2016-02-18 & 19 - Palladium, London UK

[pcs90]

Hopefully it stays that way during the encore.  I heard that is where they have been having sound issues the most. 

[ariich]

Well, smart arse, they have actually made it VERY clear that the title track is the encore, by taking bows and leaving the stage after Our New World.

So there!

[dreamtheater360]

No kidding. Sound was so bad during the encore I could barely hear anything. 

[Jinx]

Well, smart arse, they have actually made it VERY clear that the title track is the encore, by taking bows and leaving the stage after Our New World.

So there!

Smart move, they didn't do that last night. But again, and I keep saying this but it was evident that Astonishing was the encore. Nothing else would sound right just tagged on the end.

[MirrorMask]

Just a quick post to say that the sound is absolutely superb tonight. It's loud, crisp, clear and well balanced. Like, among the best sound I've heard at a show.

This makes me happy, considering that I will attend the third show at the same venue.

[Logain Ablar]

Well, smart arse, they have actually made it VERY clear that the title track is the encore, by taking bows and leaving the stage after Our New World.

So there!

Smart move, they didn't do that last night. But again, and I keep saying this but it was evident that Astonishing was the encore. Nothing else would sound right just tagged on the end.

Yes, definitely a smart tweak after last night.

Any more info on tonight's show?? Maybe folks are still collecting their thoughts..

Edit: Not sure if this has been posted, via the official DT Twitter feed: https://amnplify.com.au/cpt_reviews/dream-theater-the-astonishing-live-london-18022016/

[krands85]

That was great! Sound was very good as Rich said and James did very well bar the odd higher passage. The guy with the Ravenskill flag    I was sitting right in the centre, 8 rows from the front - best view I've had of a DT gig  Rather bizarrely, every seat to my right in the middle section stayed empty  Eventually a couple guys appeared a few songs in. Majority of the crowd seemed to really enjoy it (except one guy I heard shout 'boring' I think near the end  ) and most people standing for the final three songs added a lot to them for me, as on the album I'm not hugely keen on that stretch of songs.

Yes, it would have been awesome if they'd cracked out a classic at the end, but I knew what to expect and enjoyed it for what it was.   

[KevShmev]

I think JP's wife and daughter were sat in the royal box? He was looking up to them occasionally. He got distracted at one point and played a wrong chord and laughed.

Found the video of this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niQA5hNAEZ8

At 0:15 

Great stuff there! 

[ariich]

I'll post a proper review when I get home or maybe in the morning. I got an aftershow pass and brought genome along with me, so we stuck around afterwards and got to meet the band. Really cool guys!

[genome]

I have had an incredible evening 

[Kotowboy]

Just a quick post to say that the sound is absolutely superb tonight. It's loud, crisp, clear and well balanced. Like, among the best sound I've heard at a show.

This makes me happy, considering that I will attend the third show at the same venue.

There's a third London date ?

[noxon]

I'm assuming he means when they play in Milan, since he's from Italy.

[noxon]

I have had an incredible evening 

Glad you had fun.

[ariich]

Ok, I find myself on a slow train home, so here are some more detailed thoughts to pass the time.

As I said, the sound was fantastic right from the off. Genome said they'd got the sound right by halfway through the second set last night - seems they stuck with the right settings tonight. Really made everything very engaging and convincing. Chatted to the band after, and James explained that they have their own PA on the tour but had to use the Palladium's for these shows, which probably contributed to the teething problems.

Performances were very strong, pretty much flawless from the instrumentalists, and James was on good form. It was his usual thing - strong when singing out loudly, even on the high notes, but no annunciation on the high notes, and some off pitching on quieter sections.

Overall the band seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot. Fans who were there both nights commented how much more relaxed they were tonight, and the band seemed to confirm this.

The encore thing - Richard and Kerry who run Voices UK were at both nights, and Kerry explained that she and Danielle Rudess (who was also there, and is a theatre director) had come up with a way to make the encore clear and bring the house lights up quickly, to avoid confusion and disappointment. Worked perfectly, everyone got it. And actually, in the live setting treating the title track as an epilogue/encore works brilliantly and made the pacing better in my opinion.

The crowd were great! Pretty reserved in our usual British way, and it was seated of course, but it was a really warm reception. Lots of applause all the time, people standing up on occasion, one guy down the front had a (presumably home made) Ravenskill flag which he started waving in Brother Can You Hear Me and occasionally after. And everyone stood up at the start of Hymn and stayed standing for the rest of it. Really great atmosphere!

Oh and the visuals - on the whole they were good. They are very clearly designed to do the usual thing at DT shows which is accompany the band and music, rather than be the focus. Some on the animation is low budget (lots of use of the character "cardboard cutout" pics) but some is really great, presumably mostly stock animations and vids but all very fitting. The lighting (which was by far the best I've seen from DT) and vids really added to the atmosphere of each song. There was only one moment I thought was awful, which was the cardboard cutout pic of Faythe photoshopped into a bed for Begin Again. It looked quite ridiculous.

All in all though, really great show!


Standout moments for me:

Three Days was just superb. James has SO much character, and Mike's drumming at the end was just outrageously excellent.

The Daryus section in A Life Left Behind (I'll keep her safe from all danger etc) was brilliant, gave me chills.

But the most chills-down-the-spine moment was the build up and climax in The X Aspect. It embodied emotion and really got to me. Stunning.

Guitar solo in A New Beginning - I'm not as in love with it as many are (though I like it loads) but it was fantastic live. Reminded me of BAI.

My Last Farewell was fantastic and again very emotive.

Hymn of a Thousand Voices is another song I like but don't love, but the crowd completely got into it and stood for the whole thing. The swaying and the joining in for the choir bit (even though most of us didn't really know the lyrics there) was so immersive.

[RaasMah]

First time seeing DT live, and it was amazing! So glad I flew specifically for this to London.

Have to say though, I really wanted to punch the guy that screamed "pull me under" and "boring" after whispers on he wind, that was not cool.
Also, the London crowd seems to be especially dry. Me and my two friends were at the royal circle and desperately tried to get people to stand up at the last song. Slightly ruined the moment having us the only ones to stand up there.

Still, had such a great time! I have to mention hat James was excellent! A few slips but mostly spot on.
Oh and A New Beginning solo was just as incredible as I thought it would be. The crowd went especially nuts at that one in the stalls

[IdoSC]

The question i'm missing is, did Labrie sing the ending to A Tempting Offer saying "dec---i-i-ddde" or "decide"? JP said on Reddit that there was nothing wrong with that part on the album...

It's more likely that John just tried to brush it off or actually didn't notice, than having this awkward stop be on purpose. He would've referred to that pause by name and explain why it happens if it was on purpose, instead he was like " Wait what are we talking about again?"

[genome]

Yup, pretty much echo the comments so far. The sound was spot on from the off and the crowd were more into it throughout, the whole thing was more confident and assured. Speaking to them afterwards they echoed that, particularly JP noticed it.

Must say thanks to ariich for being a gent. It was great to meet the band. All of them were very friendly and engaging. And I held it together pretty well meeting JP who is one of my guitar heroes! Had a good nerd out about his new amp!

All in all... Decent evening I suppose!

[erwinrafael]

Watching the Youtube videos, all I can say is WHEN WOULD RICH CHYCKI AND PETRUCCI REALIZE THAT MANGINI"S DRUMS SOUND SO MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE WHEN YOU CAN HEAR THE CYMBALS CLEARLY?

[ariich]

Have to say though, I really wanted to punch the guy that screamed "pull me under" and "boring" after whispers on he wind, that was not cool.

That guy was a dick, but at least he was the only one. The other heckles were really positive ones, like "that was SHIT HOT!"

Also, the London crowd seems to be especially dry. Me and my two friends were at the royal circle and desperately tried to get people to stand up at the last song. Slightly ruined the moment having us the only ones to stand up there.

I can imagine it would be a bit like that in the circles. It was a great atmosphere down in the stalls, loads of songs got people all around clapping along.

Must say thanks to ariich for being a gent.

And I held it together pretty well meeting JP who is one of my guitar heroes! Had a good nerd out about his new amp!

Alright, no need to rub it in that you got to chat with him and I didn't. I guess I'll make do with getting to speak to everyone else. Next time, I'm targeting JP.

Watching the Youtube videos, all I can say is WHEN WOULD RICH CHYCKI AND PETRUCCI REALIZE THAT MANGINI"S DRUMS SOUND SO MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE WHEN YOU CAN HEAR THE CYMBALS CLEARLY?

Definitely! When you can hear the cymbals properly, his drumming is just so cool and groovy. Really hits home when you see him live.

[aurorablind]

Heavens Cove! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ionoUH76roU
Awesomesauce! 

LOL at Jordans hickup with the patch-change  Great to see that he`s actually human.
BTW, have anyone else noticed that MM have moved his stacks and splashes from the bottom to the upper rack?

[Bertielee]

I made myself the same remark after seeing the videos posted earlier in the thread. F***, there are some really groovy moments that are lost on the CD because of poor cymbal sound. Glad you all had a nice time, pals!

B.Lee

[Logain Ablar]

Great info, guys. So jealous!

[Progmetty]

Did they have a different ending to New Beginning? I mean obviously they didn't fade it out live but did they do anything interesting there?

[dodido253]

A Better Life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkWFsuhT-i4

[Kotowboy]

Heavens Cove! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ionoUH76roU
Awesomesauce! 

LOL at Jordans hickup with the patch-change  Great to see that he`s actually human.
BTW, have anyone else noticed that MM have moved his stacks and splashes from the bottom to the upper rack?

I noticed that he only has two bass drums now and it makes his kit look a lot less oversized.

[ariich]

Bahaha I'd forgotten about Jordan's patch screw up in Heaven's Cove. He recovered quickly and it was all fine, but it made me chuckle.

That's a good video that one. The thing I'd say with these vids is that they don't quite get across how much the visuals add to the atmosphere. The screens are not just at the back, but all at the sides of the front plus the drum riser. Especially if you're sat in the stalls, there are a number of points where it becomes incredibly immersive.

[ariich]

Oh another thing the show highlighted was how many guitar solos there are across the album. I don't understand why some people thought there weren't many.

[Jinx]

Bahaha I'd forgotten about Jordan's patch screw up in Heaven's Cove. He recovered quickly and it was all fine, but it made me chuckle.

That's a good video that one. The thing I'd say with these vids is that they don't quite get across how much the visuals add to the atmosphere. The screens are not just at the back, but all at the sides of the front plus the drum riser. Especially if you're sat in the stalls, there are a number of points where it becomes incredibly immersive.

I loved it during Dystopian Overture as they took you on a tour through the GNE from the NOMAC perspective

[KevShmev]

Oh another thing the show highlighted was how many guitar solos there are across the album. I don't understand why some people thought there weren't many.

I am guessing the "songs with guitar solos to total songs" ratio is a bit lower than normal (I think ADTOE and DT12 were both 6 or 7 out of 9, for example), but yeah, there are still a lot of solos on this record.  And many of them are pretty understated, by JP's standards.

[ariich]

Oh another thing the show highlighted was how many guitar solos there are across the album. I don't understand why some people thought there weren't many.

I am guessing the "songs with guitar solos to total songs" ratio is a bit lower than normal (I think ADTOE and DT12 were both 6 or 7 out of 9, for example), but yeah, there are still a lot of solos on this record.  And many of them are pretty understated, by JP's standards.

Hmm, I'd say per-track is a strange ratio to consider - per length of time is surely more appropriate. If we just take the first disc of TA, which is comprable in length to a usual DT album, there are solos in:

Dystopian Overture
Gift of Music
A Better Life
[A Saviour in the Square (ish, in the intro - call it a half-solo maybe)]
When Your Time Has Come
Chosen
A New Beginning

So that's 6-7, i.e. the same as the last couple of albums.

And for sure many of JP's solos are very melodic rather than crazy techy ones, though I find that's normally the case anyway. I guess others might find them understate.

[genome]

Great video of Savior in the Square and When Your Time Has Come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mhh-7TcOY

[wideworldofmike]

A Better Life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkWFsuhT-i4

Johns guitar sounds amazing in this video, that lead tone is one of the best live sounds I've heard from him, can't wait to see this live.

[Kotowboy]

Great video of Savior in the Square and When Your Time Has Come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mhh-7TcOY

[CrimsonSunrise]

Great video of Savior in the Square and When Your Time Has Come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mhh-7TcOY

WOW.....stunning. 

[Prog Snob]

Great video of Savior in the Square and When Your Time Has Come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mhh-7TcOY

WOW.....stunning.

That was really amazing. With the exception of a couple of vocal imperfections, it was flawless.