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Both of which were outstanding shows and are in my Live Performance collection. I especially like the CIM DVD set. I've always been fascinated and have a ton of respect for everything that goes on behind-the-scenes in order for the talent to do little more than walk on stage and play and CIM does a great job of delving into that realm. Add to that the fact that the performances on that tour were nothing short of brilliant! Each one of the guys are a phenomenon unto themselves. I mean, c'mon.... how could you possibly replace any one of them at this point? (not counting the fact that they did actually replace Portnoy...)Ehwmatt wrote:Rush - Time Machine
Dream theater - chaos in motion
JRNYMAN wrote:Both of which were outstanding shows and are in my Live Performance collection. I especially like the CIM DVD set. I've always been fascinated and have a ton of respect for everything that goes on behind-the-scenes in order for the talent to do little more than walk on stage and play and CIM does a great job of delving into that realm. Add to that the fact that the performances on that tour were nothing short of brilliant! Each one of the guys are a phenomenon unto themselves. I mean, c'mon.... how could you possibly replace any one of them at this point? (not counting the fact that they did actually replace Portnoy...)Ehwmatt wrote:Rush - Time Machine
Dream theater - chaos in motion
I chalk the "day at the office" aire up to them still getting used to one another - or should I say, Mangini getting to know the rest of them and their nuances, queues, gestures, etc. and vice versa. I agree with you completely regarding Portnoy. His tenure in the band forced the rest of the band to consider his input whether they wanted to or agreed with his visions for the future or not. With Petrucci and Myung now the controlling interests, and the combined writing geniuses of those two plus Rudess.... minus the input of Portnoy holding them back from the wondrous and unexplored avenues I know are going to be epic..... I think what's to come from DT will be ground-breaking and quite possibly a style of music that will change the definition of "prog rock" altogether. Each of them is arguably in the top 1% of prog rock musicians and perhaps the top 10% of rock musicians respective to the instrument they play. With Wakeman virtually out of the picture now (and that's not to say his presence and contributions to the music world won't forever be respected as one of the finest and most accomplished keyboardists ever to walk the planet) Rudess is the king of current keyboardists and we both know where Petrucci and Myung stand.... yeah, we're about to hear some shit that will blow everyone's minds no matter the genre.Ehwmatt wrote:JRNYMAN wrote:Both of which were outstanding shows and are in my Live Performance collection. I especially like the CIM DVD set. I've always been fascinated and have a ton of respect for everything that goes on behind-the-scenes in order for the talent to do little more than walk on stage and play and CIM does a great job of delving into that realm. Add to that the fact that the performances on that tour were nothing short of brilliant! Each one of the guys are a phenomenon unto themselves. I mean, c'mon.... how could you possibly replace any one of them at this point? (not counting the fact that they did actually replace Portnoy...)Ehwmatt wrote:Rush - Time Machine
Dream theater - chaos in motion
That was a GREAT tour. DT is still trucking along, and I thought A Dramatic Turn of Events was their best effort since Octavarium. I think Portnoy had them headed too far down the stale power metal route the last several years, and I was kinda glad to see him go. But I will say that after seeing them live in June and just hearing general reviews (from non-Portnoy fanboy fags), they did not have the same energy live. Sure, the performances were fine from a musicianship standpoint, but gone were the rotating setlists, the interesting arrangements of old favorites, and the like. It just seemed a lot more like guys going to work rather than guys jamming with their buddies. Mangini is fantastic, so I'm not trying to take anything away from him. It just didn't feel the same--and again, let me stress, I was (and am, from a writing/recording standpoint) happy to see Portnoy go.
I do think they would do well with a full year away from both the road and recording though. They are burnt out. But I'm sure financial realities make that a non-starter for them. They have done extremely well considering their niche, but they aren't raking in Bruce Springsteen-like tour receipts.
JRNYMAN wrote:I chalk the "day at the office" aire up to them still getting used to one another - or should I say, Mangini getting to know the rest of them and their nuances, queues, gestures, etc. and vice versa. I agree with you completely regarding Portnoy. His tenure in the band forced the rest of the band to consider his input whether they wanted to or agreed with his visions for the future or not. With Petrucci and Myung now the controlling interests, and the combined writing geniuses of those two plus Rudess.... minus the input of Portnoy holding them back from the wondrous and unexplored avenues I know are going to be epic..... I think what's to come from DT will be ground-breaking and quite possibly a style of music that will change the definition of "prog rock" altogether. Each of them is arguably in the top 1% of prog rock musicians and perhaps the top 10% of rock musicians respective to the instrument they play. With Wakeman virtually out of the picture now (and that's not to say his presence and contributions to the music world won't forever be respected as one of the finest and most accomplished keyboardists ever to walk the planet) Rudess is the king of current keyboardists and we both know where Petrucci and Myung stand.... yeah, we're about to hear some shit that will blow everyone's minds no matter the genre.Ehwmatt wrote:JRNYMAN wrote:Both of which were outstanding shows and are in my Live Performance collection. I especially like the CIM DVD set. I've always been fascinated and have a ton of respect for everything that goes on behind-the-scenes in order for the talent to do little more than walk on stage and play and CIM does a great job of delving into that realm. Add to that the fact that the performances on that tour were nothing short of brilliant! Each one of the guys are a phenomenon unto themselves. I mean, c'mon.... how could you possibly replace any one of them at this point? (not counting the fact that they did actually replace Portnoy...)Ehwmatt wrote:Rush - Time Machine
Dream theater - chaos in motion
That was a GREAT tour. DT is still trucking along, and I thought A Dramatic Turn of Events was their best effort since Octavarium. I think Portnoy had them headed too far down the stale power metal route the last several years, and I was kinda glad to see him go. But I will say that after seeing them live in June and just hearing general reviews (from non-Portnoy fanboy fags), they did not have the same energy live. Sure, the performances were fine from a musicianship standpoint, but gone were the rotating setlists, the interesting arrangements of old favorites, and the like. It just seemed a lot more like guys going to work rather than guys jamming with their buddies. Mangini is fantastic, so I'm not trying to take anything away from him. It just didn't feel the same--and again, let me stress, I was (and am, from a writing/recording standpoint) happy to see Portnoy go.
I do think they would do well with a full year away from both the road and recording though. They are burnt out. But I'm sure financial realities make that a non-starter for them. They have done extremely well considering their niche, but they aren't raking in Bruce Springsteen-like tour receipts.
A nice vacay from all of it to refresh, regroup and miss the musicality will do wonders for their ..... well, everything.
And regarding your reference to Springsteen....
If they were doing those kinds of numbers, the quality of their product would surely suffer as would the fans.
Did you happen to watch the web series that followed them auditioning drummers? Frickin' Awesome!! Could you imagine being given a chance to audition for them - for any instrument - and basically going in blind, not knowing which songs they will ask you to play and then having a just-made-up riff thrown at you which was specifically designed with the most unusual and God-awful time signatures ever assembled and expected to "get the hang of it" in 2-3 takes?!![]()
Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!
![]()
DT's respect and appreciation for their fans is unrivaled in my opinion. Opening up the studio to a camera crew for a set number of hours during the process of creating a new album or getting a "behind-the-scenes" look which is always so regimented and scripted it seems is one thing but for them to actually produce and digitally document the process for the sole purpose of sharing it with their fans is something else completely. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of their commitment to their various charities they support. They are rumored to be among the most supportive act, artist, band of all with annual donations in the high 7 figures - but that part of them is something they purposely keep private and personal which is the way it should be. And when it comes to sick kids, no one cares more than Petrucci. A few years ago (and I can't remember if it was a promo piece done by Make A Wish or if it was b-roll from their own camera crew) one of the MAW kids wanted to meet John and play a song with him, which of course they made happen and John held it together the entire time and was all smiles and warm and bubbly until the end of the visit when the kid was thanking everyone and he hugged John you could see the tears welling up in his eyes and as soon as the kid was out of the room, John lost it and excused himself from the group sobbing.Ehwmatt wrote:JRNYMAN wrote:I chalk the "day at the office" aire up to them still getting used to one another - or should I say, Mangini getting to know the rest of them and their nuances, queues, gestures, etc. and vice versa. I agree with you completely regarding Portnoy. His tenure in the band forced the rest of the band to consider his input whether they wanted to or agreed with his visions for the future or not. With Petrucci and Myung now the controlling interests, and the combined writing geniuses of those two plus Rudess.... minus the input of Portnoy holding them back from the wondrous and unexplored avenues I know are going to be epic..... I think what's to come from DT will be ground-breaking and quite possibly a style of music that will change the definition of "prog rock" altogether. Each of them is arguably in the top 1% of prog rock musicians and perhaps the top 10% of rock musicians respective to the instrument they play. With Wakeman virtually out of the picture now (and that's not to say his presence and contributions to the music world won't forever be respected as one of the finest and most accomplished keyboardists ever to walk the planet) Rudess is the king of current keyboardists and we both know where Petrucci and Myung stand.... yeah, we're about to hear some shit that will blow everyone's minds no matter the genre.Ehwmatt wrote:JRNYMAN wrote:Both of which were outstanding shows and are in my Live Performance collection. I especially like the CIM DVD set. I've always been fascinated and have a ton of respect for everything that goes on behind-the-scenes in order for the talent to do little more than walk on stage and play and CIM does a great job of delving into that realm. Add to that the fact that the performances on that tour were nothing short of brilliant! Each one of the guys are a phenomenon unto themselves. I mean, c'mon.... how could you possibly replace any one of them at this point? (not counting the fact that they did actually replace Portnoy...)Ehwmatt wrote:Rush - Time Machine
Dream theater - chaos in motion
That was a GREAT tour. DT is still trucking along, and I thought A Dramatic Turn of Events was their best effort since Octavarium. I think Portnoy had them headed too far down the stale power metal route the last several years, and I was kinda glad to see him go. But I will say that after seeing them live in June and just hearing general reviews (from non-Portnoy fanboy fags), they did not have the same energy live. Sure, the performances were fine from a musicianship standpoint, but gone were the rotating setlists, the interesting arrangements of old favorites, and the like. It just seemed a lot more like guys going to work rather than guys jamming with their buddies. Mangini is fantastic, so I'm not trying to take anything away from him. It just didn't feel the same--and again, let me stress, I was (and am, from a writing/recording standpoint) happy to see Portnoy go.
I do think they would do well with a full year away from both the road and recording though. They are burnt out. But I'm sure financial realities make that a non-starter for them. They have done extremely well considering their niche, but they aren't raking in Bruce Springsteen-like tour receipts.
A nice vacay from all of it to refresh, regroup and miss the musicality will do wonders for their ..... well, everything.
And regarding your reference to Springsteen....
If they were doing those kinds of numbers, the quality of their product would surely suffer as would the fans.
Did you happen to watch the web series that followed them auditioning drummers? Frickin' Awesome!! Could you imagine being given a chance to audition for them - for any instrument - and basically going in blind, not knowing which songs they will ask you to play and then having a just-made-up riff thrown at you which was specifically designed with the most unusual and God-awful time signatures ever assembled and expected to "get the hang of it" in 2-3 takes?!![]()
Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!
![]()
Those audition tapes were AWESOME. It is so cool to see a true "behind the scenes" documentary into the actual music like that, and not the typical gossip behind the music type shit. We fans rarely ever see behind the curtain when it comes to these kinds of actual processes.
Liam wrote:Oh...you can see me in this. Some of the shots were recorded in South Bend, IN at the MR Fest. I'm at the end during Stairway To Heaven during the "..And if you listen very hard". part.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unMmQuYY51w
The Sushi Hunter wrote:Not sure if it counts, but I was in GGGGW 4 - ( G-string Gay Guys Gone Wild )
DavidWT wrote:I was at Billy Joel's concert at Shea Stadium, in 2008 ("The Last Play At Shea"),
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