How would you rate Live at Luna Park?

[adastra]

"Average to decent"  .  I liked it but it wasn't anything special !  Definitely not worth the wait,.

[wasteland]

"Average to decent"  .  I liked it but it wasn't anything special !  Definitely not worth the wait,.

What were you expecting from it?

[Anguyen92]

You know something, I love it.  I like it better than Score.  It just seems like the band's energy and atmosphere was so different in comparison.  With Score, it was their 20th anniversary and it's in their home state of New York and all and that's good, it just felt a little too, what's the word, robotic for my taste.  Even though, the South American Crowd was a bit dead, the band themselves had a good playfulness energy that displays well. 

It's hard to describe it but I found myself enjoying Luna Park, very naturally, on 1st watch, rather than trying to force myself to enjoy Score despite how good it is.

Edit: Also, maybe, I just did not like clean-shaved JLB compared to the pirate-look JLB.

[adastra]

"Average to decent"  .  I liked it but it wasn't anything special !  Definitely not worth the wait,.

What were you expecting from it?

I was expecting for more bonus materials.  That's the main reason I buy Live DVD's
the Documentary/Behind the scenes were kinda big letdown.

You know something, I love it.  I like it better than Score. It just seems like the band's energy and atmosphere was so different in comparison. 

I was thinking the complete opposite   If "Band's energy" means Mangini making faces  , then they have shitloads of energy,  but  I didn't find it that energetic
But yeah,  I guess 99% of users here disagree with me on this haha

[Meatrose]

I've only seen it once but it was a good show performance-wise. The major problem I have with it is that the guitar is way, WAY too loud. I can hear Myung just fine but Jordan is mixed way too low. Maybe I can make it better by calibrating my system somehow but I have a high end system that I have never had to calibrate for any other release to sound good so I'm pretty disheartened at the moment.

[Polarbear]

All the editing and syncing problems (snare sound when MM isn't hitting the snare, singing/talking when JLB's mouth is shut, etc.), the excessive use of backing vocals (there is like half a dozen of backtracks for every chorus) and stuff like JP badly lip syncing to JLB's backing vocals (War Inside My Head looks the most ridiculous) really take me out of the experience. MP's voice is dearly missed.

I watched LALP once, and i couldn't watch it a second time because of this^.
An average effort overall.

[sylvinception]

Here's what I have noticed on the bonus tracks section (TW, BMUBMD, CIAW, WFS, FFH and PMU):

- Best sound mixing;
- Best filming;
- Best ambiance;
- Best film editing...

SO WTF ??

Why the hell did they not did the same on the entire show

[mikeyd23]

I was expecting for more bonus materials.  That's the main reason I buy Live DVD's
the Documentary/Behind the scenes were kinda big letdown.

I would agree that the documentary and behind the scenes content was a little lacking, but the main reason I buy live concert DVDs is the actual live concert!  Thats my motivation for buying a concert DVD, the concert itself, watching and hearing bands play, sure bonus features are great when they are included, but I view them as just that, bonus. I don't view those sorts of things with high expectations, but when they are there and of high quality they add a nice touch.  Mainly though, I'm concerned with the quality of the concert and in this case I think LALP was done extremely well and I am very pleased.

[cramx3]

I was expecting for more bonus materials.  That's the main reason I buy Live DVD's
the Documentary/Behind the scenes were kinda big letdown.

I would agree that the documentary and behind the scenes content was a little lacking, but the main reason I buy live concert DVDs is the actual live concert!  Thats my motivation for buying a concert DVD, the concert itself, watching and hearing bands play, sure bonus features are great when they are included, but I view them as just that, bonus. I don't view those sorts of things with high expectations, but when they are there and of high quality they add a nice touch.  Mainly though, I'm concerned with the quality of the concert and in this case I think LALP was done extremely well and I am very pleased.

Truth.

[TheGreatPretender]

While the documentary at LALP wasn't anything special, I don't see how the documentary on LAB was any better. It was basically the same idea, it roughly gave a glimpse into what DT's touring life was like at the time, and this one did the same.

[BlobVanDam]

While the documentary at LALP wasn't anything special, I don't see how the documentary on LAB was any better. It was basically the same idea, it roughly gave a glimpse into what DT's touring life was like at the time, and this one did the same.

LAB's documentary was quite a bit longer, wasn't it? (It was all in snippets on LALP, so I didn't see the total length, but it seemed like less). Same idea, but I felt like the Budokan one was able to go into more detail with the band. Same with the Score one, which was a good general history of the band.
It sounds like Budokan's multi-angle was better executed judging from the comments too (I don't have the BR), plus the tech sections with JP and JR were great extras for the gear nerds too.

But LALP's bonus features are still pretty good. The bonus songs are a much appreciated extra, they've still included the live intro, and I did enjoy the documentary stuff too. It's just that they've set a pretty high benchmark with their previous releases too!

[wolven74]

I really like it visually and musically. The songs are all great, if a little sterile. There's very little on some songs that remind me, oh yeah... this is a live show. Maybe it's the lack of improv, like the old days? Who knows. Over all though, the concert itself was great. The biggest gripe I have with it is OTE's documentary style. It's almost too clean or over produced. One thing about the CIM documentary that I loved is that there was so much crazy spontaneous shit going on. It really gave me a sense of how the band was "in real life". LaLP has way way way too much of the "staged interview" feel. All the spontaneity feels staged, as though the producers were telling them: "be spontaneous, and...action!"

Over all, I'd rate it between Budokan and Score.

[Madman Shepherd]

At least this documentary addressed the mysteries of why JM doesn't do the big pump up thing with the band before they hit the stage other than saying later, "He doesn't want to and its his decision"

[TheGreatPretender]

LAB's documentary was quite a bit longer, wasn't it? (It was all in snippets on LALP, so I didn't see the total length, but it seemed like less). Same idea, but I felt like the Budokan one was able to go into more detail with the band. Same with the Score one, which was a good general history of the band.
It sounds like Budokan's multi-angle was better executed judging from the comments too (I don't have the BR), plus the tech sections with JP and JR were great extras for the gear nerds too.

But LALP's bonus features are still pretty good. The bonus songs are a much appreciated extra, they've still included the live intro, and I did enjoy the documentary stuff too. It's just that they've set a pretty high benchmark with their previous releases too!

Well, I can't remember, nor do I care to go and check how long the documentary on LAB was. But this one is pretty much half an hour long, and I think that's a pretty decent length.

Here's the thing, though, people talk about how great the documentaries on Score and on LAB were, and yes, they were great, and PERHAPS superior to this one, although personally, I think the content covered in the new one was a bit more interesting than in LAB. I mean, the LAB one had some awesome moments, particularly stuff like the guy at the music store going, "Is that Dream Theater?" But all in all, I think the new documentary was adequate enough.
But anyway, my point is, yes, the documentaries on LAB and Score were great, but no one mentions LSFNY. Personally, I think that particular documentary was incredibly lackluster. THAT's what I would call a disappointing documentary, coupled with the psychadelic imagery in the main show and not having the entire set on the DVD, as far as presentation goes, LSFNY is probably their worst DVD, and the only thing that makes it very awesome is getting to experience SFAM with its storyline scenes and everything. But again, as far as the actual video presentation goes, it's quite an underwhelming release. So I'm just thankful that LALP was significantly better than that.

[BlobVanDam]

LAB's documentary was quite a bit longer, wasn't it? (It was all in snippets on LALP, so I didn't see the total length, but it seemed like less). Same idea, but I felt like the Budokan one was able to go into more detail with the band. Same with the Score one, which was a good general history of the band.
It sounds like Budokan's multi-angle was better executed judging from the comments too (I don't have the BR), plus the tech sections with JP and JR were great extras for the gear nerds too.

But LALP's bonus features are still pretty good. The bonus songs are a much appreciated extra, they've still included the live intro, and I did enjoy the documentary stuff too. It's just that they've set a pretty high benchmark with their previous releases too!

Well, I can't remember, nor do I care to go and check how long the documentary on LAB was. But this one is pretty much half an hour long, and I think that's a pretty decent length.

Here's the thing, though, people talk about how great the documentaries on Score and on LAB were, and yes, they were great, and PERHAPS superior to this one, although personally, I think the content covered in the new one was a bit more interesting than in LAB. I mean, the LAB one had some awesome moments, particularly stuff like the guy at the music store going, "Is that Dream Theater?" But all in all, I think the new documentary was adequate enough.
But anyway, my point is, yes, the documentaries on LAB and Score were great, but no one mentions LSFNY. Personally, I think that particular documentary was incredibly lackluster. THAT's what I would call a disappointing documentary, coupled with the psychadelic imagery in the main show and not having the entire set on the DVD, as far as presentation goes, LSFNY is probably their worst DVD, and the only thing that makes it very awesome is getting to experience SFAM with its storyline scenes and everything. But again, as far as the actual video presentation goes, it's quite an underwhelming release. So I'm just thankful that LALP was significantly better than that.

Metropolis 2000 had a documentary? And I was checking out the bonus features on that only the other day. Goes to show how great that one is.

BUT, I have to point out that for as crummy as the video may be, and as lackluster as the bonus features may be (aside from the extra songs), the commentary makes up for most of that imo. That is an excellent commentary, with a lot of insight into the music. Commentaries go a long way with me, and I would love for them to do that again at some point. Same goes for LiT / 5YIALT. Nothing fancy on those, but the commentaries are classic.

Metropolis 2000 is one of their least good DVD releases, but nonetheless very much a worthwhile one to own, as I think they all are.

[TheGreatPretender]

Metropolis 2000 had a documentary? And I was checking out the bonus features on that only the other day. Goes to show how great that one is.

BUT, I have to point out that for as crummy as the video may be, and as lackluster as the bonus features may be (aside from the extra songs), the commentary makes up for most of that imo. That is an excellent commentary, with a lot of insight into the music. Commentaries go a long way with me, and I would love for them to do that again at some point. Same goes for LiT / 5YIALT. Nothing fancy on those, but the commentaries are classic.

Metropolis 2000 is one of their least good DVD releases, but nonetheless very much a worthwhile one to own, as I think they all are.

It's a pretty good commentary for a 'first time listening', but personally, I thought the commentaries on Live in Tokyo, 5YIALT and WDADRU were much more interesting and insightful. Those are the only releases with commentaries that I actually own.

And yes, they're all definitely worthwhile releases, I'm just saying that LALP is easily on par with many of their previous releases. Where it lacks in certain areas, I think it more than makes up for in others.

[Zydar]

I managed to watch about half the show last night, and what a show it was! James was on fire, the sound and picture was great (aside from the low keyboard mix), and everyone was playing at the top of their abilities. The acoustic section was a highlight, especially The Silent Man. I'm going to watch the rest tonight. I don't know how I would rank this one against the other live DVDs but it's definitely one of their best.

[BlobVanDam]

Metropolis 2000 had a documentary? And I was checking out the bonus features on that only the other day. Goes to show how great that one is.

BUT, I have to point out that for as crummy as the video may be, and as lackluster as the bonus features may be (aside from the extra songs), the commentary makes up for most of that imo. That is an excellent commentary, with a lot of insight into the music. Commentaries go a long way with me, and I would love for them to do that again at some point. Same goes for LiT / 5YIALT. Nothing fancy on those, but the commentaries are classic.

Metropolis 2000 is one of their least good DVD releases, but nonetheless very much a worthwhile one to own, as I think they all are.

It's a pretty good commentary for a 'first time listening', but personally, I thought the commentaries on Live in Tokyo, 5YIALT and WDADRU were much more interesting and insightful. Those are the only releases with commentaries that I actually own.

And yes, they're all definitely worthwhile releases, I'm just saying that LALP is easily on par with many of their previous releases. Where it lacks in certain areas, I think it more than makes up for in others.

Overall, it is definitely on par with other releases. I wouldn't for a second say otherwise! Great show, and any fan should have it for their collection. JLB's performance alone puts it right up there.
For special features, I do think Budokan and Score are a bit better though.

And the M2000 commentary is very insightful as far as SFAM goes. It pointed out a lot of details and references I hadn't noticed. Maybe it depends on what aspect of the commentary you like though. I love hearing about the musical stuff. Their other DVDs have more band related banter though.

[TheGreatPretender]

Overall, it is definitely on par with other releases. I wouldn't for a second say otherwise! Great show, and any fan should have it for their collection. JLB's performance alone puts it right up there.
For special features, I do think Budokan and Score are a bit better though.

And the M2000 commentary is very insightful as far as SFAM goes. It pointed out a lot of details and references I hadn't noticed. Maybe it depends on what aspect of the commentary you like though. I love hearing about the musical stuff. Their other DVDs have more band related banter though.

Well, the documentary on Score is definitely second to none, IMO. The second disc of Score could have been released all on its own, and I'd happily buy it.
The documentary on LAB is pretty good too, but when it comes to the multi-angle and the keyboard world, and all that kind of stuff, it's nice that it's there, but I don't really care all that much for it.

The M2000 commentaries were the first ones I've watched, and it was at a time when I was a very new DT fan, so obviously, at the time, to me it seemed like a whole bunch of great insightful information (albeit somewhat misleading, because I spent a good while on eBay afterwards, desperately trying to find a Jordan Rudess action figure). In any case, it's still awesome, I'm not gonna diminish that. But the point is, LSFNY is jam packed with its share of flaws, both in the actual feature presentation and the bonus content. And I would say that LALP beats LSFNY in pretty much every way, as far as performances, presentation and the behind the scenes documentary. No commentary, but heck, we didn't get one for LAB or Score either, so it's not like there was a point in expecting one.

[BlobVanDam]

Well, the documentary on Score is definitely second to none, IMO. The second disc of Score could have been released all on its own, and I'd happily buy it.
The documentary on LAB is pretty good too, but when it comes to the multi-angle and the keyboard world, and all that kind of stuff, it's nice that it's there, but I don't really care all that much for it.

The M2000 commentaries were the first ones I've watched, and it was at a time when I was a very new DT fan, so obviously, at the time, to me it seemed like a whole bunch of great insightful information (albeit somewhat misleading, because I spent a good while on eBay afterwards, desperately trying to find a Jordan Rudess action figure). In any case, it's still awesome, I'm not gonna diminish that. But the point is, LSFNY is jam packed with its share of flaws, both in the actual feature presentation and the bonus content. And I would say that LALP beats LSFNY in pretty much every way, as far as performances, presentation and the behind the scenes documentary. No commentary, but heck, we didn't get one for LAB or Score either, so it's not like there was a point in expecting one.

Um first of all, the Jordan Rudess Action Figure is real. It was a very limited run though, so you probably just missed out, noob.
I'm certainly not denying that LSFNY is full of flaws. That wasn't my point at all! It was their earliest concert that was released on DVD, and it shows. All I'm saying is that as far as bonus content goes, the commentary went a long way for me personally, more so than documentaries and multi angles etc. That's just imo!

I think it's something most people would like to have again though. It gives a great combination of insight into the music, the chemistry of the band members, and all sorts of random and interesting trivia that you wouldn't get elsewhere. You know, all of the stuff that us fans eat up. And with the band at the moment, I think it would turn out really well too.

They had commentary on enough of their DVDs that it's always something that's going to be hoped for (although much less likely without MP, since he seemed to be the one who instigated them). And they promised one for LAB! The way I see it, they still owe us a commentary.

No, not really. They don't owe us anything, but I'd certainly like it.

[Sycsa]

Mike Portnoy made commentaries for both LAB and Score on his drum cam DVDs, which are very interesting and insightful on their own right.

[Kotowboy]

How would you rate Live at Luna Park?

By listening / watching it and discussing my thoughts accordingly. 

[TheAtliator]

HAAAHH!

[TheGreatPretender]

Um first of all, the Jordan Rudess Action Figure is real. It was a very limited run though, so you probably just missed out, noob.
I'm certainly not denying that LSFNY is full of flaws. That wasn't my point at all! It was their earliest concert that was released on DVD, and it shows. All I'm saying is that as far as bonus content goes, the commentary went a long way for me personally, more so than documentaries and multi angles etc. That's just imo!

I think it's something most people would like to have again though. It gives a great combination of insight into the music, the chemistry of the band members, and all sorts of random and interesting trivia that you wouldn't get elsewhere. You know, all of the stuff that us fans eat up. And with the band at the moment, I think it would turn out really well too.

They had commentary on enough of their DVDs that it's always something that's going to be hoped for (although much less likely without MP, since he seemed to be the one who instigated them). And they promised one for LAB! The way I see it, they still owe us a commentary.

No, not really. They don't owe us anything, but I'd certainly like it.

Well, dammit, they should do another run of action figures for the whole band!

And yeah, considering that MP was the one who wanted to do all the commentaries, it's extremely unlikely that we'll see them in the future.

Mike Portnoy made commentaries for both LAB and Score on his drum cam DVDs, which are very interesting and insightful on their own right.

Well, that's all good, but half the awesomeness of the commentaries is hearing the band members interact with one another and as Blob mentioned, the banter. I honestly can't see myself sitting through a 3 hour concert listening to MP alone.

[bosk1]

Well, dammit, they should do another run of action figures for the whole band!

Yes.  "THEY" actually really should do a couple of more action figures.  *ahem!*


*amount that meets the eye may vary

[?]

I just watched the first disc and the bonus songs and I can say I'm really happy with this DVD James sounds amazing (Surrounded ), the setlist is great (TDEN is still one of my least favorite songs, but at least it works well live), MM's drum solo is the most interesting one I've seen by anyone and the whole band are clearly enjoying themselves. The acoustic part with the strings is nice, and I have to admit I didn't manage to hold back my tears during Beneath the Surface

The mix could've been better; as others have said, the keyboards are too low at times and the drum sound isn't the best possible. In spite of that, I have to say this is the best DT DVD since Live in Tokyo, maybe even better than that (I know LIT is an atypical favorite, but I have numerous reasons to prefer it to Budokan and Score). I'll watch the documentary and the hehind-the-scenes stuff later today.

[Sycsa]

I really like his drum sound at his solo spot, the toms sing, the snare is powerful. The problem emerges when the whole band enters the picture, which makes me believe that the fault lies with the mix. The crash cymbals are weak regrdless of the context though.

[mikeyd23]

This is probably old news to most people, but I watched part of the concert again last night and this time tweaked the audio settings.  The improvement was jaw dropping!

Previously I had watched the DVD on my Mac Book with headphones, without adjusting any audio settings, just putting the DVD in, making sure it was in stereo and hitting play.  That resulted in basically a flat EQ in my Mac's default Apple DVD Player program.  This time, during the first song I went in and created a custom EQ, which essentially ended up being a bass boost, a slight decrease of a few of the mids, and a very slight treble increase.   

These tiny adjustments made all the difference. I really liked LaLP watching it through the first time, with no real EQ help, watching it now having EQ'd my laptop specifically for that concert, it sounds amazing.  It basically fixed all the minor mix issues I had except for the keys being a little low in the mix occasionally. It brought out the kick drums and the bass guitar more, and even some of the snare and cymbal work from MM was more noticeable as well. 

Basically it helped a lot! Like I said I was loving this DVD before, now I'm loving it even more!

[RazielSR]

This bluray is amazing! With Score, maybe their best live release. The whole band is on fire!
The amount of amaziness this band shows, is just out of this world.


THANKS DT!!!!!!! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mabowe]

I'd have to say that this Metropolis pt 1 version is the best version captured to date.

[TheGreatPretender]

I'd have to say that this Metropolis pt 1 version is the best version captured to date.

I agree. I'm just not really a fan of when JLB has long, extended talks with the audience right before the final vocal part. Which he has done for THREE live versions of Metropolis released so far (LSFNY, WDADR and now LALP). But that little piano breakdown at the end is nothing short of amazing.

[Cyclopssss]

I´m really glad I got the Deluxe version... the BlueRay is outstanding. I really laughed out loud at the part in the documentary when they brought up ´To Mangini´ in the Urban Dictionary. I really like the guy´s sense of humor.

Yeah have to agree about the audience being too low in the mix, but the overall show is great, fantastic performances allround.

And the photobook is great as well. I really have no complaints at all about this release.

[Kotowboy]

Overall great .

Mangini needs to hit a bit harder. They didn't need the school disco lighting arrangement. The crowd needed to be louder.

That's about it.

The outro to TDEN still kicks all kinds of arse though. 

[Cyclopssss]

Also: Who else teared up during TSCO when they show the girl in the audience?

I think Build me Up, Bring me down deserved to be in the main part of the concert footage, it´s so great.

And yeah, definetely think it´s James´s finest hour, despite of some iffy patches where his vocals are too breathy.

[?]

I think Build me Up, Bring me down deserved to be in the main part of the concert footage, it´s so great.

The bonus tracks aren't part of the main show, because they were only played during the second show.