Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)

[MirrorMask]

Also, less than half of the set is original songs. I dunno. I mean, I'm sure it'll be a cool DVD and I'll be getting it, but when a band's first DVD is mostly other people's songs, that can't be a good omen.

Well, they have ONE album of original material after all... which was still played in full...

[Lowdz]

Also, as much as I enjoy JSS, for songs like Dream On or Show Must Go On....does he have that range or is he changing the high parts which really make the song?

Having seen JSS do a full Queen set, he was awesome, and as he told me, all in the original key, no de tuning. That was a good 15 years or so ago though.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2cCeuJeIw

[Grappler]

I'm surprised that Mike chose such well known songs given that A) He has such wide range of taste, and B) I'm assuming that it will cost them more to legally release a live version of these songs versus deeper cuts.

That's where I'm surprised.  I read something recently about an episode of Deadliest Catch, where the show's producers wanted to use Dream On instead of the traditional intro of Wanted Dead or Alive.  Discovery Channel ponied up to license Dream On for television, and the article mentioned that it was not cheap at all and suggested that it was somewhere in the six figure range.  I wonder if the cost is different for licensing for television and movie appearances vs. paying for the performance rights for the release of a live performance of the song.

Otherwise, I think it's fine.  They do only have one record out, and they probably didn't want to cover more than 3 songs from Falling Into Infinity.   I'm looking forward to the set.  I'm still enjoying the studio album a year after it came out.

[Adami]

I get that they only have one album. And the point that it's (basically) played in its entirety is a good one.

But I reflect on Flying Color's first live DVD. They also only had one album. They did one DT song, but filled the set out with songs from the other guys' histories so that it felt like a pretty cohesive live set. This one though....it just doesn't. 0 songs from JSS's career. 0 songs from Billy's career. 0 songs from Thal's career. But 3 songs from DT and 7 cover songs (not counting the solo spots), all of which are very very well known cover songs.

So it just feels very unbalanced. It feels like they're half cover band.

Like I said, I understand the logic, I just don't agree with it. And to reiterate my biggest point, which has largely been overlooked, it's not a good omen when I'm mostly excited for the cover songs and not the original songs.

Maybe, it just doesn't make a ton of sense for a band with 1 album and not great reception to release a hugely produced epic live DVD that is I assume is about 2 hours long.

[gzarruk]

Well, they did play the That Metal Show theme, which is a Bumblefoot song and the Pink Panther theme has been his trademark solo spot for a while, but I completely get what you say. Even PSMS (3/5 SOA members) which had no original material managed to represent each member’s work better and add just a couple covers.

[MirrorMask]

I get that they only have one album. And the point that it's (basically) played in its entirety is a good one.

But I reflect on Flying Color's first live DVD. They also only had one album. They did one DT song, but filled the set out with songs from the other guys' histories so that it felt like a pretty cohesive live set. This one though....it just doesn't. 0 songs from JSS's career. 0 songs from Billy's career. 0 songs from Thal's career. But 3 songs from DT and 7 cover songs (not counting the solo spots), all of which are very very well known cover songs.

So it just feels very unbalanced. It feels like they're half cover band.

Oh well, when you say it this way, I agree with you.

[Ben_Jamin]

You mean we're getting Hells Kitchen with an orchestra....awesome.

[SoundscapeMN]

Queen - The Prophet's Song...if only I could take Jeff Scott Soto's voice (which reminds me too much of Russell Allen who I don't care all that much for).

[Architeuthis]

It would have been cool if they did Foreplay/Longtime by Boston, as Derek allready did a small tribute to that in the song Divine Addiction.. That would have been better than a couple of the other songs they covered.

[Cool Chris]

It feels like they're half cover band.

...it's not a good omen when I'm mostly excited for the cover songs and not the original songs.

When the biggest anticipation for your upcoming release is cover songs, you are a cover band.

[Architeuthis]

It feels like they're half cover band.

...it's not a good omen when I'm mostly excited for the cover songs and not the original songs.

When the biggest anticipation for your upcoming release is cover songs, you are a cover band.

My biggest anticipation for this release is the SOA original material presented live. So no, they are not a cover band..

[gzarruk]

Looks like MP just cannot stay out of social media drama. Just look at his twitter account, someone who attended the Plovdiv concert complained about the covers vs original material and classic Mike + fanboys just bashed the crap out of him.

The guy’s original post wasn’t too smart, but Mike’s reaction is even worse. He blocked the guy and then called him a coward for “deleting” his tweet, when in reality he just can’t see it because he blocked him...

[axeman90210]

Eh, that didn't bother me so much. Mike and the band were very clear on numerous occasions that they'd be playing covers at that show, and then this guy goes off on him for... playing covers And the coward thing was just a misunderstanding about a deleted tweet versus being blocked.

[The Walrus]

#MPWarriors

Mike is insecure.  He just can't help himself.

[Anguyen92]

^^ Ok, so what do you expect him to do when a so-called fan gets all pissy for something that MP have clearly advertised in this particular show?  I mean putting the fan on blast is probably not the best approach, but maybe the fan shouldn't have drawn attention in the first place.

[MarkFitDT]

Eh, that didn't bother me so much. Mike and the band were very clear on numerous occasions that they'd be playing covers at that show, and then this guy goes off on him for... playing covers And the coward thing was just a misunderstanding about a deleted tweet versus being blocked.

The guy was complaining about the choice of covers  and that they only played one SOA song with the orchestra not the fact that they played covers per se.

[Adami]

^^ Ok, so what do you expect him to do when a so-called fan gets all pissy for something that MP have clearly advertised in this particular show?  I mean putting the fan on blast is probably not the best approach, but maybe the fan shouldn't have drawn attention in the first place.

Well he has a few options.

1) Just ignore it.
2) Do what he did at the beginning. Point out that it sucks that he didn't enjoy the show, but it WAS heavily advertised to be half covers. Then leave it at that.

But going on a whole thing about the guy being a coward when he deleted a tweet (in MP's perspective) which MP has done a bunch of times as well....that doesn't help anyone but get MP and his fans even more pissed off at anyone who doesn't love and appreciate him.

[Cool Chris]

No celebrity has ever gotten in to a Twitter argument with someone and come out looking well.

[TAC]

Oh boy.

I don't doubt that SOA put on a great show in a club. They are all word class musicians.


BUT cover songs? Symphony? Wow, man, that is just cheesy. Didn't AMob do a cover album or EP too?

[MirrorMask]

^^ Ok, so what do you expect him to do when a so-called fan gets all pissy for something that MP have clearly advertised in this particular show?  I mean putting the fan on blast is probably not the best approach, but maybe the fan shouldn't have drawn attention in the first place.

Well he has a few options.

1) Just ignore it.
2) Do what he did at the beginning. Point out that it sucks that he didn't enjoy the show, but it WAS heavily advertised to be half covers. Then leave it at that.

But going on a whole thing about the guy being a coward when he deleted a tweet (in MP's perspective) which MP has done a bunch of times as well....that doesn't help anyone but get MP and his fans even more pissed off at anyone who doesn't love and appreciate him.

Yeah, even if they deserve it, attacking the trolls or the negative ones is almost always a loss for a celebrity. Unless you have in you the perfectly witty remark that leaves a memorable burn, you end up looking bad even if you're right in the first place.

[The Walrus]

^^ Ok, so what do you expect him to do when a so-called fan gets all pissy for something that MP have clearly advertised in this particular show?  I mean putting the fan on blast is probably not the best approach, but maybe the fan shouldn't have drawn attention in the first place.

Uh, don't put the fan on blast? You said it yourself. I get it. The fan threw a hissyfit, I would've just laughed it off like everything else MP's done since he left DT. But he's a 50 year old man, one of the world's most renowned drummers, at least in prog metal, and has ten thousand better things to do than bitch at fans online. He blocked me from his freaking Facebook for saying Ne Obliviscaris's new album was more exciting to me than the then-upcoming SoA album but I wished him well and he still took that so personally; he bitched at a fan who wanted to see him live and he said, "Uhhh you know they have these inventions called airplanes, right?" and he's just been acting like a child with respect to criticism ever since he (voluntarily, let's remember) left his baby. Remember when he flipped over a fan wearing an ADTOE shirt to a gig of his and his #MPWarriors crew rushed to call that guy an 'insensitive prick'?

In other words - rise above it. Be the bigger man. Let criticism be water off a duck's back. You would think a man who's been in the industry so long, even before the Internet was a thing, would be cognizant of that and how important it is to not stoop to the same level. He's got much bigger fish to fry.

EDIT: Wow that looks more heated than it really should. This is what happens when you can type almost as fast as you think. Sorry. 

[Schurftkut]

in that context, i think it's funny JM and JP laughed about MP's online attitude in an interview a few yrs back. XD Something about not having a thick skin..

[Stadler]

So really, only one original song with the orchestra?   I didn't realize that going in.  I'm still in, and it still doesn't change that I'm going to buy it, but that's kind of... I would have liked more with the orchestra.   

Though... maybe those songs the orchestra knew?   

By the way, it's my understanding that USING "Dream On" and COVERING "Dream On" are not the same rate.  Bands can do cover songs live because most bigger venues have "performance licenses" that make sure artists are paid.  If you then release an album of those songs covered, I believe it's a flat rate.  So covering "Dream On" costs the same as covering "Gates Of Babylon".  I read somewhere it's like $0.09 per album per cover or some shit like that but I can't confirm that rate. 

[goo-goo]

While I feel the covers setlist to be underwhelming, I am excited about the live presentation of the compelte SoA album in a live setting. The songs worked so much better in a live environment. Too bad not of all the album was played with the orchestra.

[ReaperKK]

Mike should really practice not getting triggered by these types of tweets. He said there would be covers, there was covers, this guy was being an ass.

[Adami]

So really, only one original song with the orchestra?   I didn't realize that going in.  I'm still in, and it still doesn't change that I'm going to buy it, but that's kind of... I would have liked more with the orchestra.   

Two original songs, Labyrinth and Coming Home....assuming the orchestra was there for the encore.

I would think God of the Sun would make more sense with the orchestra. But ah well.

Also my biggest selling point was Kashmir, since I was hoping MP would...do his thing instead of the Bonham idea of just keeping an aggressive simple beat. I looked it up on youtube (fancam) and it looks like....not really. A few fills, but mostly it's VERY much like the original, which is a let down for me.

[Schurftkut]

now i'm curious if some of those covers stay in the setlist for the remaining tour, considering those are now known and in the open. I'll see/hear it in October, 2nd time coming here so a small change in setlists might be expected.

[Cool Chris]

Mike should really practice not getting triggered by these types of tweets. He said there would be covers, there was covers, this guy was being an ass.

I have mixed feelings about this. And it goes back to the MP in DT days. I have always said I would be pissed if I went to a DT show and they devoted 45-60 minutes to covering a whole album, as they did on occasion. I was informed "MP said they were going to do that on his web page" to which I replied "I shouldn't have to read the drummer's web page prior to going to a show to see if they were going to commit that much time to playing another band's music. If I buy a ticket to a DT show I don't expect a Metallica concert to break out halfway through"

That was a different situation though, as DT had several albums and hours worth of quality material and the album covers were not common occurrences. I don't know what someone going in to a SoA show is expecting. Them playing all of the 10 or whatever it is songs they released on their only album and that's it? Or was he complaining about the selection of covers more so than the existence of them?

[goo-goo]

I think the complaints are more of the cover songs selection. I personally was expecting it to be a little more left field than what was actually played.

[Adami]

I really hope they pull out a Rock Star song at some point. I really like that sound track.

[Madman Shepherd]

So really, only one original song with the orchestra?   I didn't realize that going in.  I'm still in, and it still doesn't change that I'm going to buy it, but that's kind of... I would have liked more with the orchestra.   

Two original songs, Labyrinth and Coming Home....assuming the orchestra was there for the encore.

I would think God of the Sun would make more sense with the orchestra. But ah well.

Also my biggest selling point was Kashmir, since I was hoping MP would...do his thing instead of the Bonham idea of just keeping an aggressive simple beat. I looked it up on youtube (fancam) and it looks like....not really. A few fills, but mostly it's VERY much like the original, which is a let down for me.

Checked out the same video and wasn't too impressed with Jeff.  The guy really won me over (for a band I am less than moderately interested in) but he needs to put more reverb on his vocals or something.  He didn't sound bad but seemed to struggle.

[Peter Mc]

Can't say it's something I'll be buying, even more so now someone's said that the actual original songs are not with the orchestra.  The whole orchestra thing seems like something you'd do much later when you have a wealth of material to choose from, not after just one fairly average album.  Or it's something written specifically for that purpose like Deep Purple with Concerto For Group and Orchestra.

As for Mike's troubles on social media, don't blame him at all for blocking negative people.  If you're not happy with an album or show then, fine, give it a bad review, you don't need to make it personal by copying in the actual artist.  Why would you want to go on your own timeline and read negative stuff, it must hurt and not be great for your mental health, just block the person so you never have to hear from them again.  That being said, not sure why Mike has to call the guy out and post this all over twitter, he didn't say anything that bad or abusive, just block him and move on with your day.

[Kocak]

As for Mike's troubles on social media, don't blame him at all for blocking negative people.  If you're not happy with an album or show then, fine, give it a bad review, you don't need to make it personal by copying in the actual artist.  Why would you want to go on your own timeline and read negative stuff, it must hurt and not be great for your mental health, just block the person so you never have to hear from them again.  That being said, not sure why Mike has to call the guy out and post this all over twitter, he didn't say anything that bad or abusive, just block him and move on with your day.

I think the trouble is that he expects people to be on board with everything he does and gets really really upset when he sees that some people aren't. For a person who releases maaaaaaany albums per year, there will be backlash.

Yes, people have a right to block people when they don't want to see their content, but a 50+ year old man should know that social media brawls are unnecessary - just block and move on.

[Stadler]

I'm pretty much Team Mike, having stuck up for him during the whole Derek Whine-and-Cheese tasting leading up to the album release, but one recent thing cheesed me off:   He blocked someone, and some girl - legitimately - said (I'm paraphrasing) "Mike, its not unreasonable to objectively provide criticism.  Its not really cool to block someone just because they criticized you." and he replied "That guy wasn't just giving criticism, he was making it personal, and so he's blocked.  Like you.  Buh-BYE! #Blocked."   

She literally asked him a question about taking constructive criticism, and he said it was personal and blocked her.   

[The Walrus]

I'm pretty much Team Mike, having stuck up for him during the whole Derek Whine-and-Cheese tasting leading up to the album release, but one recent thing cheesed me off:   He blocked someone, and some girl - legitimately - said (I'm paraphrasing) "Mike, its not unreasonable to objectively provide criticism.  Its not really cool to block someone just because they criticized you." and he replied "That guy wasn't just giving criticism, he was making it personal, and so he's blocked.  Like you.  Buh-BYE! #Blocked."   

She literally asked him a question about taking constructive criticism, and he said it was personal and blocked her.

Yeah. That was in the chain of Twitter comments when Mike was bragging about blocking the first guy who said he was annoyed with the set of covers. He can't help himself. "Buh-BYE!" What a douchey way to act