MasterCylinder
09-15-2004, 08:00 AM
I have returned from my short vacation to New Mexico and got the much needed (and deserved) R&R. As you already know, much of the reason for going out West was to catch the DreamTheater/YES concert tour……………..in addition, the previous night, we also saw ZZ Top at the exact same venue.
My observations:
VENUE:
Sandia Ampitheater -- this is a nice-sized (4400) place with permanent seating, plenty of leg room and drink-holders on the back of the seats. It is an attraction that is part of a large casino complex located at the North end of Albuquerque in the Sandia Indian Reservation. Not enough beverage or food service -- this was true in the casino as well as the ampitheater.
ZZ Top -- our arrival was Sunday evening just before the show was to begin. The show was delayed 30 minutes due to the large crowd still trying to enter the grounds, park vehicles, get beer, not in seats, etc. Our seats are in the middle of the seating area and in the 15th row…………..should be perfect sound at this point.
At 8:30, the show begins. Typical ZZ show, all the old radio hits, silly choreography, etc. They still have the beards (except the guy named Beard) and the silly hats and boots. Gibbons' beard is so long and thick, and with those dark (cheap) sunglasses, I swear he looks just like COUSIN IT (from the Adams Family).
The drum set was of normal size and set-up………….but, Gibbons and Hill both utilized a single, tiny, knee-high amp………it looked funny………the stage so empty……I'm sure the roadies like the idea. The sound company did a crappy job…….the sound just sucked……..from every angle in the theater…….I know because I got up and walked around just for that purpose…………..no excuses when a sound company can't handle a simple 3-piece set-up…………no excuse at all. The ampitheater does provide some nice video screens on each side of the stage and some good camera-work from the employees there………….the tight shots on Gibbon's guitar picking reveal liver spots…………..we are truly not far from wheelchair rock.
Bottom line………….ZZ Top is now mainly a novelty act. A few moments of brilliance and the rest is just silly. If you come to a ZZ show to have some mindless party time, then it is the perfect show. If you are coming to hear good music, it might be disappointing.
The next night, we arrive a bit early to check out the merchandise for sale from both YES and DT. I don't see anything I have to have………………same stuff you can find on the websites………..wife buys both programs………I have not had a chance to look at them yet.
We find our seats and they are really great…………..4th row, center. I am probably 15 feet from the stage. The first thing I notice is that the sound equipment is not the same as the previous night………this will turn out to be a good thing………the ZZ sound really sucked……….the sound for DT & YES is excellent…….very well-done.
The show starts promptly at 6PM (because both bands play a full set) with a tape excerpt from the opening theme from 6DOIT. The set list (unlike most DT concerts) is exactly as I had found on the web reviews of this tour and previously posted here………first song is ABOUT TO CRASH. This band was just what I had expected…….all 4 instrumentalists are expert technicians……….top notch. The weak link……….if there is one………is LaBrie…….but, all is relative …….he did a great job.
He does not look comfortable however……….when he does not have a part, he leaves the stage. When he has a part coming up, he arrives on stage early and paces in a circle like a cat until he begins to sing his part……..he looks very anxious. LaBrie and Myung did not smile one time the entire show………..not once. The other 3 members were having a great time. The biggest surprise of the night (to me) was Rudess…….the set that the band played showed him off a lot……..and he can step up to the plate. He now has a head that is completely shaved and wears a big goatee……….if I would have seen him in the casino, I would not have recognized him at all. I did see Portnoy get off the bus and go into the casino with a small roadie guy at some point…….Portnoy has not changed his looks and neither has Myung. To my surprise, when the show started, Petrucci looked very different……he has cut his hair short and has streaks of that awful fake-looking red color going………he is smaller than I expected and guess what………..he looks so different that I did not recognize him earlier with Portnoy……….the little roadie guy I told you about was actually Petrucci. He is a brilliant technician - the only guitarist I have ever seen that actually has two custom-made little foot rests…….one on each side of his effects-foot-switches……..this is what he uses to step up on (left leg) and prop his guitar up on his knee during these "face-melting" solos.
The biggest hit of the night with the audience was STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS from the TRAIN OF THOUGHT CD……..a brilliant piece and well-played by all members of the band…………..except LaBrie…..this one is instrumental.
The entire set list was as follows:
Overture (edited orchestra-only intro tape)
1. About to Crash
2. Learning to Live
3. Trial of Tears
4. Machine Messiah (excerpt) (Yes)
5. Stream of Consciousness
6. The Spirit Carries On
7. Solitary Shell
8. About to Crash (reprise)
9. Losing Time/Grand Finale
I thought the best work of the evening was TRIAL OF TEARS………..really, really well-done (but I am biased……..I think FII is one of the better DT albums).
I found it interesting that the show was billed as the TRAIN OF THOUGHT TOUR but the band played only one song from that album……….but most of the set actually came from 6DOIT (which was cool with me……..great stuff).
The side-video screens and stage lighting were all useless because when DT ended their set, the sun had not yet gone down completely in the high desert.
YES began their set at 7:45PM and played until 10. They opened with the obligatory Firebird Suite and jumped into GOING FOR THE ONE. This is the first time I had ever heard them do this song live and they did a good job. In fact, this show displayed a number of songs I had never heard YES do live and this was my 16th YESSHOW.
I finally got to hear them do AWAKEN……….the song that Jon Anderson named as his all-time favorite. I also heard WONDEROUS STORIES live for the first time (and yes, I did notice that all 3 of these tunes were from GOING FOR THE ONE, the most recent release from YES that many consider the last real album with Wakeman).
One part of the show that I thought was a bit cheesy……..they played an "unplugged" mini-set of older material, including a shuffle version of ROUNDABOUT.
They also played two (really)oldies…….SWEET DREAMS and the old Beatles tune EVERY LITTLE THING.
As far as the crowd was concerned, the biggest hit of the night was AND YOU AND I………I also thought they did a remarkable job on the old Paul Simon tune, AMERICA.
But…….as I said earlier, the big thrill of the set, for me, was AWAKEN…….what a masterpiece tune from vintage YES.
Closing remarks…………
As I mentioned above, ZZ Top is nothing more than a novelty act………perhaps that has been true for years but it really hit home with me on this particular night……maybe I was just not in the mood for that style of party music.
Dream Theater was all I expected them to be and more. They are, as technicians, simply on top of the game……….as musicians, I realize many people have differing opinions as to whether they can write a good hook or a good melody ………….or whether they are simply a show-boat act. Given that, I was very impressed and would love to see them as a headliner.
YES is YES……..they are still very good and still enjoying themselves……I guess that is more than I can say about most people and their work. Every time I see them, my eyes are always drawn to Squire……..he is energetic and drives the band. The only downside to the concert was the fact that the newest material in the set list was from 1977.
What I had to ask myself is that perhaps this tour really drives home the fact that this could reflect the end of the great era of YES and the beginning of the prime of newer prog bands like DREAM THEATER........the material is so much fresher and attractive.......I need to go see some of the other acts like Porky Tree and IQ before I can actually make up my own mind.
My observations:
VENUE:
Sandia Ampitheater -- this is a nice-sized (4400) place with permanent seating, plenty of leg room and drink-holders on the back of the seats. It is an attraction that is part of a large casino complex located at the North end of Albuquerque in the Sandia Indian Reservation. Not enough beverage or food service -- this was true in the casino as well as the ampitheater.
ZZ Top -- our arrival was Sunday evening just before the show was to begin. The show was delayed 30 minutes due to the large crowd still trying to enter the grounds, park vehicles, get beer, not in seats, etc. Our seats are in the middle of the seating area and in the 15th row…………..should be perfect sound at this point.
At 8:30, the show begins. Typical ZZ show, all the old radio hits, silly choreography, etc. They still have the beards (except the guy named Beard) and the silly hats and boots. Gibbons' beard is so long and thick, and with those dark (cheap) sunglasses, I swear he looks just like COUSIN IT (from the Adams Family).
The drum set was of normal size and set-up………….but, Gibbons and Hill both utilized a single, tiny, knee-high amp………it looked funny………the stage so empty……I'm sure the roadies like the idea. The sound company did a crappy job…….the sound just sucked……..from every angle in the theater…….I know because I got up and walked around just for that purpose…………..no excuses when a sound company can't handle a simple 3-piece set-up…………no excuse at all. The ampitheater does provide some nice video screens on each side of the stage and some good camera-work from the employees there………….the tight shots on Gibbon's guitar picking reveal liver spots…………..we are truly not far from wheelchair rock.
Bottom line………….ZZ Top is now mainly a novelty act. A few moments of brilliance and the rest is just silly. If you come to a ZZ show to have some mindless party time, then it is the perfect show. If you are coming to hear good music, it might be disappointing.
The next night, we arrive a bit early to check out the merchandise for sale from both YES and DT. I don't see anything I have to have………………same stuff you can find on the websites………..wife buys both programs………I have not had a chance to look at them yet.
We find our seats and they are really great…………..4th row, center. I am probably 15 feet from the stage. The first thing I notice is that the sound equipment is not the same as the previous night………this will turn out to be a good thing………the ZZ sound really sucked……….the sound for DT & YES is excellent…….very well-done.
The show starts promptly at 6PM (because both bands play a full set) with a tape excerpt from the opening theme from 6DOIT. The set list (unlike most DT concerts) is exactly as I had found on the web reviews of this tour and previously posted here………first song is ABOUT TO CRASH. This band was just what I had expected…….all 4 instrumentalists are expert technicians……….top notch. The weak link……….if there is one………is LaBrie…….but, all is relative …….he did a great job.
He does not look comfortable however……….when he does not have a part, he leaves the stage. When he has a part coming up, he arrives on stage early and paces in a circle like a cat until he begins to sing his part……..he looks very anxious. LaBrie and Myung did not smile one time the entire show………..not once. The other 3 members were having a great time. The biggest surprise of the night (to me) was Rudess…….the set that the band played showed him off a lot……..and he can step up to the plate. He now has a head that is completely shaved and wears a big goatee……….if I would have seen him in the casino, I would not have recognized him at all. I did see Portnoy get off the bus and go into the casino with a small roadie guy at some point…….Portnoy has not changed his looks and neither has Myung. To my surprise, when the show started, Petrucci looked very different……he has cut his hair short and has streaks of that awful fake-looking red color going………he is smaller than I expected and guess what………..he looks so different that I did not recognize him earlier with Portnoy……….the little roadie guy I told you about was actually Petrucci. He is a brilliant technician - the only guitarist I have ever seen that actually has two custom-made little foot rests…….one on each side of his effects-foot-switches……..this is what he uses to step up on (left leg) and prop his guitar up on his knee during these "face-melting" solos.
The biggest hit of the night with the audience was STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS from the TRAIN OF THOUGHT CD……..a brilliant piece and well-played by all members of the band…………..except LaBrie…..this one is instrumental.
The entire set list was as follows:
Overture (edited orchestra-only intro tape)
1. About to Crash
2. Learning to Live
3. Trial of Tears
4. Machine Messiah (excerpt) (Yes)
5. Stream of Consciousness
6. The Spirit Carries On
7. Solitary Shell
8. About to Crash (reprise)
9. Losing Time/Grand Finale
I thought the best work of the evening was TRIAL OF TEARS………..really, really well-done (but I am biased……..I think FII is one of the better DT albums).
I found it interesting that the show was billed as the TRAIN OF THOUGHT TOUR but the band played only one song from that album……….but most of the set actually came from 6DOIT (which was cool with me……..great stuff).
The side-video screens and stage lighting were all useless because when DT ended their set, the sun had not yet gone down completely in the high desert.
YES began their set at 7:45PM and played until 10. They opened with the obligatory Firebird Suite and jumped into GOING FOR THE ONE. This is the first time I had ever heard them do this song live and they did a good job. In fact, this show displayed a number of songs I had never heard YES do live and this was my 16th YESSHOW.
I finally got to hear them do AWAKEN……….the song that Jon Anderson named as his all-time favorite. I also heard WONDEROUS STORIES live for the first time (and yes, I did notice that all 3 of these tunes were from GOING FOR THE ONE, the most recent release from YES that many consider the last real album with Wakeman).
One part of the show that I thought was a bit cheesy……..they played an "unplugged" mini-set of older material, including a shuffle version of ROUNDABOUT.
They also played two (really)oldies…….SWEET DREAMS and the old Beatles tune EVERY LITTLE THING.
As far as the crowd was concerned, the biggest hit of the night was AND YOU AND I………I also thought they did a remarkable job on the old Paul Simon tune, AMERICA.
But…….as I said earlier, the big thrill of the set, for me, was AWAKEN…….what a masterpiece tune from vintage YES.
Closing remarks…………
As I mentioned above, ZZ Top is nothing more than a novelty act………perhaps that has been true for years but it really hit home with me on this particular night……maybe I was just not in the mood for that style of party music.
Dream Theater was all I expected them to be and more. They are, as technicians, simply on top of the game……….as musicians, I realize many people have differing opinions as to whether they can write a good hook or a good melody ………….or whether they are simply a show-boat act. Given that, I was very impressed and would love to see them as a headliner.
YES is YES……..they are still very good and still enjoying themselves……I guess that is more than I can say about most people and their work. Every time I see them, my eyes are always drawn to Squire……..he is energetic and drives the band. The only downside to the concert was the fact that the newest material in the set list was from 1977.
What I had to ask myself is that perhaps this tour really drives home the fact that this could reflect the end of the great era of YES and the beginning of the prime of newer prog bands like DREAM THEATER........the material is so much fresher and attractive.......I need to go see some of the other acts like Porky Tree and IQ before I can actually make up my own mind.