Things Left Unsaid (part 1)
You may remember a while back that I was considering going to a Dream Theater concert. That was...fall of last year, if I remember correctly. It was probably my worst concert experience. Allow me to explain.
The concert took place in an abandoned church that had been renovated into an event venue. It was a ridiculously huge church that lost all of its congregeants back when segregation lifted; a victim of the phenomenon known as "white flight" which caused the nationwide collapse of many urban centers and created urban decay. The stage was an old amphitheater set into a wooden ballroom-like hall. There were no chairs; it was a standing concert. Since I had advance tickets I was able to get right up to the edge of the stage, making this concert my very first front-row experience.
Unfortunately standing in place for nearly five hours was torturous. I had a hard time focusing on the music because by the time the bands came on stage I was in pain from standing in place for so long. The front stage area was so packed you couldn't move. Had one douchebag trample my concert package trying to get to the other side of the room, but fortunately nothing was damaged.
When I purchased the tickets to the concert, I had no idea that Dream Theater wasn't the only act. I found out much later that Trivium would open for them. Now, let me tell you something about these guys. Dream Theater is a progressive metal act. Their music is broad, sweeping, melodic and highly technical. Trivium is closer to Melodic Black Metal. Their sound was a sonic assault. I respect them for putting some semblance of melody into their work, and I like that their lead singer actually sang a few songs instead of just screaming the whole time, like many many Black Metal bands do...but by the time Dream Theater came on my ears were so fatigued I couldn't make sense of anything.
It was the first live concert I went to that I couldn't actually hear, and became a contributing factor to my getting a cochlear implant. (Note that my hearing problems occurred the following Febuary)
I actually found Dream Theater's new CD to be more enjoyable than the concert, which is really saying something, especially considering that at this point I couldn't follow the CD that well either.
So how close was I to the stage?
Trivium. The man had ha habit of spitting on the floor constantly. I mean constantly. It's so bad that people notice it at every concert. Seriously, I've looked at reviews. I think it's a side effect of death metal screaming; Maybe he takes some kind of drug that keeps his throat from drying out? I don't know, I just thought it was amusing. He wasn't a bad singer though.
All pictures were taken through my 3DS. As you can see, it makes a better camera than my camera does, but the pictures still came out a little fuzzy from all the light/dark contrasts and motion.
Then Dream Theater took the stage. Mr. Myung says "hi."
Their new drummer was fantastic! I missed the original guy they had but this dude was just as world class. Check out his rig! Those things at the top are all bongos and chimes. The guy was literally surrounded by drums, and he played all of them. I think they said he held the world record for speed drumming at the time, but I can't recall exactly what they said about him.
I would have taken more pictures but about that time I was threatened by security. I enjoyed the rest of the concert while everyone else took pictures, and managed to pick up a Trivium pick that had been discarded on the other side of the security fence after asking a guard if I could have it.
Got lost on my way home and got sick from eating fake jalepinos at this stupid Buffalo restaurant. There was no way they could have been real; they were way too green. They put some on my burger anyways.
I do not think I'll be going back to this particular venue again, and might just skip Dream Theater altogether except for their CD's, Unless if they're touring solo or something.
The Real Reason why radio is no longer innovative in what they choose to play.
A man has an awkward conversation with his 12 year old self.
The 10 worst automotive fads of the last 50 years.
The concert took place in an abandoned church that had been renovated into an event venue. It was a ridiculously huge church that lost all of its congregeants back when segregation lifted; a victim of the phenomenon known as "white flight" which caused the nationwide collapse of many urban centers and created urban decay. The stage was an old amphitheater set into a wooden ballroom-like hall. There were no chairs; it was a standing concert. Since I had advance tickets I was able to get right up to the edge of the stage, making this concert my very first front-row experience.
Unfortunately standing in place for nearly five hours was torturous. I had a hard time focusing on the music because by the time the bands came on stage I was in pain from standing in place for so long. The front stage area was so packed you couldn't move. Had one douchebag trample my concert package trying to get to the other side of the room, but fortunately nothing was damaged.
When I purchased the tickets to the concert, I had no idea that Dream Theater wasn't the only act. I found out much later that Trivium would open for them. Now, let me tell you something about these guys. Dream Theater is a progressive metal act. Their music is broad, sweeping, melodic and highly technical. Trivium is closer to Melodic Black Metal. Their sound was a sonic assault. I respect them for putting some semblance of melody into their work, and I like that their lead singer actually sang a few songs instead of just screaming the whole time, like many many Black Metal bands do...but by the time Dream Theater came on my ears were so fatigued I couldn't make sense of anything.
It was the first live concert I went to that I couldn't actually hear, and became a contributing factor to my getting a cochlear implant. (Note that my hearing problems occurred the following Febuary)
I actually found Dream Theater's new CD to be more enjoyable than the concert, which is really saying something, especially considering that at this point I couldn't follow the CD that well either.
So how close was I to the stage?
Trivium. The man had ha habit of spitting on the floor constantly. I mean constantly. It's so bad that people notice it at every concert. Seriously, I've looked at reviews. I think it's a side effect of death metal screaming; Maybe he takes some kind of drug that keeps his throat from drying out? I don't know, I just thought it was amusing. He wasn't a bad singer though.
All pictures were taken through my 3DS. As you can see, it makes a better camera than my camera does, but the pictures still came out a little fuzzy from all the light/dark contrasts and motion.
Then Dream Theater took the stage. Mr. Myung says "hi."
Their new drummer was fantastic! I missed the original guy they had but this dude was just as world class. Check out his rig! Those things at the top are all bongos and chimes. The guy was literally surrounded by drums, and he played all of them. I think they said he held the world record for speed drumming at the time, but I can't recall exactly what they said about him.
I would have taken more pictures but about that time I was threatened by security. I enjoyed the rest of the concert while everyone else took pictures, and managed to pick up a Trivium pick that had been discarded on the other side of the security fence after asking a guard if I could have it.
Got lost on my way home and got sick from eating fake jalepinos at this stupid Buffalo restaurant. There was no way they could have been real; they were way too green. They put some on my burger anyways.
I do not think I'll be going back to this particular venue again, and might just skip Dream Theater altogether except for their CD's, Unless if they're touring solo or something.
The Real Reason why radio is no longer innovative in what they choose to play.
A man has an awkward conversation with his 12 year old self.
The 10 worst automotive fads of the last 50 years.