Scotty, I believe MP has mentioned a couple of times that the Portnoys and the Myungs have been together for things. I know he respects JM's privacy, so we don't hear about it a lot, but it seems that MP and JM have been on good terms for a while now. Do you believe this to be true?
Oh absolutely. It was a couple years before attending the DT show that MP stated he had patched things up with JM - I think they spent Christmas or New Years together, but with JM being private, he didn't post a photo of them together.
There's an anecdote from the 90s, I think it might have been when they decided to let DS go, where the four members got together for a secret meeting after a rehearsal to decide to make that change. I imagine it was a similar thing here, JM/JR/JLB/JP meet privately to discuss whether they want to reunite, then JP calls Portnoy.
That's when they secretly met after rehearsal to listen to JL's tape while they still were working with Chris Cintron.
*I honestly can't watch that documentary anymore after the reunion happened. It seems *TO ME* that they just threw away the last 13 years like it's no big deal. But then, again, we can't know for sure until the band is publicly active again.
Nah - not any more than they "threw away" the 4 years they spent with DS. If DT were to not acknowledge the last 5 albums from here on out (kinda like Pantera did with their first 4 albums or Judas Priest with the Ripper albums), then you'd have a point. But all indications are that this won't be the case, and it's a fairly safe bet that the MM-era will still feature in future setlists, although probably to a limited degree, similar to the Blaze albums in Maiden shows.
Watching MP's performance with UM makes me hope that DT incorporates more jams in the setlists. There was this JR comment after Thomas Lang's interpretation of The Dance of Eternity stating that "the fans are used to hearing these songs a certain way." I might be in the minority here but I would like a bit more variation in terms of live shows, altering the songs here and there. If I want the album as it is, I can just go listen to it and not go to the live show.
I agree with this, definitely one of the things i missed without MP in the band. I loved the improvisations, jams and all the quirky things they did live, it's what made them special.
Add me to that list too. That's one of the things that made them "especially special".
Photoshop.
(that response sound familiar Jorge?
)
Oh, god. Some of the regulars here would probably renounce their fandom if they reintroduced jams together with rotating setlists
Don't be surprised! Well, I kid, but only partially (and less to do with things like setlists).
At this point I'm inclined to walk away for a bit, if for no other reason to let the facts come out (about the way they handled things with MM) and the drama settle down. I honestly get more joy from other bands atm and perhaps not ironically they are for the most part bands who have either handled their drama differently and/or have buried it far in the past by now.
Add to everything else the radical change in presentation that you're talking about, it's just becoming not the same band (to me) anymore.
Highlighting the fact that this is just my subjective feelings about it all, but I'm just getting a bit fatigued here, as a fan.
I can totally relate to this post, as this is EXACTLY how I felt in the wake of MP's departure 13 years ago.
I'm with you both. And Crystal, maybe it is best to take a step back or two - that's kinda what I had to do 13 years ago. And then when everything settles down and you see how everything fits together, then maybe you'll feel more comfortable with things than you do now.
You'll be gone for a long time. There are no more facts to come out. They are not going to divulge any more details of their private conversations any time soon, or maybe ever.
And nobody expects that. But the whole "was MM unceremoniously let go" after being welcomed as "family" and then tossed aside when it was convenient just leaves me with, as others have said it, a bad taste in my mouth. I really expected better of them and that said, it's just a little upsetting.
Adding that this is indeed speculation and at the very least I hope that those of us who see it this way are wrong.
It's completely understandable. To be honest, back in 1999 when JR replaced DS, as much as I was thrilled with JR being in the band, I still felt some disappointment for DS being let go, because he had a lot to offer and was never really given the chance to shine. While MM has been around longer and been on 5 albums vs. 1.5 (FII and ACoS), he still seemed to be hindered quite a bit. But nonetheless, there are things that MP, like JR, bring to the table that are exciting. So while from your perspective it looks bad, you can be sure that a lot of thought was given before making this decision, and I can guarantee that it was not as cold hearted as some executive laying off a bunch of people just to make quota; I'm pretty positive that JP (and the other guys) were concerned about MM's feelings, just as MP himself stated he was.