Further back in the balcony, DT's volume was only slightly excessive. I needed the earplugs to make out anything clearly by Trivium, however. For those talking about how great Trivium was, I disagree vehemently, however. This is the first time I can recall seeing an opener whose music I even own and enjoy (The Crusade), and emerging as even less of a fan than I was going in. I'm not a fan of the screamy/growly vocals, and this is the first time I've seen a band in which two people were screaming at the same time. While I admit that the novelty of harmonized dual growls was interesting for the first few seconds, there was just so much of it! Every time they switched to clean vox, complete with nice harmonies, I wondered why they kept doing that stuff instead. Not my thing.
This was my 8th DT show, and first with Mangini. Holy crap! I never thought I'd say this a year ago when Portnoy split, but this was the best DT gig I've ever seen! Mangini is not human. The waves of positive emotion heading his way from the audience are an almost surreal experience, and I was almost in tears at one point, especially when I realized why we were all feeling that way. A year ago, I thought my favorite band was over. Last night, they were not just back, they were tighter than ever, and having a blast, and the focal point around which that renewed spirit revolved was that little guy from Boston. Thanks for making this possible, Mr. Mangini!