London

The Curious Orange · February 24, 2020, 01:29:54 AM

OK, I'm firmly in the "they're not as good as they used to be" camp, but these were the best DT shows I've seen in many a year.

The sound was perfectly acceptable on Friday night, but it was much clearer and sharper on Saturday - I guess there may have been some spots in the venue where it was less clear, there always is, but I've no complaints. James, on the other hand - well, he's fantastic 90% of the time, but when he reaches for those big notes and fails to hit them, it's painful to listen to. It really is about time he changed some of the vocal melodies so he's singing notes he can actually hit.

Otherwise - fantastic. The DOT songs worked well live, especially Fall Into The Light, which should have been played every night IMO. Still not sure about including ANTR, though. ITPOE and PBD worked like a one-two punch that Tyson Fury would be proud of.

The presentation of SFAM was damn near perfect (James' vocal on Beyond This Life on Saturday notwithstanding - ouch!), and I loved the visuals, they missed a trick in not selling a t-shirt with that drawing of Victoria on it! Through Her Eyes brought tears to mine, I can finally tick Home of the list of songs I've not seen live (The Killing Hand for the next tour?) and the phones on Spirit Carries On was a lovely end to a lovely evening. I really liked Mangini's drum thing on Finally Free - it was supposed to be funny! Even At Wit's End was a better encore than I thought it would be.

Man of the Match trophy goes to Mike Mangini for Friday - he's a real powerhouse, and he's having so much fun up there, and to John Petrucci for Saturday - that was some sh1t-hot guitar playing, some beautifully intuitive solos across both nights.

I've not enjoyed recent DT tours as much as I used to, and the nightmare that is trying to get a train in and out of London has put me off seeing them again. I intended these to be my last DT shows. But they really pulled off something special here, and I can't wait to see them again!

CB · February 24, 2020, 04:55:17 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ZodfvrgXU&list=UUZr_lxtg3VbdDg4Wt3sl9aQ&index=1

Nice video of Untethered Angel from Saturday. I 'm hoping for great footage from the camera moving in front of the stage

jbrum77634 · February 24, 2020, 08:52:23 AM

Interesting the wide range of opinions over the two nights - I personally thought the first night was the best, to the point I didn't think the'd top it on the Saturday. I thought James did a great job on the Friday but struggled a bit on the Saturday. Sound was fine from row A of the circle, seemed like they turned it up after the first song or two but it wasn't as loud as Amsterdam.

Blokhut · February 27, 2020, 07:58:44 AM

Had a great time saturday! The show was excellent (haven't been friday, so i can't say anything about that show), but i liked this one better than the Amsterdam show (which was great btw). The crowd was more enthousiastic (maybe because of the DVD recording) and the venue in London sure had a greater vibe. Been to the Duke & Cornwall, before and afterwards. Maybe i drank one pint too many, considering the headache sunday morning.

Unfortunately, i had to stay one more day in London because of a cancelled Easyjet flight, due to heavy winds in Amsterdam. So, i went to Leicester square and Soho and grabbed a bite. A weekend to remember!

Max Kuehnau · February 27, 2020, 10:48:41 AM

Quote from: Blokhut on February 27, 2020, 07:58:44 AM
Had a great time saturday! The show was excellent (haven't been friday, so i can't say anything about that show), but i liked this one better than the Amsterdam show (which was great btw). The crowd was more enthousiastic (maybe because of the DVD recording) and the venue in London sure had a greater vibe. Been to the Duke & Cornwall, before and afterwards. Maybe i drank one pint too many, considering the headache sunday morning.

Unfortunately, i had to stay one more day in London because of a cancelled Easyjet flight, due to heavy winds in Amsterdam. So, i went to Leicester square and Soho and grabbed a bite. A weekend to remember!

Doy after doy and noight after noight, reploying the event, once a disc sees a blue loight

(seriously though, that's the consensus I read both here and elsewhere)

geeeemo · February 27, 2020, 02:18:24 PM

Quote from: Max Kuehnau on February 27, 2020, 10:48:41 AM
Quote from: Blokhut on February 27, 2020, 07:58:44 AM
Had a great time saturday! The show was excellent (haven't been friday, so i can't say anything about that show), but i liked this one better than the Amsterdam show (which was great btw). The crowd was more enthousiastic (maybe because of the DVD recording) and the venue in London sure had a greater vibe. Been to the Duke & Cornwall, before and afterwards. Maybe i drank one pint too many, considering the headache sunday morning.

Unfortunately, i had to stay one more day in London because of a cancelled Easyjet flight, due to heavy winds in Amsterdam. So, i went to Leicester square and Soho and grabbed a bite. A weekend to remember!
Doy after doy and noight after noight, reploying the event, once a disc sees a blue loight (seriously though, that's the consensus I read both here and elsewhere)

Lol!

We went Saturday - it was great! I went to 4 concerts this tour. My son asked, what has been your favorite DT concert? (I have also seen TA 3x - and that is all). Honestly they all have a different aspect that is great! For London, it was the bands performance!! Spirit was very moving (and not usually the case for me) and the the build-up of emotion that climaxed at the end of the show was. SO. Good.

A cool thing. I was reading a review today https://decibelreport.com/live-reviews/dream-theater-live-at-hammersmith-apollo?fbclid=IwAR0vl_WeZe0Roe8_jmJp7ii7YF9bfyBf0vyKYu4Ujzb2CW_XT12P9HS_Q_I - and they had a pic of the crowd and the band. I went to see if I could see us (doubtful as we were about row 12), but then see that it is a pic from one of the LA shows. We are in the 4th row there and yep - there we are.

The Curious Orange · February 28, 2020, 12:49:18 AM

My God, that was a badly written review. "Musical molecules elided to create a controlled mass of sonic precision..." my arse.

Blokhut · February 28, 2020, 01:58:25 AM

Quote from: The Curious Orange on February 28, 2020, 12:49:18 AM
My God, that was a badly written review. "Musical molecules elided to create a controlled mass of sonic precision..." my arse.

reads like a medieval sound poem

"Mostly dipping their collective fingers into the darker end of the sonic spectrum

the palette of both ethereal and brimstone tones sizzled the ears

and super heightened the senses of an astonished audience"

Podaar · February 28, 2020, 02:30:48 AM

Yeah, I read that yesterday and had to laugh. Someone is mistakenly proud of their vocabulary or guilty of thesaurus abuse.

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