dream theater, styx and vh clips

[brent]

Clips from my crappy phone are on youtube:

thelowdbrent

[bradleyr12]

How was DT? Aside from James, did they kill?

[brent]

Aside from James....bwuhahahahahaha.

They killed.

There was one song that sounded off in the whole set. I may be wrong, but it appeared to me that Mangini got lost on a tune. He did not play it by the book. John and Jordan were looking at him, making hand and head motions. The average person might not have noticed. The average hard core fan probably did.

John did a solo that was gave me goose bumps. Darn near brought a tear to my eye. There was an abbreviated solo by Jordan. He walked out with the key-tar to solo at the end of the song, and then played an extend intro to another song. That was it. There was no drum solo. I was kind of surprised. It was 104 that day, so that might have been a good reason for it. The lack of time might have been a reason as well. They played two hours.

[bradleyr12]

Those guys on a bad is everyone else on a good day. James needs to go. I respect the guy, but he needs to know when to say when. He just cant pull it off anymore!

[COLOSSUS]

Whats up with James? I wasn't as thrilled about A Dramatic Turn Of Events as previous albums. I thought it was missing something. Not sure what, maybe Portnoy.

[brent]

Whats up with James? I wasn't as thrilled about A Dramatic Turn Of Events as previous albums. I thought it was missing something. Not sure what, maybe Portnoy.

Well, I think you are right. It will take a bit for Mangini to be himself, and for people to stop expecting Portnoy.

I think the albums sound is subdued. But, they likely had to play it safe, sound familiar, and not venture out too far. Mike is a has been an aggressive person, which is evident in his playing (musically and recreationally). When you take that personality and the related interpersonal dynamics/stuggles that they were experiencing, things WILL sound more subdued.

Re: James. He is unique for sure. Personally, it has been hard for me to pick up their lyrics on some songs. His delivery hasn't been my personal preference. But, he is the voice of Dream Theater. To a point, I don't think he is significant. I mean, he is not the center piece. He is an over-shadowed vocal element of a great band. I would not want to sing in front of those guys either. If James should quit, which he won't, Is there a singer who could be the vocal counterpart to the others? Who would take that job? They do vocals last as an afterthought, and that would suck . I miss the kevin moore days when he thought about the vocals.

[bradleyr12]

Agreed. Things were more balance in the Kevin Moore days. I just dont think that James can pull it off like he used too. I am curious to see how mangini sounds on new music now that he is more comfortable with the guys. I would like to see more freedom given to him. But I doubt that will happen.