How would you rate Live at Luna Park?

[bosk1]

James had great pitch on Score.  But he had more power and more energy on this release. 

EDIT:  One other note about the show:  Normally, when a live release includes solos, that isn't a high point for me.  It's cool, and I'll listen/watch a few times.  But after awhile, I'll typically just skip them.  Not these.  These solos are just outstanding.  Truth be told, I probably will get to a point where I skip the drum solo when just listening to the CD's simply because it is long, and drum solos just aren't nearly as fun to just listen to.  But as a whole, the solo spots are not only outstanding performances, but are interesting enough for repeat listen value.

[Podaar]

I picked up the blu-ray yesterday at my local Best Buy and was able to go straight home and pop it in (Mrs. P was having brunch with some BFF's). I had no issues with the sound whatsoever. My receiver automatically shifted to the correct setting and the 5.1 was clear and powerful with great separation.

This concert rocked my world! James was awesome. IMHO this is their best concert DVD because the energy from the band coupled with their performance was very grin inducing. Not to mention, the string quartet actually knows how to tune their instruments which puts them head and shoulders above the orchestra in Score (I still can't watch Score when the orchestra is with them).

I've always loved ADTOE but this concert gave me a whole new appreciation for the songs and...holy shit, Dark Eternal Knight is the funnest concert song ever conceived! 

I'm beginning to think I'm an imbecile because the complaints/observations in this and other threads went completely unnoticed. If I had any quibbles at all it would be that I'd have enjoyed seeing more of JMX and the microphone hiss when James was introducing songs or just speaking alone was a bit jarring. Other than that, I give this DVD an enthusiastic two-two-snaps-in-a-circle!

P.S. I'm actually quite happy I didn't read these threads prior to watching. Buzz-kill!

[FracturedMirror]

My dvds came in the mail Saturday and I haven't had the chance to watch the whole thing yet, so I can't rate it as a whole.  I have watched some of it and there are things about the video editing that really bug me, but the worst thing I've noticed is the lack of a "play all" option when you want to watch the bonus songs.  Every other concert dvd I have that has bonus songs lets you play them all, not just play one and then kick you back to the menu.

[Tick]

On a humorous note...

After the viewing at my house with friends Saturday, I was a bit buzzed and kept going around the house shouting in my best LaBrie voice...

"Muchas Gracias Buenos Aires!"

[TAC]

James had great pitch on Score.  But he had more power and more energy on this release. 

EDIT:  One other note about the show:  Normally, when a live release includes solos, that isn't a high point for me.  It's cool, and I'll listen/watch a few times.  But after awhile, I'll typically just skip them.  Not these.  These solos are just outstanding.  Truth be told, I probably will get to a point where I skip the drum solo when just listening to the CD's simply because it is long, and drum solos just aren't nearly as fun to just listen to.  But as a whole, the solo spots are not only outstanding performances, but are interesting enough for repeat listen value.

That spot before TSCO is incredible. I usually skip these kinds of things and always prefer another song, but after seeing this performed in Boston last July, it was breathtaking. I always listen and relive it on the bootleg of the show and I almost treat it as it's own song. I'm glad that it hardly changed from Boston to Luna Park.

[nightmare_cinema]

It's okay, a little disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's an outdoor show (I think it is, isn't it?), I really find it hard to get into the atmosphere with outdoor gigs and I think the enthusiasm and excitement shows a little. I can't really place my finger on what it is I don't like I guess but it's probably my least favourite DT DVD so far.

[kirksnosehair]

I haven't heard or seen any of it.  As a committed fan of the band, I'll buy it.  Actually, Mrs. NoseHair will get it for me as a Christmas Gift.


I have had a chance to hear two ripped racks and I was a bit put off by John's guitar sound.  Too saturated with effects.


Drums sounded monstrous (in a good way!) and Myung sounded great too.  Keys buried a bit in the mix, but that could have been the tracks too (War Inside My Head / Test That Stumped Them All)


Anyway, I'm also not very nitpicky about these things, so I'm sure I'll enjoy watching the video.

[Nekov]

It's okay, a little disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's an outdoor show (I think it is, isn't it?), I really find it hard to get into the atmosphere with outdoor gigs and I think the enthusiasm and excitement shows a little. I can't really place my finger on what it is I don't like I guess but it's probably my least favourite DT DVD so far.

Nope, indoor venue.

[wasteland]

James had great pitch on Score.  But he had more power and more energy on this release. 

EDIT:  One other note about the show:  Normally, when a live release includes solos, that isn't a high point for me.  It's cool, and I'll listen/watch a few times.  But after awhile, I'll typically just skip them.  Not these.  These solos are just outstanding.  Truth be told, I probably will get to a point where I skip the drum solo when just listening to the CD's simply because it is long, and drum solos just aren't nearly as fun to just listen to.  But as a whole, the solo spots are not only outstanding performances, but are interesting enough for repeat listen value.

That spot before TSCO is incredible. I usually skip these kinds of things and always prefer another song, but after seeing this performed in Boston last July, it was breathtaking. I always listen and relive it on the bootleg of the show and I almost treat it as it's own song. I'm glad that it hardly changed from Boston to Luna Park.

And still the Boston solo surpasses LALP's by far, IMO.

[TAC]

Yeah, I was waiting for JP to put on the cowboy hat for the chunky riffy part, as well as Jordan wearing the droogie hat.

[wasteland]

Yeah, I was waiting for JP to put on the cowboy hat for the chunky riffy part, as well as Jordan wearing the droogie hat.

The ending of the solo is also more heartfelt, I would say

But LALP has a better James, no contest!

[TAC]

Yeah, but like I said, James KNOWS when the tape is rolling. He is great on LALP. But one of my takeaways from seeing them on this last tour, especially the last leg was how good James was.

[nightmare_cinema]

It's okay, a little disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's an outdoor show (I think it is, isn't it?), I really find it hard to get into the atmosphere with outdoor gigs and I think the enthusiasm and excitement shows a little. I can't really place my finger on what it is I don't like I guess but it's probably my least favourite DT DVD so far.

Nope, indoor venue.

Oh, haha! To be fair I've only watched it once, with housemates. Maybe I'll like it better the second time around

[BlobVanDam]

Now that I have the DVD, I've voted for "Great, one of their best live releases".

It is their strongest in many ways, and it's right up there with the best them, but there are others I overall prefer by just a bit. I can see why others will consider it DT's best though.

[TheGreatPretender]

I don't understand why people are saying the keyboard is too quiet. I can hear it perfectly, it's clear in the mix, and achieves everything it needs to achieve.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't understand why people are saying the keyboard is too quiet. I can hear it perfectly, it's clear in the mix, and achieves everything it needs to achieve.

Seconded. There are a few little sections where the keyboards are a bit too low, but for the vast majority of the time, the keyboard mix is fine. I wasn't even listening on good equipment today, just regular PC speakers, and I heard JR clearly throughout.

He was definitely too low in the mix on These Walls from the extra footage though. I could only just hear the main keyboard riff. But the main show is fine.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, for the main show, I think he sounded great. The Morphwiz stuff on BITS sounded awesome.
But even the parts where it wasn't especially loud, like These Walls, it's still audible, so it's not like it's drowned out by other instruments or anything. Pull Me Under still sounds great. There wasn't any part where I went, "Where's that keyboard sound? That's way too quiet."

[Sycsa]

These Walls is the most blatant example, but I wasn't pleased with the ADTOE songs either, especially since the keyboard is so prominent on the album. Listening to songs back to back makes it really obvious. The orchestral sections in Outcry and especially BAI sound much less epic because of the weaker keyboard presence.

There wasn't any part where I went, "Where's that keyboard sound? That's way too quiet."

The organ part of Jordan after the 2 minute mark on Bridges in the Sky is completely inaudible, despite him being focused on in the video. It's also the very first note he hits on the show, which is a bad omen and it left me with a sour first impression.

[BlobVanDam]

These Walls is the most blatant example, but I wasn't pleased with the ADTOE songs either, especially since the keyboard is so prominent on the album. Listening to songs back to back makes it really obvious. The orchestral sections in Outcry and especially BAI sound much less epic because of the weaker keyboard presence.

There wasn't any part where I went, "Where's that keyboard sound? That's way too quiet."

The organ part of Jordan after the 2 minute mark on Bridges in the Sky is completely inaudible, despite him being focused on in the video. It's also the very first note he hits on the show, which is a bad omen and it left me with a sour first impression.

It's not inaudible, but that was the most notable example of his keyboards being too low in the mix from what I heard. I haven't listened to a lot of the other ADTOE songs yet.

[Sycsa]

These Walls is the most blatant example, but I wasn't pleased with the ADTOE songs either, especially since the keyboard is so prominent on the album. Listening to songs back to back makes it really obvious. The orchestral sections in Outcry and especially BAI sound much less epic because of the weaker keyboard presence.

There wasn't any part where I went, "Where's that keyboard sound? That's way too quiet."

The organ part of Jordan after the 2 minute mark on Bridges in the Sky is completely inaudible, despite him being focused on in the video. It's also the very first note he hits on the show, which is a bad omen and it left me with a sour first impression.

It's not inaudible, but that was the most notable example of his keyboards being too low in the mix from what I heard. I haven't listened to a lot of the other ADTOE songs yet.

"Too low" is the biggest euphemism of the day. Whether it's 95% buried or 100% is splitting thin hair. I can't hear it on my speakers and can make out some of the low end and the harmonic percussion effect on the organ patch on my audiophile headphones, if I strain my ears. The bottom line is, it's practically inaudible compared to the studio version and unable to serve its purpose within the song. It's no big deal, but you can only make a first impression once.

[BlobVanDam]

These Walls is the most blatant example, but I wasn't pleased with the ADTOE songs either, especially since the keyboard is so prominent on the album. Listening to songs back to back makes it really obvious. The orchestral sections in Outcry and especially BAI sound much less epic because of the weaker keyboard presence.

There wasn't any part where I went, "Where's that keyboard sound? That's way too quiet."

The organ part of Jordan after the 2 minute mark on Bridges in the Sky is completely inaudible, despite him being focused on in the video. It's also the very first note he hits on the show, which is a bad omen and it left me with a sour first impression.

It's not inaudible, but that was the most notable example of his keyboards being too low in the mix from what I heard. I haven't listened to a lot of the other ADTOE songs yet.

"Too low" is the biggest euphemism of the day. Whether it's 90% buried or 100% is splitting thin hair. I can't hear it on my speakers and can make out some of the low end and the percussion effect on the organ patch on my audiophile headphones, if I strain my ears. The bottom line is, it's technically inaudible compared to the studio version and unable to serve its purpose within the song. It's no big deal, but you can only make a first impression once.

Listening on my headphones just now, I'd agree it's close enough to inaudible to be splitting hairs (I can make out the harmonic of the fifths JR is playing, but it's very low). I recall it being more audible on my speakers today, so I'll have to recheck that later.
That was the only part I saw today where I felt the keyboards were detrimentally low, so it's no big deal to me either. As I said before, I haven't checked out a lot of the ADTOE stuff yet though. For the rest of BITS, I was happy with the mix, and he was actually louder than the album for all of the iPad sections.

[KevShmev]

Agreed about that organ part near the beginning of Bridges in the Sky; you have to strain to hear it, just like the main theme in Breaking All Illusions. 

[AngelBack]

I agree on the low mix for JR, which is sad because ADTOE has some of my favorite, non-solo work by JR.  But I think OVERALL JLB sounds better than on any other live DVD.  Including Score.  While he is a little more subdued than on Score (as is the whole band, understandably so) I think JLB sounded fantastic.  And the mic noise on the ballads really did not bother me at all.  You get some inhales on his studio work as well. 

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, where it is a little low, I don't think it takes away from the songs at all. If we hear the guitar and the bass a little higher in the mix, then it's just like hearing a different mix of it. Which is half the fun of hearing live versions of songs for me anyway. It's something a little different and not studio replicated. If I wanted that, I'd listen to the studio versions.
But there are plenty of songs where I could hear it perfectly. TROAE is another example, where I paid attention specifically to the keyboard parts, and the snarling pig was as snarling as ever.

[Lolzeez]

The camera work is good but I would have liked to have more inprovisation during the show. I'm a person who liked to hear different live versions, just like what DT did in MP-era. So the performance is really good but something is still missing here.

I voted average.

[Scrub206]

I saw Live at Luna Park in theaters last night... Let me tell you about how big Petrucci's forearms looked on the big screen... They were huge.

[Sycsa]

I saw Live at Luna Park in theaters last night... Let me tell you about how big Petrucci's forearms looked on the big screen... They were huge.

My impression was that they peaked a few years ago and are a bit smaller now. JM is getting thinner, too.

[Tick]

I saw Live at Luna Park in theaters last night... Let me tell you about how big Petrucci's forearms looked on the big screen... They were huge.

My impression was that they peaked a few years ago and are a bit smaller now. JM is getting thinner, too.

Definitely peaked in 09. Smaller now for sure.

[Scrub206]

I agree, he was biggest in the CIM dvd, but on screen they just look MASSIVE. Also dat v-neck tee. Most aesthetic DT.

[gabeh1018]

I think this is James best live performance on any DVD thus far
I am content with the song selection and I like how they stay true to the original recorings even though there is some  improv here and there

JR and JM are a bit low, but I can live with that

I am a very satisfied fan

[TheGreatPretender]

Listening to These Walls, yes, I noticed that the keyboards on it are a little low, but I can still appreciate this version because now I can hear the guitar parts a lot better.

But Metropolis and TSCO are another two songs where I paid attention, and I think the keyboards are as loud as they should be on those songs.

Also, regarding all the solo spots, I have to say, these have to be my favorite out of all their live releases, DVD or CD. And I mean for all of them. The drum solo, I thought was more interesting than anything MP has ever done (or officially released), and JR's solo spot was my favorite keyboard solo that he's ever released. As for JP, well, as far as slower, more soulful solos go, that one was also definitely my favorite. But I was looking forward to hearing something a bit more intense, like on OIALT.

[RaiseTheKnife]

Apparently River Phoenix is a fan of Dream Theater.  Or at least that's what my Luna Park poster tells me.  Anyone else catch that?

[BlobVanDam]

Listening to These Walls, yes, I noticed that the keyboards on it are a little low, but I can still appreciate this version because now I can hear the guitar parts a lot better.

I was a bit disappointed with that version of TW, thanks to the mix, and that's one of the things I was looking forward to on LALP.
CIAW sounded great on the bonus footage though, and that was well mixed. It's about time that song got onto a recent live release! I could actually hear JM a lot more prominently on the bonus songs, so I think the sound must have been a bit different on the other night.

[TheGreatPretender]

I was a bit disappointed with that version of TW, thanks to the mix, and that's one of the things I was looking forward to on LALP.
CIAW sounded great on the bonus footage though, and that was well mixed. It's about time that song got onto a recent live release! I could actually hear JM a lot more prominently on the bonus songs, so I think the sound must have been a bit different on the other night.

Do you think it's the mix, or do you think it certain parts being more loud or more quiet was something that was going on on stage as well?

[BlobVanDam]

I was a bit disappointed with that version of TW, thanks to the mix, and that's one of the things I was looking forward to on LALP.
CIAW sounded great on the bonus footage though, and that was well mixed. It's about time that song got onto a recent live release! I could actually hear JM a lot more prominently on the bonus songs, so I think the sound must have been a bit different on the other night.

Do you think it's the mix, or do you think it certain parts being more loud or more quiet was something that was going on on stage as well?

I don't know, but the bass did seem overall more prominent on the bonus tracks I watched yesterday. Is it just me?