty justified to me.

That.  And it made for a pretty funny video. 

[Adami]

Yeah, what the hell are those places thinking? I mean, you're inviting a group of extraordinary musicians that play really intricate stuff, and then just cobble up second-hand equipment for the gig.

I didn't realize though that they weren't shipping their own equipment. At least the keys and the amps I would think they would bring along.

Since Derek is so fond of analog, I assume he brings his own keyboards......I mean, or else he'd have to program every patch every show.

So they bring their keys, guitars, basses etc. But stuff that's too big like amps, drums, cymbals and stuff I guess they outsource it.

And it's for these reasons that bands like Van Halen put that M&M thing in their riders; to make sure people actually read them and followed them.

[Cedar redaC]

I think he handled the situation very professionally.

[Adami]

I think he handled the situation very professionally.

He handled his clean up professionally. And while I think he was justified in what he did and can empathize with it, it was far from professional. The professional thing to do would have been to suck it up, finish the set however he could and then kill a hooker or something.

[countoftuscany42]

just got my ticket to the NY show \m/
gonna be a late night getting back to philly, but it'll be worth it \m/

[Orbert]

I always wonder if the band has any kind of options at that point.  They have a contract, the contract says that certain things will be provided, they get there and things obviously are not as agreed upon.  The band can't just blow off the gig; they'd look like the bad guys.  So they play the gig, and the promoter or management or whoever gets away with screwing them over?

[Cedar redaC]

I think he handled the situation very professionally.

He handled his clean up professionally. And while I think he was justified in what he did and can empathize with it, it was far from professional. The professional thing to do would have been to suck it up, finish the set however he could and then kill a hooker or something.

Sure, but I mean, at least he still tried to give the crowd a good show, even if his gear wouldn't let him. It's probably not the best thing he could have done, but at least he kept the show moving while the drum crew fixed his stuff.

[Adami]

I think he handled the situation very professionally.

He handled his clean up professionally. And while I think he was justified in what he did and can empathize with it, it was far from professional. The professional thing to do would have been to suck it up, finish the set however he could and then kill a hooker or something.

Sure, but I mean, at least he still tried to give the crowd a good show, even if his gear wouldn't let him. It's probably not the best thing he could have done, but at least he kept the show moving while the drum crew fixed his stuff.

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.

[Cedar redaC]

I think he handled the situation very professionally.

He handled his clean up professionally. And while I think he was justified in what he did and can empathize with it, it was far from professional. The professional thing to do would have been to suck it up, finish the set however he could and then kill a hooker or something.

Sure, but I mean, at least he still tried to give the crowd a good show, even if his gear wouldn't let him. It's probably not the best thing he could have done, but at least he kept the show moving while the drum crew fixed his stuff.

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.

I agree that that may have been a little much.

[bosk1]

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.

[Cedar redaC]

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.

This is why he's the admin!

[Adami]

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!

[Cedar redaC]

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?

...the band's gear requirements were simply blatantly ignored (wrong keyboards, wrong amps, Zildjian cymbals, etc) AND were not setup and ready for us as was supposed to be the case and what the promoters had promised...

There you have it.

[nikatapi]

a better video of the incident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=JjP4CV3SL2k

I can't say i blame MP for this, i bet it's quite frustrating to play with these conditions.