My Thoughts On "Strange Deja Vu" Live From Boston Opera House

[adamack]

Been awhile since I have posted here. I fell into one of my cycles where I had played out DT from listening to them far too much for so long.

Anyway, just some thoughts on the new live video. (Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ncb21mbJE)

Judging from this one performance, I already love this a LOT more than Luna Park.


To me, Luna Park had a ton of flaws in the mixing department. A few of the main ones:

- Petrucci was far too loud. He also had a chorus-type effect on his guitar which sounded washy, and made palm mutes sound less tight and "mean".

- Jordan was FAR too low in the mix. The synth and piano elements were hidden, and as a result the overall ambiance and environmental texture of the performance was lacking. Everything sounded too dry.

- Mangini's drum kit (particularly the snare) did not sound poppy/tight enough to me. The snare hits did not hit with power, and sounded loose.

- To his credit, James did sound really good.


Alternatively, the mix from the Boston Opera House sounds MUCH better to me.

- The orchestra and choir adds an big, epic environmental underlay to the mix.

- James sounds amazing. Maybe a tad too much auto-tune as we've come to expect, but I'm not going to complain. I'd rather everything be in tune than deal with off-key notes that drive me insane.

- Everyone's performance is on point. I still would like for Mangini to come alive a bit more, showman-wise. He often looks bored. I think it is due to the economical nature of his technique though. But his kit sounds far better to me than in Luna Park. Overall, I am still always going to favor Portnoy personally. But Mangini gets the job done.

- As for song choice, I am always going to be biased in favor of anything off of SFaM, as it is my favorite album of all time. So 10/10 for playing Strange Deja Vu


I am extremely excited for this DVD to come out! I think I will be way more pleased with it than Luna Park.

[Nearmyth]

One big thing that stands out about the videos we've seen so far: it actually sounds live. It doesn't sound over produced and you can hear everyone, even the orchestra and the choir. It doesn't just sound like a studio recording over the band playing.

Also that lick @ 3:08  That's what I like to see from a live performance!

[adamack]

One big thing that stands out about the videos we've seen so far: it actually sounds live. It doesn't sound over produced and you can hear everyone, even the orchestra and the choir. It doesn't just sound like a studio recording over the band playing.

Also that lick @ 3:08  That's what I like to see from a live performance!

Absolutely! It has the environmental sound of a live event. Opposed to Luna Park, which the crowd sounded controlled and dipped in and out, unnaturally.

And agreed....I was going to mention that Petrucci lick...so good to hear him improv like that.

[XB0BX]

The sound quality's great but wait a minute... didn't Dream Theater have a keyboardist and/or bassist?

[Xenon]

The sound quality's great but wait a minute... didn't Dream Theater have a keyboardist and/or bassist?

Yes, and you can crealy hear them in the mix. The bass sounds so clear that you can hear every note in the whole song.
The only thing with the sound is JP tone. Horrible.

[mirko_metal_88]

The only thing with the sound is JP tone. Horrible.

totally agree, but it's his normal tone, sadly

i think the autotune on JLB voice is too evident, but overall it sounds fine and i think it will be a good dvd

[bosk1]

Yeah, the bass is so clear that at one point, I heard a drop of sweat drip from Myung's forehead onto the bass strings.  It's THAT clear.

[Xenon]

The only thing with the sound is JP tone. Horrible.

totally agree, but it's his normal tone, sadly

i think the autotune on JLB voice is too evident, but overall it sounds fine and i think it will be a good dvd

I miss MarkIV era. I don't get why JP is using those shitty pre amps. If it was in favor of portability he could use axe fx for everything.

[mirko_metal_88]

Still better than JM tone, anyway......

[As I Am]

BIG step up! Luna Park was so bad it's almost embarrassing.....

[wolven74]

Almost? I think it is embarrassing, when you put it next to their previous live DVDs. After all the hype leading up to Luna, I felt pretty cheated. Watched it twice. The second time was just to confirm that, yes... it's that bad. Breaking the 4th Wall will be so much better.

[Grizz]

The only thing with the sound is JP tone. Horrible.

totally agree, but it's his normal tone, sadly

i think the autotune on JLB voice is too evident, but overall it sounds fine and i think it will be a good dvd

I miss MarkIV era. I don't get why JP is using those shitty pre amps. If it was in favor of portability he could use axe fx for everything.

Actually, since both the first and most recent album sound like bad Rush knock-offs he should just bring back the RG100ES

[RaiseTheKnife]

Almost? I think it is embarrassing, when you put it next to their previous live DVDs. After all the hype leading up to Luna, I felt pretty cheated. Watched it twice. The second time was just to confirm that, yes... it's that bad. Breaking the 4th Wall will be so much better.

I think I'm the only person not let down by Luna Park.  After the boggled mismatched sound of Chaos in Motion, I really liked having a slick and even sounding production.   The high kinetic cutting didn't bother me either, the light show during that tour was simply amazing, and I think the BluRay represents it quite well.

The only disappointment I had with Luna Park was with the crowd energy (not to be misread as their sound in the mix, which is fine to me).  I was expecting to see a Chilean level of hysteria.

[Enalya]

As I posted under the vid on YouTube:
"Why is everyone complaining so much? Annoys and saddens me these days.
I really like this performance and mixing, I dó hear the choir and I dó hear the orchestra. Can't wait for the DVD!"

So adamack, thanks for posting your positive thoughts on this - I actually agree on everything you said

Although autotuning my greatest example of male vocalists disappoints me a bit... 

[Xenon]

Almost? I think it is embarrassing, when you put it next to their previous live DVDs. After all the hype leading up to Luna, I felt pretty cheated. Watched it twice. The second time was just to confirm that, yes... it's that bad. Breaking the 4th Wall will be so much better.

I think I'm the only person not let down by Luna Park.  After the boggled mismatched sound of Chaos in Motion, I really liked having a slick and even sounding production.   The high kinetic cutting didn't bother me either, the light show during that tour was simply amazing, and I think the BluRay represents it quite well.

The only disappointment I had with Luna Park was with the crowd energy (not to be misread as their sound in the mix, which is fine to me).  I was expecting to see a Chilean level of hysteria.

The funny thing with the crowd at Luna park is that they played in a venue with seats for that one, and now they are coming back to play in one without seats. Don't get why they did that when the seats in the Luna Park can be removed 
But well, I think it was a promotor decision, seated venue means more money.

[ariich]

But well, I think it was a promotor decision, seated venue means more money.

It does? Why's that? I would have thought you can get more people in if it's standing.

[Xenon]

But well, I think it was a promotor decision, seated venue means more money.

It does? Why's that? I would have thought you can get more people in if it's standing.

Yes, you can get more people, but here DT rarely sold out here. There's a lot of people, yes, but never a filled venue and with sits, the ones at the front are quite expensive, and as you get far from the stage they get cheaper.
Without seats it's almost the same price for everyone. Only 3 categories as you can see here:


I payed less that any of the other times I saw them and I can potencially get a better spot to see them.

[adamack]

Almost? I think it is embarrassing, when you put it next to their previous live DVDs. After all the hype leading up to Luna, I felt pretty cheated. Watched it twice. The second time was just to confirm that, yes... it's that bad. Breaking the 4th Wall will be so much better.

I think I'm the only person not let down by Luna Park.  After the boggled mismatched sound of Chaos in Motion, I really liked having a slick and even sounding production.   The high kinetic cutting didn't bother me either, the light show during that tour was simply amazing, and I think the BluRay represents it quite well.

The only disappointment I had with Luna Park was with the crowd energy (not to be misread as their sound in the mix, which is fine to me).  I was expecting to see a Chilean level of hysteria.

It's good to hear someone who does like LP

As much as I've nitpicked about it, I definitely do not find it un-watchable and am still entertained by it. The set list was great to me, because I am such a huge fan of ADToE.

And I totally agree about the crowd energy. They did not seem to hold a consistent level of hype.

I'm just so glad that the new DVD sounds so much better.

As I posted under the vid on YouTube:
"Why is everyone complaining so much? Annoys and saddens me these days.
I really like this performance and mixing, I dó hear the choir and I dó hear the orchestra. Can't wait for the DVD!"

So adamack, thanks for posting your positive thoughts on this - I actually agree on everything you said

Although autotuning my greatest example of male vocalists disappoints me a bit... 

Agreed, we DT fans tend to have a very perceptive view when it comes to breaking everything down.

And I can't wait either...so excited for this DVD!

My one wish is that they play Behind The Veil and Surrender To Reason. That will make everything perfect

[genome]

Yeah, another one disappointed in JP's tone here. Sounds very shrill, lacks balls, and is too narrow. I didn't mind the stereo chorusing effect on LALP personally, as he's the only guitarist he kind of needs it.