Heads up, there will be a try out for the theater equation show, featuring the original band and the choir/understudies performing the whole album. Nice appetizer for the actual theater production and I love being able to see the album in regular concert form as well. I am definitely going to this 
I'll also write you a PM in a few days about the meet-up and some general questions about Netherlands.
Ok
Heads up, there will be a try out for the theater equation show, featuring the original band and the choir/understudies performing the whole album. Nice appetizer for the actual theater production and I love being able to see the album in regular concert form as well. I am definitely going to this
So, was the show awesome? Please don't include any spoilers in your answer though. 
Short answer: YES!! It was great.
Now for some spoiler free impressions (or things that won't apply to the actual show):
-This was a concert, so no acting, story related clothing/make-up etc. How it will shape up in the Theater is a surprise for me as well. And there were some crowd interactions and minor banter. They said that they considered this a repetition for the band and the stand ins and if a song was not performed good enough, they would repeat it.
-The sound was amazing. I could appreciate all intruments and vocals. Not loud and clear yet heavy (just like most of Arjen's studio efforts). In terms of mix it was spot on, the live setting gave some parts an extra punch but they were always faithful to the balance of the studio album. In fact, I have never had sound this good at a rock/metal concert. And my friend said the same thing (who is more picky than me). There were some minor issues here and there (especially the microphones), but the sound engineers were paying attention and fixed everything in an instant. It being a general repetition for a theater show probably helps, but I am happy to say these people really know what they are doing.
-The band was thight. I noticed a rare mistake here and there but that is nitpicking. Clarity of the sound also made them "exposed" so to say (same goes for the vocals btw. everything was audible).
-It was great to see that all intruments were actually played live at the stage.
-Choir performance (here I mean all vocalists singing together) was great overall and works great with the music.
-Some of the male stand ins were great. I especially have to give my compliments to the guy that aced Loser and Devin's vocals. Actually, all Males had a great voice or were great at harmonies. Agony and Me impressed me as well.
-Some females were off key at times and I wasn't too fond of the sound of Pain (but hey, Giersbergen will ace it I'm sure). Still, some impressive female vocal parts for sure. And the female vocalists delivered most of the power here. Some impressive rock vocals were displayed. So overall, the female stand ins did great as well.
-Arjen was there in the back and since it wasn't very crowded, he was easy to approach. I did not do so though, since I kind of have this thing of never talking to the persons I am a huge fan off (third time I saw him actually). He seems like a genuine guy and it is always good to know he is a likeable genius, a somewhat rare type of genuises'. I don't think there is a musician out there that I respect more than him. He can be proud of this project.
Oh and yeah, the theater is absolutely bigger. This was a small venue, smaller than the ones I saw Kamelot, Blind Guardian etc. in for example. It was impressive how well they managed the space and how well it sounded, considering there were quite a lot of vocalists entering/exiting the stage and the small group of musicians in the corner had a lot of different instruments to play. All in all, I am fully convinced this show will be an absolute blast and they better record the damn thing
(there were a few smaller camera's at this show btw. But my guess is that is more of a memento for the group).
Now, some spoilers:
-Overall, the show was very loyal to the album, but there were some additions and/or changes here and there.
-The choir had an awesome acapella part.
-There were a few additional reccurring themes, which I loved.
-Due to the amount of personell and having a choir, some vocal parts were shared or done with the choir. 
Topic: Ayreon/Arjen Lucassen Thread (Star Three on the way) (Read 382970 times)
