Today I got to meet the band!

I went to the airport and waited for them to come out.
I took with me the Lifting Shadows book (with my name on the roll of honor ) and my Cheat the Gallows.
First was Ace (BE), he stopped and autographed my cd. I was so nervous, shaking.

More waiting, the rest came out. I freaked out. Almost fainted and just went behind them.

With the book in my hands: "Mike! Please can you autograph this?"
'I can't stop, give me a pen.'
While walking, the both of us, me holding the book and he autographing, awesome, so difficult to write and walk.


Out side there was everybody. I didn't know what to do, I said a few words to JR and  saw JMX walking a little far. Got to him and asked for the signature on the book. "Please John... (showing the book)" - 'Sure.' - I heard JMX talking!!! Awesome! 

I walked a little more to the furthest van. Bigelf was there and I got the remaining 4 signatures. Talked to Damon, he gave me a sticker and two banners, we joked and he asked my name.

I left back to the city (the airport is FAAR) and started the search for the hotel. 10 hotels latter, found the one. Ace was there and we talked some more.
Than Demon appeared and said "Luciano (my name) you're everywhere!". I was so honored that he remembered my name!

I chilled some more. James and Jordan went down. I waited for them to get out of the hotel, and said to James "Hey there pirate" - 'Arrr, how you doing?' Nice! - got his autograph, and picture. Than talked to JR and said about the DT TV, he laughed and gave me a semi-autograph, the pen was out of ink! Luckily, my friend had another, he finished signing and asked directions to places to eat. We took a picture and they left.

One of the greatest experiences of my life witch I will never forget, they were so kind. I still need JP's autograph on my book. And need to talk to MP a little more than "Mike, please..."

The show's tomorrow, can't wait!
I'll post the pictures latter.

Thanks DT and BE!

John Petrucci can touch MC Hammer.

Haha sounds fun!

You talk like they were deities of some kind. But aside from being awesome musicians, they're normal people.

gabrielkfl


You talk like they were deities of some kind. But aside from being awesome musicians, they're normal people.

It's still a thrilling experience meeting your idols.

gabrielkfl


You talk like they were deities of some kind. But aside from being awesome musicians, they're normal people.

I'm sorry if you act normally in front of your idols.

poryon2

gabrielkfl


You talk like they were deities of some kind. But aside from being awesome musicians, they're normal people.

It's still a thrilling experience meeting your idols.

Thanks!

John Petrucci can touch MC Hammer.

I completely forgot BigElf were supporting. That's cool!

http://www.reverbnation.com/alexanderharmer

Nice story...


... and you guys there are lucky bastards having Bigelf opening for DT...

I laughed at James' reply. Thats epic! Great story :D

MP: Do you guys know how long it took to find a gravestone with the name Victoria Page, and the dates 1905-1928 on it?! Took us months!

Now, just ignore the MESS that is my hair!

John Petrucci can touch MC Hammer.

What an experience! Glad you shared it! 

Waiting for the other pictures!

It must have been a blast! :)

chicks dig prog

Congrats! Pity you didn't get to meet JP. But I agree with you totally. I nearly died the first time I met the band. Even though I've met them a few times since, I'm still nervous as hell each time.

On a side note, John Myung's penmanship has gone seriously downhill. He used to have the most legible signature. Now it's all scribbles!

The Alchemist


On a side note, John Myung's penmanship has gone seriously downhill. He used to have the most legible signature. Now it's all scribbles!

It's the top one, right?  It's just a wiggly line... nice!

well, you were lucky... JP came to the venue, he walk just infront of me, no guards.. just he and me face to face and all i said was... 

Me: "Hi John!!"
John: "Hi"
... John walks away inside the venue.... i think about what i did (and what i DIDNT do!) for a second and i realized i wasted the oportunity of my life to get a pic or an autograph from the guy i admire the most and spent ridiculous amounts of time watching in DVDs or Youtube...

/facepalm to me...

awesome man
seems like DT is always in a rush!

Carpe Diem !

zoso


seems like DT is always in a rush!

We are if you try to meet us at an airport....there is no worse place to meet us....we are usually dealing with luggage and going through customs and getting in vans, etc....if we stop to take pictures and sign autographs it becomes chaos when you are travelling with a large party of 20 to 30 band and crew members as we do.....
 
I love our fans and always try to make time for them, but the airport is a BAD place for it....sorry! 
 
MP

wow, I swear MP reads every fricken post on this forum! Awesome!

I've had the tremendous pleasure of meeting MP 5 times, and there are few people in the world more gracious, let alone rock stars! Thanks again MP for the awesome experiences!

The Alchemist

On a side note, John Myung's penmanship has gone seriously downhill. He used to have the most legible signature. Now it's all scribbles!

JM's never had the most legible signature - I think that goes to MP or JP. Nonetheless, JM's sig may look sloppy (as do all of the guys, to be quite honest), but as MP pointed out, the guys are in a rush when at the airport and so are not able to take the time to do a nice sig like they might on another occasion.

Ever wonder if DT is gonna ever play your city or why they haven't played there yet? Click here to find out.

Portnoy

zoso


seems like DT is always in a rush!

We are if you try to meet us at an airport....there is no worse place to meet us....we are usually dealing with luggage and going through customs and getting in vans, etc....if we stop to take pictures and sign autographs it becomes chaos when you are travelling with a large party of 20 to 30 band and crew members as we do.....
 
I love our fans and always try to make time for them, but the airport is a BAD place for it....sorry! 
 
MP

Hey Mike, I wasn't complaining, I just stated that, as the two times I've tried to meet the band, you guys were in a rush (one at the airport, and the other one at the hotel).
But the one at the hotel, was on this tour, a couple of weeks ago, here in Monterrey, and I had the chance to take a picture with you and a small chat, and up to this day it has ben the best day of 2010.
Thanks for giving the best treat to the fans.


[fanboy mode off]

Carpe Diem !

I took this picture with Steve, a cool guy... and let me tell you that Big Elf rocked, i was totally amazed buy them... but not everyone enjoyed their show.

gabrielkfl


You talk like they were deities of some kind. But aside from being awesome musicians, they're normal people.

Don't be a flatliner

Sounds like an awesome experience, man!!! 

I totally understand your excitement! Just reading your post brought me back to my first time actually meeting DT (behind the State Theater in Minneapolis a few years ago) it was horribly exciting....i'm getting giddy just thinking about it!

Cheers

'Have you ever heard of Dream Theater?'
"Yeah man...they play a lot of notes" -Bryan Nichols, Jazz Pianist

It is great you got to meet the guys....I actually paid for the meet and greet and I could not string two words together for Mike or JP, (mainly because these two I idolize) I was a bit better with Jordan, John Myung and James...but later you kick yourself...especially hard because of how much you paid for the privliege and you find out one of your mates had a good old chat with them when they were walking into the venue.

Portnoy

zoso


seems like DT is always in a rush!

We are if you try to meet us at an airport....there is no worse place to meet us....we are usually dealing with luggage and going through customs and getting in vans, etc....if we stop to take pictures and sign autographs it becomes chaos when you are travelling with a large party of 20 to 30 band and crew members as we do.....
 
I love our fans and always try to make time for them, but the airport is a BAD place for it....sorry! 
 
MP

Now my experience is complete! (not 100%, still not JP and JMX pic, but I will someday).
I went to the afternoon autograph with Mike. Said that i'm a forumer and he said "Oh, so you're at home!".
Told him that half of what I listen to metal is influence by him. Well, picture taken.

The show was INCREDIBLE, that was and AMAZING set-list.

Than my friend and I hushed to the hotel and got to see them again. I couldn't get anything else but still, was cool.
Froth was there, again. We talked for 1 hour, he signed my Hex.

And MP posted on my thread!

Thanks Mike and DT for all you do for us. I had an unfogetable night!

Pics with James, Jordan and Mike to come. Oh, someone filmed my meeting with The Man!

John Petrucci can touch MC Hammer.

A very polite way of asking for this not to happen at airports again.

van Furlay


Nice story...


... and you guys there are lucky bastards having Bigelf opening for DT...

...We had that, too.

Cool beans, congrats dude

I know.
At least for the case you are talking about ProgNation.

But that doesn't change the fact that it's awesome for them to have Bigelf as the opening act on that leg of the tour as well, does it?

Well, it was 6 am when I posted that, so now I will talk a little about the show.

There was a little mix-up with the production (hasn't got anything to do with DT). They sold premium tickets and normal tickets for the (I have NO idea how you guys call the places in from of the stage... it's not seated) and 3000 people bought the regular thinking (the sales person told us this) that it was in from of the stage, and the premium was a privileged area but firther behind.

Well, there was a separation, but after te BE show ended I conformed with it andactually thought it was a better place, better sound and view of everyone.

BE's show was incredible. Froth had some trouble with the kick pedal, but Jose (Mike's tech) came in prompt and fixed it! I don't remember some songs of the setlist, but was something like:

The Evils of Rock and Roll
Blackball
(song with I don't know the name)
Disappear
Hydra
Money It's Pure Evil

Lots of extended stuff.

Than DT.

A Nightmare to Remember
The Mirror
Lie
A Rite of Passage
Keyboard Spot
Sacrificed Sons
Solitary Shell (Jam)
In The Name of God
Take The Time
The Count of Tuscany

Ok, this set is amazing, it can please EVERYBODY!
Old, mid-life (?) and new fans. No complaints, even AROP that I don't like, was awesome, now I care a more for the song. The jam was awesome, Mike came out of the kit and started playing of the racks and the wood on the toms. (It seemed for a second that he REALLY wanted to hit JP's guitar, but that didn't happen.)
Everyone was on fire. But James... he was flawless.

Best show of my life. Two bands in one!

John Petrucci can touch MC Hammer.

 Well it´s a gamble if you go to the hotel or the airport to meet a band. At the airport there
is the luggage, customs and the vans. At the hotel if they are arriving it´s checking in, the luggage and if they are heading to the venue... well no more to add to that. If they are checking out of the hotel... well that is the issue... checking out, the vans, the luggage.

 We need to remember that they are regular people and when you are traveling as much as they do sometimes they are too tired or just not in the mood to deal with people (as much as they try to get intouch with fans they are human and  shit happens).

 I preffer to win a meet and greet (or pay for a VIP Package) or well try my luck waiting
at the  vans / bus after the gig or getting early to wait on the "talent entrance" for the van / bus to come.

 I hope I have the chance to meet DT guys one day.

 

I´m a woman and I L O V E Progressive Rock (in all its variants) by my own volition, thank you...now back to our regular programming.
"Music needs to be loved, music is art, without love it is meaningless and meaningless art is not art." Perttu Kivilaakso.
"OH MY GOD! This is way more intense than a G3 and much more sexy" Me at Apocalyptica concert.

ytsebam


well, you were lucky... JP came to the venue, he walk just infront of me, no guards.. just he and me face to face and all i said was... 

Me: "Hi John!!"
John: "Hi"
... John walks away inside the venue.... i think about what i did (and what i DIDNT do!) for a second and i realized i wasted the oportunity of my life to get a pic or an autograph from the guy i admire the most and spent ridiculous amounts of time watching in DVDs or Youtube...

/facepalm to me...

 
I laughed really hard when I heard this because I had the same thing happen to me!
 
My uncle Greg Walker is a big name in prog music (got Spocks Beard their start) and put on a prog show about 5 years ago and invited me to it. I couldn't go for some stupid reason and couldn't believe the opportunity I missed out on..
 
I would have been traveling with my other uncle Rick to the prog fest and apparently Mike Portnoy was there and needed a ride to the airport so my uncle Rick drove him an hour and a half to the airport and I WOULD/SHOULD/COULD have been sitting in the back seat meeting my effing idol. . . BUT NOOOOO!!!!!! FML.

Great experience. I remember the first time I had the opportunity to say hello to Mike and James at Monterrey Airport. My hands were shaking too !!!

Well, my dream came true after the first Liquid Tension Experiment Show of 2008 at the Nearfest. There's always an autograph session at the end of each bands presentation. So, I was able to talk a little with Mike, John, Jordan and Tony. In fact, at the end of that day I had another little chat with Mike when he was leaving the venue to go home.

The best day of my life, musically speaking.

romdrums

There are no lesbians in the world, only women who haven't heard the Hollow Years LAB solo.

DT are people too.  Imagine what it must be like to have to meet thousands of strangers who know everything about you, yet you know nothing about them.  It must be a complete drag sometimes.  I know we buy their albums and concert tickets, but I don't think that obligates them to be our BFF's when we meet them.  

I love the story \m/
congrats, man :)

must've been hungry when I chose my profile name