Top Of The World Tour 2023

[cramx3]

I feel like with DT, we should be getting US tour dates any day now, no? They are done in Europe in a week and a half, and have only 3 dates announced in Asia. If they're touring this summer here, shouldn't those dates be coming soon?

Maybe, summer tours only just started being announced recently, but are they even hinting at US tour dates coming soon?

[Kram]

I feel like with DT, we should be getting US tour dates any day now, no? They are done in Europe in a week and a half, and have only 3 dates announced in Asia. If they're touring this summer here, shouldn't those dates be coming soon?

Maybe, summer tours only just started being announced recently, but are they even hinting at US tour dates coming soon?

I know I read, or saw in an interview a couple months back with either JL or JP where they did state they'd be touring the US again this year.  Sorry, I can't recall exactly where I saw that but I know I did somewhere lol (sucks getting old).

[cminor]

I know I read, or saw in an interview a couple months back with either JL or JP where they did state they'd be touring the US again this year.  Sorry, I can't recall exactly where I saw that but I know I did somewhere lol (sucks getting old).

It might have been this interview. That's the only one I remember that was posted here where James was talking about upcoming tour dates in the US.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/james-labrie-doesnt-think-dream-theater-will-begin-recording-next-album-before-early-2024

[Kram]

I know I read, or saw in an interview a couple months back with either JL or JP where they did state they'd be touring the US again this year.  Sorry, I can't recall exactly where I saw that but I know I did somewhere lol (sucks getting old).

It might have been this interview. That's the only one I remember that was posted here where James was talking about upcoming tour dates in the US.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/james-labrie-doesnt-think-dream-theater-will-begin-recording-next-album-before-early-2024

Yes I think that's it.  Thanks cminor

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

still nothing on a potential DVD? 

[Architeuthis]

I have my doubts about a possible dvd from this tour.  I think they would have announced it by now, so more people would be buying tickets for that particular show.
I remember JP saying in a recent interview that he's not much of a dvd/bluray guy anymore.  🤔

I hope I'm wrong.

[Bentower]

Surprised to not have seen a mention of this yet. The band tweeted on Feb 1st that the concert in Copenhagen that was scheduled for tonight is cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances". There's been no further info as far as I can tell on what the bump in the road might have been.

https://twitter.com/dreamtheaternet/status/1620607896785412098

[hefdaddy42]

If I'm not mistaken, the stage that the venue had erected was unsuitable to support the lighting rig, or some other technical stuff.

[Bentower]

If I'm not mistaken, the stage that the venue had erected was unsuitable to support the lighting rig, or some other technical stuff.

Different show. That was the case for the one in Oulu, Finland last week.

[cminor]

If I'm not mistaken, the stage that the venue had erected was unsuitable to support the lighting rig, or some other technical stuff.

Different show. That was the case for the one in Oulu, Finland last week.

Exactly.
Anyway, way too much bad luck for the band over here in Europe. During this tour they already had to cancel two concerts and in 2022 one (?) in Spain. I really hope there is an insurance for such cases.

[cramx3]

Anyway, way too much bad luck for the band over here in Europe.

Yeah, this tour seems to be kind of a disaster in some ways.

[Schurftkut]

yeah i'm supposed to see them tomorrow, i really hope no one's sick or anything like that. Sold out venue :-)

[Mladen]

Wait a minute, this is the third show in total that got cancelled in the last four weeks? How does that even happen? 

I'm honestly grateful that the show I saw in Bratislava even happened, it's usually the concerts in Eastern Europe that end up getting cancelled.

[cminor]

Wait a minute, this is the third show in total that got cancelled in the last four weeks?

To make it clear: I think they had to cancel two dates [Oulu, Finland and Horsens, Denmark] for the 2023 Europe tour and one (maybe more? I don't remember) for the first leg of the Europe tour back in May 2022 [Bilbao, Spain].

[cramx3]

Oh, I thought

If I'm not mistaken, the stage that the venue had erected was unsuitable to support the lighting rig, or some other technical stuff.

Different show. That was the case for the one in Oulu, Finland last week.

meant there were two Finland cancellations and then the one back from Denmark earlier in the tour.

I also thought this was implying 3 cancellations.  2 is still pretty shitty.

[Wim Kruithof]

yeah i'm supposed to see them tomorrow, i really hope no one's sick or anything like that. Sold out venue :-)

Sold out? Nice, hope you have a wunderful time Schurftkut! I'll see them Sunday in 013, Tilburg. Can't wait...

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Watching the Break the Fourth Wall video tonight. In a way that is the birth of the DT that exists today. It's nuts how energetic and locked in the band sounds on this. The View tour is excellent too, but this show was just next level. Anyone agree?

[?]

Oh, I thought

If I'm not mistaken, the stage that the venue had erected was unsuitable to support the lighting rig, or some other technical stuff.

Different show. That was the case for the one in Oulu, Finland last week.

meant there were two Finland cancellations and then the one back from Denmark earlier in the tour.

I also thought this was implying 3 cancellations.  2 is still pretty shitty.

Only the latter Finnish show in Oulu was canceled due to the stage issues - Tampere went ahead as planned, though according to reports they only sold 1700 tickets.

[Wim Kruithof]

Watching the Break the Fourth Wall video tonight. In a way that is the birth of the DT that exists today. It's nuts how energetic and locked in the band sounds on this. The View tour is excellent too, but this show was just next level. Anyone agree?

Totally agree, this show is one of their very best, IMHO.

edit; such a shame they only released it in a dvd-package, with no limited editions. Would be fantastic if it was released as an artbook or vinyl as well.

And strangly enough it's not for sale in iTunes or AppleTV.

[Schurftkut]

i just uploaded 2 short videos of the concert last night. I had perfect seats in the middle behind the lighting guy. Search for "dream theater oosterpoort" on youtube to see them (6:00/solitary shell)

good to see them have fun on stage, the singer of Arion who opened had really good energy and a voice that could rival JLB in 1992, it's just that their music wasn't my cup of tea.. ^^

[The Paddies]

How was the show in Groningen? One of the smallest venues they've played in NL in their entire career. Times are definitely changing.

[Wim Kruithof]

How was the show in Groningen? One of the smallest venues they've played in NL in their entire career. Times are definitely changing.

Tonight they'll play in 013 Tilburg, a venue with the capacities of 3000 people. Curious to see if it's fully loaded, because tickets are still available.

[The Paddies]

I'll be there tonight.

[Schurftkut]

How was the show in Groningen? One of the smallest venues they've played in NL in their entire career. Times are definitely changing.

It was a great show, and indeed the smallest venue i've seen them play at. Sitting behind the mixing desk was actually nice to be able to see those guys work as well. Openingband was about 96db, DT was 103db XD

[Wim Kruithof]

I'll be there tonight.

Nice!

[Wim Kruithof]

In the car right now, but the wonderful ride already took place. Arion was great and the singer has a wonderful voice, but after a nice prelude, Dream Theater did a brilliant job. There were a lot of highs, but Six Degrees was one of the highest. Seriously well played and a tribute to one of the most beautiful composed suites.

Mangini played some insane drums in that complex A View-section and even LaBrie wasn't poor at all. Mostly quite good actually, except for Caught In a Web. That's too complex these days.

And then, when the lights turned out and The Count's intro started, goosebumps all over. Really, really special evening.

[The Paddies]

This was my 22nd DT show. I really liked it. It was as good as a modern DT show you can get. I actually had goosebumps a few times. That has been a while with DT live.

Highlights:

- that lovely chunck of the Six Degrees suite
- the extended dreamy part in The Count Of Tuscany (JR and JP)
- the softer / cello part in AVFTTOTW
- Sleeping Giant is a great addition to the live set
- JP doing live backing vocals definitely adds to the overall live energy
- stage energy in general

The visuals were really nice. James did really well. Altough I agree he struggled most with CIAW - and would add PMU. His speeches between the songs however, were the most awkward if you'll ask me. But I can see past that. Had a great time and would definitely rate this show somewhere between top 10 and top 5 of all the shows I've seen.

[Wim Kruithof]

Had a great time and would definitely rate this show somewhere between top 10 and top 5 of all the shows I've seen.

I would even go as far as it being in my top 5 of all (it was my fifth time seeing them live). Ranking those shows would probably be something like:

1 - Top of the World Tour '22
2 - Top of the World Tour '23
3 - Images, Words & Beyond '17
4 - Distance Over Time, Scenes anniversary '20
5 - Metal Fest, Ghent '19

Although yesterday was absolute very, very good... I still consider last year being better, due to that unbelievable The Ministry of Lost Souls. That was the highlight for me that ev' and probably of all I've seen them perform live.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

This was my 22nd DT show. I really liked it. It was as good as a modern DT show you can get. I actually had goosebumps a few times. That has been a while with DT live.

Highlights:

- that lovely chunck of the Six Degrees suite
- the extended dreamy part in The Count Of Tuscany (JR and JP)
- the softer / cello part in AVFTTOTW
- Sleeping Giant is a great addition to the live set
- JP doing live backing vocals definitely adds to the overall live energy
- stage energy in general

The visuals were really nice. James did really well. Altough I agree he struggled most with CIAW - and would add PMU. His speeches between the songs however, were the most awkward if you'll ask me. But I can see past that. Had a great time and would definitely rate this show somewhere between top 10 and top 5 of all the shows I've seen.

Did he flip the bird or give a big FU to the fans between the songs?

[The Paddies]

Not so much. He was talking about considering becoming a pothead when he's retired. ;-) But it was not even the content. It all just seemed a bit forced and there was no real reaction from the crowd. Like someone telling a joke that's not funny at all. A bit of a tumbleweed moment. No big deal whatsoever.

[The Paddies]

Had a great time and would definitely rate this show somewhere between top 10 and top 5 of all the shows I've seen.

I would even go as far as it being in my top 5 of all (it was my fifth time seeing them live). Ranking those shows would probably be something like:

1 - Top of the World Tour '22
2 - Top of the World Tour '23
3 - Images, Words & Beyond '17
4 - Distance Over Time, Scenes anniversary '20
5 - Metal Fest, Ghent '19

Although yesterday was absolute very, very good... I still consider last year being better, due to that unbelievable The Ministry of Lost Souls. That was the highlight for me that ev' and probably of all I've seen them perform live.

I liked yesterdays concert a bit more than the one I saw in Amsterdam last year, which I also enjoyed, but on a different level. One of the reasons I liked yesterdays concert a tiny bit better is because of the setlist. I love Six Degrees. Another one was the overall energy and atmosphere. Hard to explain.

[cramx3]

Not so much. He was talking about considering becoming a pothead when he's retired. ;-) But it was not even the content, but it all seemed a bit forced and there was no real reaction from the crowd. Like someone telling a joke that's not funny at all. A bit of a tumbleweed moment. No big deal whatsoever.

did he smell it in the venue or just because they were in NL?  He made a pot comment in NJ once because someone was vaping and it legit stunk the first few rows of marijuana.  He sniffed it and made a few comments.  Generally, though, what you wrote seems pretty normal for him.  His banter can be very awkward at times, specifically the telling a joke that's not funny awkward you mention. 

[Wim Kruithof]

Another one was the overall energy and atmosphere. Hard to explain.

When it comes to the venue / atmosphere, I'll take prog-hall 013 a thousand times over Amsterdam.

[The Paddies]

Not so much. He was talking about considering becoming a pothead when he's retired. ;-) But it was not even the content, but it all seemed a bit forced and there was no real reaction from the crowd. Like someone telling a joke that's not funny at all. A bit of a tumbleweed moment. No big deal whatsoever.

did he smell it in the venue or just because they were in NL?  He made a pot comment in NJ once because someone was vaping and it legit stunk the first few rows of marijuana.  He sniffed it and made a few comments.  Generally, though, what you wrote seems pretty normal for him.  His banter can be very awkward at times, specifically the telling a joke that's not funny awkward you mention.

Haha, he was mentioning the Dutch and our reputation with marihuana overall. Then he talked about DT coming to The Netherlands for the first time in 1992 and they were smoking pot on the streets. He also mentioned that in Canada it is legal to smoke everywhere. Which is more liberal than in The Netherlands actually. Recently, they've even forbidden to smoke mariuhana in the Red Light District, for instance.

James also claimed he doesn't smoke pot anymore and joked he considered to become a pothead after his retirement.

[The Paddies]

Another one was the overall energy and atmosphere. Hard to explain.

When it comes to the venue / atmosphere, I'll take prog-hall 013 a thousand times over Amsterdam.

Both places can have great atmosphere. It's all influenced by many factors. At least, that's how I experience it. We should consider ourselves very lucky to have so many well equiped and streamlined venues in our country. It's a privilege. The only downside: crazy expensive drinks.