Link to thread from a guy that says he was there...Or claims he was. After all this is the internet...
http://www.metalsludge.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=108601
http://www.metalsludge.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=108601
Gotta admit, like one of the posts in that thread, I was both thrilled and disappointed with the show last night. I thought this was going to be one of the top 10 shows I've ever seen, and it just didn't deliver.
For starters, as mentioned, there was no extended setlist. They started late - close to 8:30 - and ended early. I was outside by 10:30. I thought this would start by 8:15, have an intermission, and we'd get out at like 11. Not a big deal though...
DIO had some vocal problems I thought. He was not god-like. Very good though. The entire band was in studio with Eddie Trunk after the show, and Dio sounded like he had some kind of cold or something. His speaking voice, at least to me, is very recognizable. When he spoke on the radio show, you couldn't tell it was him. He had either lost part of it from the show, or he was sick beforehand. Dio made mention on the show that the reason they aren't doing Turn Up the Night is that it's just very tough for him to sing it, and that Neon Knights has always been the toughest song for him to sing.
Also mentioned in that thread, some of the songs WERE boring. After All is a terrible choice for an opening track, and by the time they were 2 minutes into it, everyone in the mezzanine I was in, sat back down. It was plodding, and the energy the crowd had early on, was gone. The songs that didn't do it for me were the 2 new ones, the stuff from Dehumanizer, and for some reason Lady Evil (which I love). But, they really didn't hit their groove last night until Sign of the Southern Cross. That, Falling, Die Young, Voodoo, Lonely, Heaven, and Neon Knights were outstanding.
Overall, like I said, great show, but a little disappointing. They have a chance to redeem themselves in 6 weeks.
Btw, I also thought the crowd was kind of lame last night.
they didnt do Children of the Sea?
Gotta admit, like one of the posts in that thread, I was both thrilled and disappointed with the show last night. I thought this was going to be one of the top 10 shows I've ever seen, and it just didn't deliver.
Those posts in that thread are kind of all over the place. I immediately dismissed any that say "that was the best concert EVER!" Expectations can make things appear better than they are and disappoint too. I have a feeling that I would have felt about the same as you after the show.
I'll give you guys a report on the 23rd, from an impartial point of view. I'm realistic enough to realize that Dio has been forced to drop his vocals a few keys, but I won't be over-critical either. I'll be watching, listening, and more importantly, FEELING, the energy of the songs and the crowd.
My advantage is I get first show of the U.S. mini-tour, after a 3 week rest period. That NY show was at the end of a frantic Canadian tour. To me, especially with the elderly bands, it would be better to record DVDs during the first few shows, not at the end when they are all tired and worn out.