Your biggest complaint about the tour

[Shooters1221]

Well that sucks. I for one did not get one in Boston.

Maybe I missed it, but I dont recall seeing these in NJ last week, but I did get one from RCMH on the last leg.

Weird. My girlfriend and I each got one at the Port Chester show just a few days later.

WOW, if you're talking about those small thin playbill type pamphlets then yes I went to 2 shows and they handed them out going in, AND, there were extras laying out on the table on the way out at both shows. I grabbed like 5  or 10 of them that are actually still in my car. They are not really that big of a deal, pretty generic.

[Implode]

I had never even heard of JP's comment regarding that, but the official communications left no doubt that that was indeed what it was supposed to be like. To quote directly from dt.net:

" will see the pioneering group performing their widely acclaimed double concept album The Astonishing in immersive and interactive settings for a unique and unparalleled live experience"

I personally wouldn't critique DT too much for that, because I hear that kind of spiel for every act. Like last year when Haken first toured in the US, the description of VIP tickets said they included "unprecedented access," and it ended up just being 30 minute early entry and a really low quality/res upscaled poster.

[rumborak]

Oh, trust me, usually I dismiss this stuff, since they say something of that kind for every album (and every band does that). "This is our best album yet!".

That said, TA I felt was different in that regard, and it made sense since TA was meant to be this Magnum Opus, their The Wall equivalent.

[Ben_Jamin]

Maybe his The Wall reference was because it's a double album concept, and Pink Floyd only played that album during its tour. Hence what they also did.

[Prog Snob]

I had never even heard of JP's comment regarding that, but the official communications left no doubt that that was indeed what it was supposed to be like. To quote directly from dt.net:

" will see the pioneering group performing their widely acclaimed double concept album The Astonishing in immersive and interactive settings for a unique and unparalleled live experience"

I personally wouldn't critique DT too much for that, because I hear that kind of spiel for every act. Like last year when Haken first toured in the US, the description of VIP tickets said they included "unprecedented access," and it ended up just being 30 minute early entry and a really low quality/res upscaled poster.

Yeah, I'm not too sure what people are bitching about. It's called advertising. What did they really expect from DT's budget? It's like when any band says, "this is going to be our best album yet", and you don't like it so you blame the band for hyping it, forgetting there are tens of thousands of other people who probably loved it.

[Ben_Jamin]

I had never even heard of JP's comment regarding that, but the official communications left no doubt that that was indeed what it was supposed to be like. To quote directly from dt.net:

" will see the pioneering group performing their widely acclaimed double concept album The Astonishing in immersive and interactive settings for a unique and unparalleled live experience"

I personally wouldn't critique DT too much for that, because I hear that kind of spiel for every act. Like last year when Haken first toured in the US, the description of VIP tickets said they included "unprecedented access," and it ended up just being 30 minute early entry and a really low quality/res upscaled poster.

Yeah, I'm not too sure what people are bitching about. It's called advertising. What did they really expect from DT's budget? It's like when any band says, "this is going to be our best album yet", and you don't like it so you blame the band for hyping it, forgetting there are tens of thousands of other people who probably loved it.

My point exactly. Of course, it's not the band that puts out the ads for the show.

[Adami]

But they didn't say "best tour yet". They gave rather specific expectations.

If they said "our most complex, intricate album yet" and then every song was a 4 chord pop tune, that would be more of a similar comparison.

[rumborak]

I mean, can someone run by me what part of the concert was immersive, and particularly which one was interactive? (I sincerely hope that sad screenshot device in the lobby wasn't the interactive part)

[Chino]

I mean, can someone run by me what part of the concert was immersive, and particularly which one was interactive? (I sincerely hope that sad screenshot device in the lobby wasn't the interactive part)

I thought the screens were pretty immersive, TBH. The interaction element was obviously the band playing the next song only after the audience clapped for the previous one.

[rumborak]

The screens, I guess every band's performance is immersive now.

[cramx3]

Yea while I enjoyed the screen show, I'm not sure what is "immersive" about it and this show was by far the least amount of "interaction" from anything with the band and crowd. 

I think the most immersive and interactive part was actually probably the NOMAC tracks.  With the huge bass, you could almost feel like they were there.  Maybe that counts?

[rumborak]

The impression I get is that there is a huge discrepancy between what JP had in mind for the album, and what actually ended up being implemented. I mean, there was supposed to be a smartphone game, a novelization, an interactive concert, but it looks that spread them and RR so thinly that it all kinda ended up being done to only varying degrees.

[cramx3]

I agree with that impression.  Also makes me wonder if there will be any more legs of this tour and a DVD due to that (and lack of enthusiasm from the fans).

[rumborak]

I don't think there will. The way it looks they're losing a lot of money with this second leg, and they're not gonna stick their neck out even more with anything related to TA. The smartphone game as an example is pretty dead I assume.
So, my guess is they will finish the second leg, suck up the loss and regroup. Maybe wait some time, then come back with a new album and a normal concert that mixes new material and old stuff.

[Prog Snob]

I agree with that impression.  Also makes me wonder if there will be any more legs of this tour and a DVD due to that (and lack of enthusiasm from the fans).

I think this will be the end of the tour. I'm sure they're already putting together some ideas of what to do for the next album. Unless they kept it a secret, I don't know when they would have recorded any of the shows for a possible Blu-ray release.

[SwedishGoose]

I agree with that impression.  Also makes me wonder if there will be any more legs of this tour and a DVD due to that (and lack of enthusiasm from the fans).

I think this will be the end of the tour. I'm sure they're already putting together some ideas of what to do for the next album. Unless they kept it a secret, I don't know when they would have recorded any of the shows for a possible Blu-ray release.

They need to plan one last show in London with the LSO and other guests for a BlueRay release. I would be there in a heartbeat.

[Chino]

I don't think there will. The way it looks they're losing a lot of money with this second leg, and they're not gonna stick their neck out even more with anything related to TA. The smartphone game as an example is pretty dead I assume.

Didn't one of the lead developers of that game die in a motorcycle wreck?

[OpenYourEyes311]

They need to plan one last show in London with the LSO and other guests for a BlueRay release. I would be there in a heartbeat.

Yeah, when the tour ends, there's no reason they can't pump up a final performance for a bluray release. If they announce an orchestra and maybe special guests, pretty much anywhere in the world will most likely sell out.

[TAC]

Not that in and of itself, an orchestra being part of TA Live wouldn't be a bad thing, but that would make 3 official live releases with an orchestra. Enough already. And they really didn't use the live recording in Boston anyway.

[cramx3]

Not that in and of itself, an orchestra being part of TA Live wouldn't be a bad thing, but that would make 3 official live releases with an orchestra. Enough already. And they really didn't use the live recording in Boston anyway.

I don't like this reason, because for me, there is never enough 

Also, if they did announce such a concert, I would do what I could to make it there.  I just hope for such a show they would let the crowd stand and get into it a bit more, I'd be fine with a no phone policy still for such a show though.

[rumborak]

Not that in and of itself, an orchestra being part of TA Live wouldn't be a bad thing, but that would make 3 official live releases with an orchestra. Enough already. And they really didn't use the live recording in Boston anyway.

That was SUPER disappointing. They record a concert with an orchestra, and then overdub it.
Agree with the overall sentiment though. Orchestras, frankly, are a bit of a copout for bands that don't know what to do else.

I don't think there will. The way it looks they're losing a lot of money with this second leg, and they're not gonna stick their neck out even more with anything related to TA. The smartphone game as an example is pretty dead I assume.

Didn't one of the lead developers of that game die in a motorcycle wreck?

Their sound designer I think, and they said on their page that they were going to continue. I don't think that happened though.

[Mosh]

With any other band, I'd probably agree that two albums with an orchestra are more than enough, but I can make an exception for DT because the orchestrations are often already part of the original recordings, rather than being quickly put together for a one off event. The Astonishing in particular has a lot of cool orchestral stuff going on and it would be a missed opportunity not to perform with an orchestra.

[Prog Snob]

Not that in and of itself, an orchestra being part of TA Live wouldn't be a bad thing, but that would make 3 official live releases with an orchestra. Enough already. And they really didn't use the live recording in Boston anyway.

You're exactly right. If anything, I would love one show with guest vocalists and have that be the official release. You don't need an orchestra when you have Jordan.

[rumborak]

Yeah, guest vocalists would be the way to go, not an orchestra. The Lzzy Hale version showed the potential of a female vocalist in parts.

Heck, maybe even a wardrobe change for James between songs. That's another one of those low-hanging fruits they missed. It's supposed to be immersive, but the singer wears a plain metal outfit the whole show. Any of the guys really.

[goo-goo]

I don't think there will. The way it looks they're losing a lot of money with this second leg, and they're not gonna stick their neck out even more with anything related to TA. The smartphone game as an example is pretty dead I assume.
So, my guess is they will finish the second leg, suck up the loss and regroup. Maybe wait some time, then come back with a new album and a normal concert that mixes new material and old stuff.

It will be interesting to see what their next touring plans is. I'm surprised there's no European 2nd leg. That's where they make most of their money and tour over there a lot. Maybe they are planning a "selections of TA" with some of the songs from their back catalog. Or as you said, regroup and either go into studio/recording mode and start the next touring cycle as soon as possible.

[cramx3]

Yeah, guest vocalists would be the way to go, not an orchestra. The Lzzy Hale version showed the potential of a female vocalist in parts.

Heck, maybe even a wardrobe change for James between songs. That's another one of those low-hanging fruits they missed. It's supposed to be immersive, but the singer wears a plain metal outfit the whole show. Any of the guys really.

Here's the thing with guest vocals and the band dressing in character... that goes against the visuals which show all of the characters.  It would be weird seeing a Faythe on the screen dancing to her music player while also seeing a person playing Faythe on stage and singing it.  I'm not sure the band ever intended to have live singers due to the use of the visuals showing the story/characters.

Someone in the DVD thread mentioned it would be cooler if they did something like The Theater Equation.  I think that would require removing the screens and actually having a live set though to really work.  Or Change the visuals so it's only scenery not the characters themselves.

Having said all of that the album performed live with an orchestra, having been recorded with an orchestra, is really the best way to shoot it live without having to put more effort into the show since it doesn't require anything different from the current live show.

[rumborak]

It will be interesting to see what their next touring plans is. I'm surprised there's no European 2nd leg. That's where they make most of their money and tour over there a lot. Maybe they are planning a "selections of TA" with some of the songs from their back catalog. Or as you said, regroup and either go into studio/recording mode and start the next touring cycle as soon as possible.

Europe isn't the sure-fire place for DT anymore either. My brother saw them for DT12 on the second leg in Germany, and he said the attendance was really, really sad.

Here's the thing with guest vocals and the band dressing in character... that goes against the visuals which show all of the characters.  It would be weird seeing a Faythe on the screen dancing to her music player while also seeing a person playing Faythe on stage and singing it.  I'm not sure the band ever intended to have live singers due to the use of the visuals showing the story/characters.

I can see that ... but at the very least it would have been good to dress "in style" of the album. Checkout out this picture, where it's just some band T-shirt. That kind of band appearance does not help with any immersiveness for sure.
I don't know. While I feel some factors were certainly outside of DT's control, their own commitment to the presentation of TA left much to be desired too. It felt like they treated it like any old concert.

[axeman90210]

I kind of hope that they do something similar to when Iron Maiden followed up the AMOLAD tour (where they played the whole new album front to back) with the Somewhere Back in Time tour. Maybe a set of material up through SFAM or Six Degrees. Don't see it happening though, both due to Mangini and because they gave Awake and SFAM some anniversary attention on the DT12 tour.

[Mosh]

DT don't really need to go the Maiden route of alternating between classic focused and new album focused tours though. The evening with format is enough to represent all eras of the band.

[axeman90210]

I don't think they need to do it from a creative standpoint, but I bet that if they announced such a tour they'd get a pretty good turnout and it might help rebuild some good will with promoters after the lackluster turnout for the second Astonishing leg. Also, as someone whose top five DT releases all fall in that period I think it's a good idea for purely selfish reasons

[hefdaddy42]

I think that if DT took a little more time off, and then, before releasing another album, announce an "Evening With" tour for next summer, they would make a killing.

With no album to support, they could just do a regular concert, drawing material from any/all of their albums, with fans not knowing the setlist ahead of time.

THEN release their next album, then a supporting tour thereafter.

[TAC]

Yeah, guest vocalists would be the way to go, not an orchestra. The Lzzy Hale Chego version showed the potential of a female vocalist in parts.

[mikeyd23]

I think that if DT took a little more time off, and then, before releasing another album, announce an "Evening With" tour for next summer, they would make a killing.

With no album to support, they could just do a regular concert, drawing material from any/all of their albums, with fans not knowing the setlist ahead of time.

THEN release their next album, then a supporting tour thereafter.

Agreed.

[rumborak]

Yeah, guest vocalists would be the way to go, not an orchestra. The Lzzy Hale Chego version showed the potential of a female vocalist in parts.

True true. That version was far superior to the Lzzy Hale version.

[rumborak]

On a side note, I wonder whether the "no phone" enforcement, and the resulting lack of YT videos from the show, actually hurt attendance. I could see people who would have been on the fence for the first leg, after watching some online videos, saying "I should watch that live".