Philly 3/8/2022 - A Short Review

[Skeever]

Had a great time at the DT show last night.

First time seeing the band since the Black Clouds tour, and they don't seem to have lost a step in the last 10+ years.

The show started out a bit rocky with James coming in slightly behind the beat on The Alien, but by the chorus all was well.

Though the crowd started off the show seated, when they went into 6:00 most of the audience stood (and stayed that way for most of the show). I was really happy about that as I was having a great time standing and moving with the music.

The overall sound was great - could hear every instrument clearly clearly, and I heard little evidence of the "lip syncing" that has been mentioned. There are some background vocals, but they weren't very loud in the mix where I was at (front and center, several rows up from the mixing board).

I think I heard JP flub a tapping part on maaaybe one song. James made a few mistakes where he sang the wrong melody or seemed to forget the lyrics on at least 2 occasions, but overall sounded very good. Sometimes he reached for the high notes, other times he stayed lower... his choices seemed deliberate and worked well with the music.

Setlist overall was strong - I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Endless Sacrifice (not one of my favorite DT songs by any stretch). All the songs off the new album made a good impression, and closing out with Tuscany was perfect (at this rate, The Count of Tuscany might be their most crowd-pleasing song, even above Pull Me Under, etc...).

Overall, had a really nice night, and it seemed like the guys were having fun on stage too. There is still a lot of love for DT in Philadelphia, as evidenced by how into the performance the crowd seemed to be.

Lest I forget, the opener, Arch Echo, were also very impressive - I hadn't listened to their music yet, but they sounded like a mix of DT, Vai, and Plini. I mean to give them a deeper listen in the near future...

In summary, the band played a great show, full of positives that well overshadowed whatever nitpicks I may have had. Not sure anyone from the band keeps an eye on the forums, but if they do, I'd like them to know that it was great to see the band again, connect with other fans, and get out to my first show in over 2 years... Looking forward to whenever they decide to come back.

[DTA]

I was there too! I went into the show a bit bummed about the setlist as it's a lot of songs I've already seen them play, but honestly, I was riveted for the entire show and enjoyed every single song they did (I do think About To Crash should've been replaced by either Surrender To Reason or an unplayed D/T track but that's a minor gripe). My only true complaint was the insane volume level in the balcony which I alleviated by wadding up some paper towel and sticking in my ear, but the show was fun, the band seemed in great spirits, and the new songs felt like classics already.

And yeah, Endless Sacrifice kicked some serious ass and Ministry, while never a favorite of mine, came off live SO well. I think my overall favorite moment was the ambient section of Tuscany...JP is a legend and that part was an absolute highlight.

[Lonk]

And yeah, Endless Sacrifice kicked some serious ass and Ministry, while never a favorite of mine, came off live SO well. I think my overall favorite moment was the ambient section of Tuscany...JP is a legend and that part was an absolute highlight.

Not going to lie, TCoT is not a favorite of mine in any sense of the word, and this is the second time I see it live, but dammit the ambient part got to me.

regarding mistakes in the performance itself at the show I went to, JLB choked on water during the Alien and missed half a verse, JP messed up a few notes on the intro to ATM, and Myung came in a measure early during A View, beyond that the performance was perfect.