Another brilliant show. My 4th one of the week. Mike Mangini's drum solo has been different every night, and in tonight's edition, he found another gear. He was utterly amazing, what can I add? Force. Of. Nature. Period.
Oh and I actually had breakfast with Mike Mangini's wife. Yes that is correct. She stayed at the same hotel as us, and I met Rena in the lobby for continental breakfast and MM's wife and sister were there so we sat down with them and enjoyed a nice breakfast. They are both really fun and have lots of great family stories. A nice way to start the day after a DT concert.
After breakfast I had to pack quickly because Albany to Philly is not a short trip. Left about 12:30 and got there around 6PM. I did stop twice to break up the trip. When I arrived in Philly at the venue I went to the catering area and JP was having a quick meal with Matty his guitar tech and another guy who is responsible for their video presentation (the rhombus screens and the whole deal). I hung out for a bit and chatted about various tour stuff. But then Misha (Periphery's guitarist/producer) came in for some dinner and I got to overhear a fantastic conversation between John and Misha that covered lots of fascinating aspects of getting the best live sound, miking amps, using effects, techniques, settings, pickups, tubes vs digital, and more. I play guitar a bit myself and am a bit of a gear slut. Yet I understood maybe a third of what they were saying. It was a very high level recording/touring/producing conversation. Very entertaining to hear! They even negotiated a highly secret "exchange of information" (I'll show you this if you show me that). Fun stuff!
Periphery's set was very much better than Albany. I was talking to Spencer and Jake and I learned that they did not have a proper sound check in Albany. They had to correct an equipment snafu and that ate about half of their sound check in Albany. With the benefit of a proper sound check, their performance was much better. Separation was improved, Spencer's levels were much improved, overall much better sound. If you haven't heard Periphery yet, get their album. You can't judge by this concert because they are the opening act and as such only get to play through a piece of DT's PA system. I remember when DT used to sound muddy and overbearing and the only reason I liked the shows was I knew the songs anyway and my brain "filled in the spaces", as it were. It takes a lot of time, money, and expertise to get consistently good live sound. DT has resources at its disposal that dwarf the opening act.
And towards the end of the show James took a minute out of his banter with the audience to thank Periphery for opening the 2 shows, and described them as one of his favorite bands. How often does the headliner even mention the warm up? Like almost never. They will be opening the whole European leg, so obviously DT believes they are worthy. Trust me if they didn't, the opening band would be thrown under the tour bus in a New York minute. After which the bus would go into reverse to make sure the job was finished.
As far as the Philly show it was fantastic of course. Again. I can't believe the sound they are getting in these sonically poisonous cavernous theaters. Just great! Outcry and Breaking All Illusions are becoming my favorite live songs, although Beneath the Surface is utterly brilliant also. And Endless Sacrifice is kicking some major ass. But JP's solos in BAI are mesmerizing.
The room? It was packed, I'm sure it was a near sellout if not a sellout. The audience was pretty enthusiastic, especially at the front. Some of the older guys around me (Row R) were statues, but I made up for them to the best of my ability. All in all another great show. If I did not have a backlog of work, I'd head down to DC, but the mortgage has to be paid, so after a quick Poker trip to the Borgata, I will return to work on Tuesday.
I also heard that there may be some additional dates in the Spring. I don't think anything is set yet, but that would be fantastic of course. I am ready to clear my schedule again should the opportunity arise.
Also, Jordan is doing a "with friends" thing in November in New York. Only $32! Plus drinks of course. I am going to this, because Jordon amounts to a one man orchestra. And where can you get tickets to an entire orchestra, with some friends thrown in, for $32?