Dream Theater

Well my fiance and I are going tomorrow to the Austin show and meet and greet, but tonight we just got back from the SA show and whew!!! The Majestic Theatre is a sight to behold! The venue is like being in another time and place .. incredibly ornate detailed amazing walls and ceilings, with a space ceiling with stars .. the only down side to the show was the venue seemed to have some sound mixing issues .. the first three songs James was signalling several adjustments (some of which I understood since I've watched every documentary, sorry, geek moment), sometimes he would get drowned out, sometimes Petrucci's guitar was MIA for a bit .. but by song 4 it was mostly fixed .. a little noisy from reverberation in the venue, but nothing bad, and I didn't mind .. they did an amazing job of adjustments .. and by the end my ears were ringing and very mad at me .. the way it should be!
As for the show, they put on a completely perfect flawless performance, as always ... I don't know how these guys do it night in and night out. Put so much effort into every note and detail and emotion of EVERY show ... they really are the best performers of our time, if not history, as far as live music goes. How tight and perfect they are in the crazy part of Lost Not Forgotten, and the intro to War Inside my Head, I have no idea how they do it. Like I said last year, and like many people have said .. with Mangini on stage they look and feel more natural on stage .. playing and joking together, playing close together more often, smiling, waving .. they are so energetic and happy playing! Mangini is a monster, how his arms don't fall off from hitting SO incredibly hard for 2+ hours a night I don't understand! And James .. he didn't miss ANYthing .. I don't know how his vocal chords don't rip and fall out onto the stage nowadays .. I wasn't worried of course, but I WAS kinda wondering how he'd do with such an old high note scream/sing/opera song like Metropolis Part I, but WOW!!! Freaking perfect, every note hit, solid, loud, and face smashing!
Well I'll probably give a similar report tomorrow night ... for now, cheers!

A few sides notes and thoughts ..
I thought the set list was AMAZING and EPIC. I knew it before the show of course, since I keep up with details like that, but they added in some really nice touches! An incredible Jordan Rudess keyboard solo right before Surrounded .. an extended Rudess/Petrucci duet before the Spirit Carries On, along with a heartfelt nice speech from James before the actual song .. which resounded with me on a special level, considering my mother is about to leave this plane of existance after a three year battle with stage 4 lung cancer.. it was really special hearing that song like that.
Also, during the finale of Metropolis, the encure, Mangini added in something similar to the insane cross body drumming he did at the end of his solo last year. WHEW!

Sorry for the typos/misspellings .. I blame the site for not having a basic spellcheck ;)

Well my wife and I just got home (Houston) from San Antonio.
We did the meet and great ... which was such a thrill! Our seats were 2nd row center (on the aisle) and couldnt have been any better. As was mentioned already they had some mixing issues at the start but got them resolved early.
Overall, a wonderful experience!

I took my nephews to the show and paid over 200 bucks for 2 seats in the front row right, i had to sit a little further back but was very greatful to the usher at the majestic who allowed me to sit where i could keep an eye on them lol:) SA being my home town i LOVE the majestic! They LOVED the show! One being a drummer himself and the other guitar they immensly enjoyed it! !! I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you DT I LOVED THE SHOW ive been to 4 shows and i have loved every one of them and am so happy my nephews love you as well! Anyway thank you thank you thank you for playing the majestic again and thank you for your music! I actually got to touch hands with jordan and myung! Love all you guys !!! Keep rocking!!! If i could make one change it would only be SHAVE LOL i hate facial hair! ;))

Well, I saw Majesty at the Majestic. I agree with the mixing issues, but all of that was washed away by Dream Theater's intensity and enthusiasm. From the first note they brought the hammer and kept hitting throughout the whole show. I felt very privileged to had seen them this time around. The crowd could not help but be hyped by DT fast pace. It was very contagious. I think hearing some the classics of previous albums like, "war inside my head " and "a fortune in lies" really helped with the overall mood of the concert. I have seen them the last couple of times they have come through the area, Once when they opened for Maiden and last year at Bass Hall in Austin. This show seemed so much better in many ways. Mangini seems to have become a lot more at ease and was right on. He was laughing and interreacting with the others the whole night. He was not concerned about being noticed by the crowd just seemed happy to be part of a bad ass band. Sorry, but Port always seemed jealous when everyone was up front on stage. My point is that the band seems more whole with no egos apparent during the show. It was hard to believe that this was their second leg of the American tour. They seemed so fresh and aggressive. Now on that note, Petrucci looked dead tired at the Meet and Greet in Austin the next day. Regardless, he stood for two hours and signed autographs and took pictures. They had a chair but he refused to sit. He was very gracious and spent a lot of time with each person. I brought several items for him to sign but felt bad for the others in line so, I left them in my bag. Well he encouraged me to pull them out of the bag so he could sign my JP6, Mark V foot switch and my TC Dreamscape pedal. Oh, how can I forget the signed picture after all that. He could not have been more nice and patient. There was a drunk fan hanging all over him at the signing that would not leave. He was very patient with the drunk until he was escorted out. I hated to see that happen to JP but he handled the situation like a gentleman. Other artists would have probably ended the signing right there but JP went for another hour. Dream Theater, the greatest band in the World! JP rules!