Return of the drum solo?

[puppyonacid]

At work........having a baaaad day. All I wanna do right now is go home, close the door and play FIFA on my XBOX till my thumbs drop off. But I can't just yet so thought I'd post here instead.

Mike Portnoy dropped his drum solo spot many years ago. I don't recall the tour, probably FII tour was the last time a drum solo made any regular appearance. Can anyone correct me on this? I get the feeling MP just liked playing within songs more and as a musician myself I can dig that.

However, Mike Mangini is much more of a lover of blazing through his chops. He had a solo spot on the last tour and I thought his solo was really good and very much an introducer for a new drummer. A kind of "knock 'em dead......show them what you can do!" type thing.

Do we think that'll be repeated on this tour since it looks likely at least a decent chunk of the tour will be the evening with format?

[KevShmev]

Hopefully not.

Just about any type of one-man solos are boring live now.  DT has more than enough solo spots in all of their songs that none of them need five minutes or whatever to themselves to show off their stuff. 

[?]

The reason there was a drum solo in the setlist for the ADTOE tour was that MM was still a new member and the solo was a good way to show his skills. This will be the second DT tour with him, so there's no need for that anymore.

[Kwyjibo]

With the rare exception I find solo spots outside of songs boring and unnecessary and it doesn't matter if it's drums, guitar, didgeridoo or other.

On the other hand it does give you time to go to the toilet or get some beer without missing much of the concert.

But no, I don't need it.

[puppyonacid]

Interesting. As a kid I loved solo spots. But as growed up I'm a bit more meh these days.

I remember Roger Taylor saying he hated them and would feel a bit iffy about doing a solo and glancing up to see people talking, going to the loo, the bar etc. Doesn't seem to bother Jordan though.

[hefdaddy42]

I see no real need for them.  Except as a chance to give the other band members a breather.

[Another_Won]

The reason there was a drum solo in the setlist for the ADTOE tour was that MM was still a new member and the solo was a good way to show his skills. This will be the second DT tour with him, so there's no need for that anymore.

This.  And there is nothing more that needs to be said.

[wolven74]

They probably will. At least, I'd hope so in the evening with format. 3 hours is a long time to go without a potty break.

[WDADU]

Well, they'll probably have an intermission. When I saw them in 2004 at Massey Hall in Toronto, they had a ten or fifteen-minute break and came back out again.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, with an Evening With show, they take a 15-minute intermission halfway through.

[Miyazaki74]

When I first got into progressive music, I loved watching and listening to solos and now they bore the hell out of me for the most part. I just want to listen to the music, solos just sound like a bunch of noise to me now.

[JayOctavarium]

I wouldn't mind a small soloette... but not a full blown solo again.

[ZKX-2099]

I would rather see a full group jam session like the one during Beyond This Life at Budokan...

With a JLB rap section.

[BlobVanDam]

Please no. Drum solos are one of my greatest fears in life, even above being eaten by a dingo.

[ibosmiley]

I'm thinking there probably won't be.

[Frank]

I'm surprised at all the negativity here. I absolutely adore solos. As awesome as the music of a band I love is, I'm going to know what the songs will be like when I go see them, minus a few variations here and there. Solos introduce a fantastic element of the unexpected into a show for me. I usually find myself wanting more. They're world-class musicians - let them loose once in a while!

[mallorier]

The reason there was a drum solo in the setlist for the ADTOE tour was that MM was still a new member and the solo was a good way to show his skills. This will be the second DT tour with him, so there's no need for that anymore.

Yep...this about sums up my thoughts. I appreciated getting the chance to see him solo on the last tour, and I'll be able to cherish it always once the DVD comes out in November. Now I would just like to see him go crazy with rest of the band on the songs that we know and love

[jammindude]

I'm with Frank....shocked at all the negativity.   I *LOVE* solos.   I honestly hope they give MM five minutes to go off.   MP's solo from the IAW home video is nothing short of     It passed up NP's YYZ solo the moment I heard it.   The single greatest (and funnest) drum solo I have ever heard.  I wish he hadn't stopped doing them.

[sueño]

Mark me down as another who loves solos...by all the band.  Coming up as a jazz lover, that's just part of the gig.  To hear the amazing tech skills of a drummer or bassist? ??  *sa-wooonnn*!   

I've come to love prog rock solos and would love to see some live.

Btw- don't leave during a solo if they can see you.  It's kinda rude.   

[Deve]

My problem with really any solo is if it's written out or figured out completely prior to actually playing it. Neil Peart's drum solos are cool the first time, but after that it kinda just seems like more of the same. Obviously you want some idea of where you're going beforehand, but most of the solo should be improvisation. THAT is a solo I can get behind.

So yes, I would love to see another Mangini solo. His solos are generally pretty interesting and not all about speed, which is another thing I dislike. Speed is cool, but things like syncopation and rhythmic diversity are so much better.

I totally get people not being into solos though. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy them, you've got to be really dialed in to what the performer is doing and really listening to fully appreciate them. Good solos that is. Solos that are all about speed or ones that just plain suck don't really have a lot to them. Sorry if that sounds hipster-ish. I guess listening to a lot of jazz just does that to you

[Sycsa]

Btw- don't leave during a solo if they can see you.  It's kinda rude.   

The chai latte takes precedence over the drum solo.

[wolven74]

I'm with Frank....shocked at all the negativity.   I *LOVE* solos.   I honestly hope they give MM five minutes to go off.   MP's solo from the IAW home video is nothing short of     It passed up NP's YYZ solo the moment I heard it.   The single greatest (and funnest) drum solo I have ever heard.  I wish he hadn't stopped doing them.

See, I'm just the opposite. I love solos, all solos, be them drums, bass, guitar or keyboard. I'm a drummer at heart though so drums have always been my favorite solos at live gigs. I love Mangini's solos because they are so diverse. There's so much going on at once, and yet all of it is clear and concise. And I have a lot more fun listening to and watching a solo if I can tell the drummer is having fun playing it. The other part that puts MMs solos up there on my list is the fact that they have a clear beginning, middle and end. It's like they're telling a story, an interesting one that keeps my attention from beginning to end.

That's the biggest difference in styles between MM and MP. And, if I'm honest, where MP comes up short. I haven't heard many of his earlier solos, the last one I'd heard was from the Budokan blu-ray. At that point, for the most part, he'd stopped doing solos and it showed. It sounded like he was going thorough the motions. Like solo's bored him, which IIRC they did. It had nothing to inspire, no wow factor for me. To me, it sorta sounded like just a wall of noise from beginning to end. There just seemed to be no structure to it. To me, solo's--like stories and songs--need that beginning, a middle, and a clear exciting finish. It needs to be a complete entity unto itself, not just the equivalent of noodling.

[MoraWintersoul]

Btw- don't leave during a solo if they can see you.  It's kinda rude.   

The chai latte takes precedence over the drum solo.

[hefdaddy42]

Btw- don't leave during a solo if they can see you.  It's kinda rude.   

It's rude in a small venue.  It's not rude anywhere that DT plays.

[sueño]

That's why I qualified it with, "if they can see you".  I figured in DT's case that would'nt happen; just a friendly PSA in general for those who might be so inclined at a smaller show.

[Jinx]

I wouldn't mind seeing what the Genie comes up with this cycle. Even if its just a small break in the DT12  Instrumental (a la Ytse Jam). Seeing as they were a bit different each time I've seen them from different shows on the 2011/2012 cycle, the possibilities are endless.

[aprilethereal]

I wouldn't mind a one minute solo thingy going into a song with a drum intro such as 6:00 or HTF, but other than that, no thanks.

[Ħ]

The ADTOE drum solos were justified because Mangini was new. Now there's no need.

[?]

I'm not surprised that not a lot of people don't care about solo spots - most of us primarily go to see DT live to hear songs and giving one member of the band 5 minutes to show off his skills always takes away some of the time they could've used for some actual songs. Besides, not all of us play any instrument (although those people can also love solos) and even those who are musicians may not be overly excited about solo spots (example: me). Another important thing to remember is that DT's music is very technical already and the guys get to show off their chops in a lot of songs, so all the instrumentalists in the band get their chance to shine even if there's no solo spot.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm not surprised that not a lot of people don't care about solo spots - most of us primarily go to see DT live to hear songs and giving one member of the band 5 minutes to show off his skills always takes away some of the time they could've used for some actual songs. Besides, not all of us play any instrument (although those people can also love solos) and even those who are musicians may not be overly excited about solo spots (example: me). Another important thing to remember is that DT's music is very technical already and the guys get to show off their chops in a lot of songs, so all the instrumentalists in the band get their chance to shine even if there's no solo spot.

I agree with that. I can understand them doing it for the ADTOE tour, because they wanted to put some focus on MM as the new drummer, and that's cool. But DT put so much technicality into each song, that I don't feel any need for them to add extra solo spots on top of that.
I know it's going to be different for everyone, but for me personally, I go and see a band to see the songs I like the band for, so anything else is just dead time to me. I would always rather have an extra song (although often solo spots are for the band to have a quick rest and change anyway, so it's not always the case that they're substituting a song).

[wolven74]

I don't think solos are necessary at a DT show, especially in an evening with format. Most songs have sections that they lengthen on stage anyway. If they have to have a solo or two the ones that make the most sense are JM and MM. I'd love to hear JM do a solo ala Michael Anthony, with a shit ton more shred. Who am I kidding though, JM is the quiet zen master. He doesn't need to solo for us to know he rules the low end. MM probably won't do a solo this time around for the reasons others have stated (first tour is the prove yourself worthy tour) With a 3 hour set I think a drum solo would be superfluous. Though if he were to do one, I'd hope he adds something spectacular to it to make it worth the time.

[Jinx]

If theres a 3 hours set, thats a LOT of songs. If they dont play an epic then I reckon there will be solo spots.

[wolfking]

Hopefully not.

[IdoSC]

I don't like solo spots unless they come as an extended intro or outro to certain songs, and even then the band members are kinda stretching it sometimes. Talking specifically about MM he's done it really great, and now that we're gonna have that solo spot on a high-quality Blu Ray disc, it's time to let these things go for a few more years.

[ibosmiley]

Generally I prefer more music and less solo spots, but if the solos are done well and integrated into the performance, I can get into them.  I think back to the FII tour and I remember the solos being well done.  Derek's solo that blended right into the opening solo for Lines in the Sand... MP's drum solo in the middle of Ytse Jam (I think it was Ytse Jam) where he came out from behind his drum kit with a portable drum and got the crowd amped up... and JPs solo spot fit in well too.  I think a solo spot becomes a bit more welcomed when it fits well and it's fun.  Having said that, though, I'm not anticipating a drum solo on the upcoming tour.