Roll Call - DT / Redemption / Into Eternity on Friday 8/10?

If anyone is still waffling on going, I have an extra ticket or two available at no cost - you'll have to PM me pretty quickly and leave me a way to contact you!

Ken

I'm quite tempted to take you up if it's right here in Rosemont...
BUT probably not because I don't listen to any of the bands playing and it would hardly be nice to take tickets for free when someone else who actually likes said bands could go.:lol:
 
I'm quite tempted to take you up if it's right here in Rosemont...
BUT probably not because I don't listen to any of the bands playing and it would hardly be nice to take tickets for free when someone else who actually likes said bands could go.:lol:

Don't be a doofus. :) The show is right there at the Rosemont Theater and not liking a band on CD is a whole different thing than at least enjoying them a little bit live! Check your PMs.

Ken
 
Ken - please be sure to write a review of the gig.
I am always curious to know other's thoughts on DT live.
As I had stated before, I do like DT, but for some reason didn't do much for me the one time I saw them live.
 
I saw you there, Ken! :)

The show was AWESOME. And there's a delightful new DT animation (remember the Octavarium animation?) that went with Dark Eternal Night. I'm just pleased that they played Panic Attack. And watching Portnoy do lude things to one of the ant props was pretty fantastic. :D

Al and I also went to the Portnoy and Rudess signings at two different Sam Ash locations. Portnoy gave me a hug!


Oh. Redemption = awesome live. Though Ray Alder seemed a bit more hoarse than normal.
 
First off, some super thanks to Ken for the free tickets and backstage pass. :kickass:

Into Eternity were alright. I'll go with Ken and say that I think knowing their material would make their live show a lot better. The vocalist sounds just like Devin Townsend when he talks though. :lol: Canadians.

Redemption were really great. Awesome stuff. I'll definitely be looking out for them in the future, and snagging an album (or three) when I get the cash. I can get over Ray Alder's bit of vocal troubles for the evening, as it barely impeded his singing, mostly his talking.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect for Dream Theater. Me and Ken had talked a bit about his previous times seeing DT, and the guys around us were all, apparently, adamant DT followers and had seen all the tours since "Images and Words". So we stuck around for the first song, which mostly impressed me with the ferocity of the lights show :)hypno: ), and then ducked out to go back stage.

Back stage was really cool. :kickass: I got to meet everyone from Redemption, and their manager (who showed us around), and some other cool people. Then we chilled on the tour bus for like 20 minutes, and I just hope I didn't spoil Ken's time looking sour:erk: I'm on a new Melatonin supplement for my insomnia and it's making me feel really wonky between 9:00 PM and midnight, but I was really having a great time.

We went back inside to the show around the end of the Keytar solo (Ugliest keytar ever, and that's a feat... Because all keytars are pretty damn ugly. :lol: ) and the rest of the show was awesome. Because I don't really listen to DT, I couldn't name any of the songs, but I enjoyed most of them.

So, Myung stood there the whole time with his really ugly-ass bass that made him look tiny... Which was kind of a disappointment, because I expected so much more out of him :mad: Petrucci moved very little (from what I could see of him), mostly coming to the center once or twice for longer, more "epic" solos. I don't know how Rudess doesn't get dizzy going around in circles with his little mounted keyboard thing :lol: and was he reading music on the little on-board computer on his keyboard? Cheater! Portnoy was was pretty funny, and I can't imagine still playing drums while standing, which he did in just about every song :ill: I ended up watching him for most of the time, anyway. Him, or LaBrie, who looks funny with facial hair. LaBrie sounds great live, but I dunno if it was the PA or whatever but I kept hearing phantom black metal vocals backing him up o_O

Either way, I really enjoyed the show. My basic sum-up is that Dream Theater are a one-trick pony with a really, really cool trick (IMO, the best part was when the screen started lighting up the words LaBrie was singing :lol: That was just terrible.). I'd go see them again if I got the chance, no sweat.

Oh, and my only complaint is standing on that incline made my legs hurt like hell afterwards. I think I even pulled a muscle in my left leg. Stupid theater floors.

Sorry for the giant post. :p
 
Glad you had a great time.

DT were never known for being an exciting live band.

They are the Opeth of prog metal.
Great studio band, but live just isn't that exciting.
 
Hooray, Actumen posted a summary so now I don't have to! Ha!

Some added notes:

- Into Eternity's sound wasn't great, I knew some of the songs and it still had too much of the wall of noise effect. Also, their singer can hit some really high notes. So can my three year old daughter, but that doesn't mean I want to hear her do it for half an hour.

- Redemption was most excellent. Their new bass player is a monster. Ray's voice when speaking was very shot, so I was surprised that he held it together as well as he did when singing. Hopefully he'll take many throat lozenges before Atlanta. It was funny listening to the DT fanboys sitting around us wonder if Redemption would be any good. The guy next to use made sure to tell the people behind him more than once that it was "Ray Adler's new band". Yes, Adler. That's not my typo, that was his speak-o. It was also funny having the guy behind me ask who Vanden Plas and Circle II Circle were from my PPIV shirt. I guess I sometimes take for granted being in the prog/power "in" crowd.

- DT always proves why they have such a rabid following. Although not terribly good stagemen, their playing is always top notch, and they can be counted on to bring out various unexpected tracks from earlier discs. This time it was Scared, from Awake. Their latest CD is one of my least favorite of theirs, but the songs came across very well live. I don't really like In the Presence of Enemies (Pt 2) on disc, but it was *great* live, even with the silly exploding words graphic that Actumen liked so much. The flip side is that I like Jordan Rudess even less live than on CD. His playing has no soul. And could he use two hands at least once in a while??

Cameron, sorry I had to split so quickly at the end. With a 1.5 hour drive home, I wanted out of the parking lot as quickly as possible. It worked out just right; since I got there early, I was in one of the first three rows near the exit and got out right away! Hope your dad liked the show, too!

It was also nice to see Orbweaver, Met-Al, Shreddy, the Abolisher guy :), Chris Lotesto.

The capper on the night was listening to the new Circus Maximus CD for the first time on the way home. It is a great CD!

Ken