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I thought the Philly show last night was unbelievable. Thanks for coming. What did you guys think? - Bruce

I need to invent a few new positive adjectives before i can verbalize the performance from last night. Just too good.

not so much a review of the show, but the crowd was full of morons who decided to talk through the entire performance with their girlfriends trying to impress them with their knowledge of each song...unfortunately everytime they told their girlfriends which song it was, they were completely wrong.


Music was great and I had a good time despite being completely exausted from a 5 1/2 flight. Just waking up from my first meaningful sleep in 4 days, more later.


Some Ear Candy from the show at http://www.wklitz.com/

i gotta chime in ... last night was one of the greatest experiences i have ever had while playing with "the machine" . i want to thank everyone that came
and the wonderful musicians in the orchestra , and especially Sarah Hicks , the Maestro , who was a complete joy to work with and did an unbelievable job. there is so much to do to pull of a show like that , and i was proud to be part of it. Randy and Jim are the best. Happy birthday Jim! hope u all enjoyed it. joe out

Sometimes, in my profession, when we are close to perfection we have a saying, ‘Don’t pet the dog’. The urge is there to go that infinitesimal, that microscopic step to achieve absolute perfection and most of the time failure is the result. When you have only one chance to get something right you don’t ‘Pet the Dog’.
We all recognized the opening strains to SOYCD, when Nina took stage we sat up, when Norbert walked out and unloaded the lead of a lifetime on a sax that shook my seat we all knew. If there was any doubt, how about a psychedelic orchestra wailing on ‘Set the Controls’; a version of Comfortably Numb that was so crystal clear and clean that you could hear a pin drop; the sight of Nina drawing in the first breath for ‘Great Gig’. The boys did Pet the Dog.
Perfect, just perfect. Thank you.

Well said, OJ - I agree - tough to come up with words to describe this show, but you did! The only thing I can add to your highlights are the goosebumps felt as those strings came in on SOYCD to open the show and floating when the encore ended.

Some additional comments about the show:

It was amazing to watch the interaction between the band/maestro (Sarah Hicks)/orchestra. Sarah giving Joe the signal for the first guitar notes in SOYCD. Todd leading the overall timing with Joe, Ryan and Scott taking peeks at Sarah while she leads the orchestra and looks over her shoulder at the band members (I have a photo of this!). Watching Sarah and several members of the orchestra tapping their feet and moving to the music while TM was rocking the place during the non-orchestral pieces. Unreal! And how much fun the band had up there - you could see and feel it.

Sound, lights and lasers were amazing, giving this show a big time concert feel, yet the venue was intimate enough to give you a great seat, no matter where you were, especially considering how most of us know the band members, Nina, Norbert, Randy, Jim, etc. Also - a perfect summer night for this type of venue.

I was extremely fortunate to take photos of the preshow rehearsal and during the show, which I will post in a couple of days, as I have many to go through and post process. I couldn't get over how complex it was to get the stage set for the band and orchestra, do the sound check, and last but not least - the pressure of having one short rehearsal with the orchestra just a few hours before the show. Everyone on stage were consumate professionals, and I was blown away how quickly they got it together. Unsung in all this, and Joe did make a mention, was all the work by a friend of the band, Max, to write the arrangements for the show, and for the Maestro, Sarah Hicks, to translate that into a beautiful production.

I was there with a group of 8, 6 of which saw TM many times before, and we all agreed - best show - it was magical! The 2 newbies were blown way - imagine this one as you first show!

TM, Sarah Hicks, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra - THANKS!!!!

Shine On,
Mike

Photos from the show posted on Flickr.

Here is the link to the slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27546227@N ... 711530943/

I wasn't allowed to shoot close ups from the pit, so all photos are from either the balcony or the last row of the floor. Although ~150' away, I was glad to have a long lens to get the stage shots.

Enjoy!

Mike

I just put Mike's awesome slide show up in the What's New Section. Thanks Mike !

Great night at an awesome venue... big Thank You.

wklitz thanks so much for the show/s.
Did you happen to tape the Keswick show a couple years ago when they played Animals album?

Couple pic's but not as good as Mike's photos.. great job.

Enjoy.
Andy.