Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[gmillerdrake]

The meet and greet was really cool. In an ideal world we'd have all gotten 5 or 10 minutes to chat with the band but in reality it was really only a minute or two....which was just fine. My kiddos got to speak with them....we got to get a pick with them.....all in all it was a pretty cool experience.

Our seats were third row which in this venue is still right on top of the stage. We weren't like Kev who practically was sitting on Neal's keyboard    but we were directly in front of Randy and Mike. The entire show Randy was having a blast....he and my boys were pointing and making faces at one another. At one point he motioned to my oldest to come to the stage so he did, then Randy flipped him a pick. Small thing for Randy to do but I tell you what it lit my son up like a candle. He was stoked.

Concert was incredible as usual. Neal has the energy of a 20 year old. He was so emotional and in to it....you could tell he wasn't just performing or putting on a show....he puts his all into playing this music for us.

My only bummer was that where we were sitting Neal's rig blocked us from seeing Bill. I could see the top of his head but that was it....so didn't get to see hardly any of him until the encore when everyone stayed standing.

Eric is a monster player....there's just no denying how incredible that dude is on guitar.

And, the venue was packed. If there was an empty seat it was in small company because the place was full.

Hey, look who got a retweet from MP. You're famous now!

I’ll be signing autographs at lunch. Ha ha

[KevShmev]

I’ll be signing autographs at lunch. Ha ha

[KevShmev]

Some pics I took last night:

[KevShmev]

Also, in light of last night's show, I have narrowed the new album down to the perfect single disc for myself. Granted, that means the playlist I will have my phone to listen to in the car and at work, but you get the gist.

I know some will quibble about the story being incomplete and not having either overture, but for me this is the best stuff, without any of the fat, and tones down the reprises (which I did realize last night were overdone a bit).

Welcome to the World
A Momentary Change
Dark Melody
I Got to Run
To the River
The Great Adventure
Venture in Black
Hey Hey Let's Go
Vanity Fair
The Element of Fear
Child of Wonder
The Great Despair
Freedom Calling
A Love That Never Dies

[King Postwhore]

I'm making a playlist from this and playing it tomorrow.

[KevShmev]

 

I hate losing the opening track with the Breath of Angels reprise, but the song as a whole goes on way too long and I always skip past it now anyway.

[H2]

Wait, KevShmev and gmillerdrake were there? What?! I was in the fifth row, center, from the stage.

I do remember seeing a guy with two kids...must've been gmillerdrake!

KevShmev, were you the guy with the Shattered Fortress Mike Portnoy shirt?

I had a great time. I went by myself and hung out with this older couple sitting next to me. ("Older" as in...50+?) Come to think of it, I was one of the youngest guys there, at 27...Anyway, they were telling me how they were fans of Neal since the Spock's Beard days.

Neal has so much energy and heart. Costumes for many different songs. He freakin' cried at the end of the album, too.

Portnoy was awesome. He gave a speech midway through the second act on how "even though we've all been enjoying ourselves, I'm gonna change that!" I had to retrain myself from yelling "Drum solo!", but I think he was referring to the fact that they were about to play The Great Despair.

The encore was a medley of songs from Testimony to Momentum, then from the NMB's first two albums, then closed with a bit from TGA.

- H2 (yeah, I lost my information for my previous account "H")

[KevShmev]

No, I was wearing my Broncos Super Bowl 50 championship hoodie last night.

And yeah, Neal did have a few tears running down his face at the end of A Love That Never Dies.  Neal definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and the power of that song got to him.

[Fritzinger]

I saw Neal cry a couple of times on stage, it always gets me. First time in 2010 in Berlin with Transatlantic during Bridge Across Forever. Incredible performer!

[gmillerdrake]

That's the thing that really stuck out to me about the concert....Neal was VERY emotional. He was in full blown crying mode at the end of the first act.....and like Kev mentioned he was crying at the end of 'A Love That Never Dies'. But I also noticed that he was genuinely 'happy' and smiling and energetic in the other sections of the concert. He was having a blast....I don't see how one could 'fake' that....we were right on top of him and you can tell when someone is going through the motions or not. He wasn't.

As my boys recounted their experience to my wife....(her and I saw the Similitude of a Dream show together) she said to me "I know you're going to be mad about this...but Neal's concert was way better than Dream Theaters". We took the boys to see DT in Peoria last summer. I told her I wasn't mad that it was true! I love DT to death.....appreciate their concerts and music.....BUT....especially the venue Neal has played the last two times through St Louis.....you are right there in the thick of it with him. HAKEN was the same way....this venue is just designed for intimate experience and the sound is incredible in there. So, I totally get why she said that because with Neal's shows you're a part of them. With DT....you're a tad more disconnected.

[bosk1]

I think he really identifies with this part of the story told from the son's point of view.  Even though it is fictional, I think there are parts of it that he identifies with closely from his own life experiences, and as I mentioned in my album review, I think there might be some very subtle hints dropped throughout the album about that. 

[El Barto]

Well that was god damned fantastic. I saw the Similitude tour two years ago and was definitely unimpressed. Last night's show was superb. At the first break in the first act we're already making plans to go and see them somewhere else.   

[KevShmev]

Come to Morsefest!! We will be there.  That is a show unlike any other Neal does, and the experience with other fans is pretty awesome.

I have seen some great frontmen over the years (Matt Bellamy, Bono, etc.), but Neal is the best I have seen live.  I made a point to watch all five guys as much as I could, constantly shifting my head from one to the other, but I know that Neal got the lion's share. He is such a great performer that your eyes almost get glued to him.

[bosk1]

I've only ever seen him with Transatlantic.  I'm really looking forward to the show next week.

[gmillerdrake]

Well that was god damned fantastic. I saw the Similitude tour two years ago and was definitely unimpressed. Last night's show was superb. At the first break in the first act we're already making plans to go and see them somewhere else.   

MP shared some video and pics on Instagram of the Venue.....that place looked AWESOME!!!  Was it packed?

[KevShmev]

MP shared some video and pics on Instagram of the Venue.....that place looked AWESOME!!!  Was it packed?

I saw those on FB, too. I was like, damn, that stage was way bigger than ours.

[gmillerdrake]

I've only ever seen him with Transatlantic.  I'm really looking forward to the show next week.

Aw man....I think it goes without saying you're in for a treat 

I think he really identifies with this part of the story told from the son's point of view.  Even though it is fictional, I think there are parts of it that he identifies with closely from his own life experiences, and as I mentioned in my album review, I think there might be some very subtle hints dropped throughout the album about that. 

This makes total sense then.

[gmillerdrake]

MP shared some video and pics on Instagram of the Venue.....that place looked AWESOME!!!  Was it packed?

I saw those on FB, too. I was like, damn, that stage was way bigger than ours.

Well it was in Texas....you know what they say.....

[El Barto]

I can only find one picture. Where are y'all seeing these?

The picture I saw (venue, empty, stage lighting) only shows about 20% of the venue. It is indeed huge. I think cap is 3K. This is what packed looks like:


Neal didn't sell quite that many. I suspect he had about 300 seats available and sold 250 of them. I've never actually been to a seated show there before. Sadly, those seats were likely bought from an elementary school yard sale. They were the tiniest seats I've seen at a show. Which is unfortunate, as plenty of prog fans tend to be on the portly side. 

We were shooting for Denver Sat night. Unfortunately there's a Class IV kill storm baring down on Colorado right now. Now we're leaning towards Phoenix for the last night in the US. Morsefest is a long ways off. Depending on the lineup I might well be interested now.

Personally, I'm still a bigger TA fan. From what I gather this album is more of a group effort than the last, which is probably why I enjoyed the show so much. While I really missed Pete Trewavas, this was certainly similar to what I've seen out of TA. This band is tighter, though.

[KevShmev]

Well it was in Texas....you know what they say.....

What do they say?

[KevShmev]

Personally, I'm still a bigger TA fan. From what I gather this album is more of a group effort than the last, which is probably why I enjoyed the show so much. While I really missed Pete Trewavas, this was certainly similar to what I've seen out of TA. This band is tighter, though.

Pushback from band members and wives of band members notwithstanding , I actually thought the new album* was less of a band effort than Similitude, since Neal kind of rewrote the whole thing on the road last year before presenting it to the band as a reworked sequel.  Meanwhile, Similitude seemed very much like a total band effort, based on comments by the band at the time and the making of DVD. 

*Note: still a band effort, by and large, but I am speaking in relative terms.

[axeman90210]

Has anything about Morsefest been announced besides the dates?

[KevShmev]

No, but at the Q&A on the Cruise to the Edge, Neal said the announcement will be in mid-March, so we should know more here pretty soon.

[axeman90210]

Excellent. I feel safe in assuming that one night will be the current tour's set and I enjoyed this run so much that it'd have to be something severely underwhelming for me to not be in for this year.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Here's the interview with all members of the Neal Morse Band:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/interviews/interview-with-the-neal-morse-band/?fbclid=IwAR35d3Z3lca3j4Gb0mJLo-y5_cReSBjuLj-6nqn4thEUL6US7Z5voU4u5fA

[MinistroRaven]

Here's the interview with all members of the Neal Morse Band:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/interviews/interview-with-the-neal-morse-band/?fbclid=IwAR35d3Z3lca3j4Gb0mJLo-y5_cReSBjuLj-6nqn4thEUL6US7Z5voU4u5fA

Great GREAT interview man. Way to do it!

[KevShmev]

Yep, great job. 

Neal being a wiseacre numerous times cracked me up.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Yep, great job. 

Neal being a wiseacre numerous times cracked me up.

That kind of thing is GOLD for the end result of the interview. But while you're actually conducting it, it's extra tough. With me not being a native speaker, it's hard sometimes to embrace that kind of unpredictability while I'm recording it. But I'm glad this one turned out well!

[KevShmev]

kaos2900, how was the show last night? I saw some pics on FB and the venue looked pretty packed!

[Hourglass Prison]

I've only ever seen him with Transatlantic.  I'm really looking forward to the show next week.

I’m really hoping I GET to see Transatlantic one day. Bucket list band for me, and my favorite band with Neal in it.
NMB is damn impressive though, both on this tour and the last one. We had a blast at the shows.

[425]

We were shooting for Denver Sat night. Unfortunately there's a Class IV kill storm baring down on Colorado right now. Now we're leaning towards Phoenix for the last night in the US. Morsefest is a long ways off. Depending on the lineup I might well be interested now.

Yeah, I was gearing up to drive to Denver until I learned about the same storm.

Shame, because it would be my first time seeing Neal (or MP, for that matter), and I'm really enjoying The Great Adventure, more than Similitude. Oh well, I guess I may have Transatlantic to look forward to not too long from now.

[KevShmev]

25 months ago, I had never seen Neal Morse in concert...and have seen him seven times (!!) since.  Lucky me.

[PowerSlave]

Yep, great job. 

Neal being a wiseacre numerous times cracked me up.

That kind of thing is GOLD for the end result of the interview. But while you're actually conducting it, it's extra tough. With me not being a native speaker, it's hard sometimes to embrace that kind of unpredictability while I'm recording it. But I'm glad this one turned out well!

I often have a hard time understanding some accents that I'm not familiar with hearing, but you were very clear and well-spoken. Great Job!!!

[RodrigoAltaf]

Thanks, man!

Hey, Neal was actually having fun and filmed all of us during parts of the interview. I asked my editor to see if he could sens it to me.

[faizoff]

Taking a break from D/T so went back to listening to all Neal Morse stuff, watched the Snow concert and it was so much fun to watch and listen. Though I wished they planned better for the blue lights on camera. Whenever they came on it looked awful. Only sound on the bluray was the stereo option, no complaints from me on that.

Then watched the making of The Grand Experiment and TSOAD back to back. Man I had no idea how intense the disagreement/fight was when deciding between a 2 CD vs 1 CD release. Neal was visibly super upset and had a totally different demeanor after that.

I am really kicking myself for not getting the deluxe version of The Great Adventure. I've already double dipped on so many of the releases and have to decide if the making of doc is worth it to double dip TGA.