Hello guys! I was in Madrid last night and it was a shame. I paid 44 (like $60) for an Evening with show, what is a lot considering that in Spain the medium salary is about 700-800 (like $.1000) and just the rent of a flat costs 600. But well, I was really happy to pay for it because it was gonna be so epic! I wasn't attending (because I had no money), but when I saw the setlist they played in Oporto, I bought my ticket and went to Madrid (I live like 420 km away from there). I waited for 8 hours at the gates, freezing. But I was happy when we entered the pit, because I was going to enjoy a ~3 hours show from my favourite band... and with Illumination Theory! You can imagine my face at the end of the night... haha.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the show like a child. The setlist was awesome, but the issues ruined the experience.
- The trucks arrived at the arena at 2 pm. That is QUITE late.
- Some employees were talking about the hour the show should end: 23:30.
- They should have opened the doors at 19:00, but they didn't until 20:00. An employee came and told us:
we're opening the door so you don't freeze here outside, but you'll have to wait a little more inside. Yes, we came in, but we had to wait (without entering the pit) like 45 minutes more. In the meanwhile, they were doing the soundcheck (Ħat half past eight!)
- At 20:45 aprox., they let us in... only through one door. I was one of the first to enter, but the show started at 21:15 (or so), so when the last fans entered they were already playing. Incredible.
- They sold sitting tickets and standing tickets, but lately they decided not to open the sitting zone. People who bought a sitting ticket (not me) had to stand in the pit with no compensation.
- With False Awakening Suite there were horrible problems. No projections, but that was not the worst. The track stopped, then resumed, then stopped, then resumed and then stopped again and restarted from the beggining. Incredibe.
- The curtain didn't fall as the song ended, we had to wait some seconds. That killed all the magic.
- From my place, the sound was pretty good. Enjoyed a lot.
- LaBrie admited some technical problems with sound and video. The band was vissibly pissed off. No projections, just live cameras of the band itself.
- They were OK, but not great. Some mistakes were made - especially the one in The Dance of Eternity. Mangini got lost and took Petrucci with him, for like 30 seconds. It was pretty annoying.
- LaBrie was OK, but he made some mistakes, too. It was a difficult night for him, no doubt.
- They seemed to have some problems with their in-ear monitors.
- The lack of Scarred and Illumination Theory was devastating. People paid a very expensive ticket to see a 3 hour concert and instead they got a 2h 15m one. Even with that, everyone supported the band, as we understood that it wasn't their fault.
- There was a ridiculous amount of police vans and officers there. At least 8-9 vans at the door, and police INSIDE the enclosure (not the pit, but the gates zone) to make sure people leaved at 23:30.
- The band was really pissed off. Rudess' face was a poem. Mangini was blushed and saying he was sorry. LaBrie could be the one more irritated.
So, it was a bad night for everyone. I hope that they play Illumination Theory the next time they come to Madrid, at least