DDY Concerts in Montreal March 30th and 31st

[mtlfan]

Wow, what can I say about the concerts? It's been a few days since then, so let me put my memory hat on.

 

First of all, I got to hang out most of the weekend with Gatfan and her husband and son. That just put icing on the cake for me; they are such wonderful people.

 

Friday's concert was great. I was in the front row so I could watch all of Dennis' antics. He was FULL of 'em that night!! At one point he stuck out his derriere at Suzanne and wiggled it at her! Suzanne just rolled her eyes. He also stood there watching Tommy doing one of his solos and telling people in the front row, "He's really good isn't he? He's really very good!". Of course, he did his signature flip of the coat tails a la Victor Borge just before he starts Lady.

 

And they say the Canadians are crazy. :-)

 

Anyway, he was wearing a very nice pin striped suit, white shirt and this honking huge rhinestone studded belt buckle. Sexy or what??

 

The downside of the concert is that Dennis' voice wasn't up to par that night. It almost sounded as if he was breathless at times. I thought maybe he was starting with a sore throat because I could see him swallow almost painfully from where I was sitting. I found out later from Tommy (he stopped to talk to us for about 5 minutes in the hotel lobby, he is so nice) that the air was very dry in the hall (and it really was dry, I was drinking water too) and that Dennis had commented that it was affecting his voice. Other small things happened too, Dennis inverted the lyrics on one song, something happened with Tommy's guitar where you couldn't hear him for a few measures, a few cues were a second late, etc., the kind of thing you wouldn't notice if you were at a concert for the first time and that fans like me just think it makes the group more endearing. It's not as if you can stop and start over with an orchestra!

 

I was able to collect everyone's autograph that night except for Dennis and Suzanne (but I have those in Suzanne's book), and another pic with Tommy. Everyone was so nice! Arne, Kate and Tommy stopped to talk.

 

I've uploaded the my pics from Friday's concert on my myspace page while waiting for the Gallery to be ready on this board. Warning, the pics are all blurry. A professional photographer I am not! But it will give you an idea. http://www.myspace.com/amandamuise, click on "pics". I've also put in a little video of my i-cat on my site to prove that it's a Canadian Kitty. You'll all understand the joke once you click on it. :-)

 

I will upload Saturday night's pics hopefully tonight.

 

Saturday's concert was fantastic! Dennis' voice was back and ROCKIN! He was wearing his black vest under his suit. Suzanne was wearing the CUTEST skirt! The setlist was the same as Friday except that they played Queen of Spades instead of something else. And yes, This Time Next Year was played both nights. The encore was Suite Madam Blue and Come Sail Away both nights as well. (I hear he doesn't play Suite Madam Blue as the encore in the US??). The crowd went BONKERS over Suite Madam Blue. I was at the front of the stage myself, among the crowd for the encore. I was sitting four rows back to the right on Saturday. The crowd was much rowdier on Saturday than on Friday.

 

When Dennis' is in Montreal, he tries out his french and it's so cute! He'll mispronounce the words just enough to make it funny and repeats verbatim exactly what everyone's school teacher would have said in class!

 

One unfortunate decision that was made at both concerts IMHO was to have Marc-Andre from Star Academie sing Ave Maria. One, Marc-Andre is no tenor and cannot hit the high notes and two, his accent when he sings in English was enough to make me cringe. The drunk female in the row behind me yelled out that Marc-Andre was better than Dennis in her gutteral french. Apparently, I wasn't the only fan in the seats that wanted to smack her. Dennis pretended he didn't hear her, which shows better class than anything else he could have done.

 

What else? The orchestra was fab as usual. Lights were fab as usual. The songs were right on as usual.

 

Oh! He started his Montreal concerts differently. He had the old "Paradise Theater" backdrop at the beginning of the concert and had this janitor come onstage to try and move a piano. Dennis then pops out from behind the piano and starts the concert. They also had a screen at the back of the hall with wonderful background images, including Dennis and Suzanne's wedding picture at the end of Lady. The pics during the Hunchback songs were gorgeous.

 

If I think of anything else, I'll add on later. You know me, Ms. Chatterbox. Did I forget anything, Gatfan?

[evileyes]

thanks so much for your concert review. brought back memories of the two DDY shows i've been to since becoming a Styx fan a few years ago. Thanks for sharing!

[mtlfan]

thanks so much for your concert review. brought back memories of the two DDY shows i've been to since becoming a Styx fan a few years ago. Thanks for sharing!

 

Oh my goodness, it's entirely my pleasure! You're very welcome. :-)

[gatfan]

Wow, what can I say about the concerts? It's been a few days since then, so let me put my memory hat on.

 

First of all, I got to hang out most of the weekend with Gatfan and her husband and son. That just put icing on the cake for me; they are such wonderful people.

 

Friday's concert was great. I was in the front row so I could watch all of Dennis' antics. He was FULL of 'em that night!! At one point he stuck out his derriere at Suzanne and wiggled it at her! Suzanne just rolled her eyes. He also stood there watching Tommy doing one of his solos and telling people in the front row, "He's really good isn't he? He's really very good!". Of course, he did his signature flip of the coat tails a la Victor Borge just before he starts Lady.

 

And they say the Canadians are crazy. :-)

 

Anyway, he was wearing a very nice pin striped suit, white shirt and this honking huge rhinestone studded belt buckle. Sexy or what??

 

The downside of the concert is that Dennis' voice wasn't up to par that night. It almost sounded as if he was breathless at times. I thought maybe he was starting with a sore throat because I could see him swallow almost painfully from where I was sitting. I found out later from Tommy (he stopped to talk to us for about 5 minutes in the hotel lobby, he is so nice) that the air was very dry in the hall (and it really was dry, I was drinking water too) and that Dennis had commented that it was affecting his voice. Other small things happened too, Dennis inverted the lyrics on one song, something happened with Tommy's guitar where you couldn't hear him for a few measures, a few cues were a second late, etc., the kind of thing you wouldn't notice if you were at a concert for the first time and that fans like me just think it makes the group more endearing. It's not as if you can stop and start over with an orchestra!

 

I was able to collect everyone's autograph that night except for Dennis and Suzanne (but I have those in Suzanne's book), and another pic with Tommy. Everyone was so nice! Arne, Kate and Tommy stopped to talk.

 

I've uploaded the my pics from Friday's concert on my myspace page while waiting for the Gallery to be ready on this board. Warning, the pics are all blurry. A professional photographer I am not! But it will give you an idea. http://www.myspace.com/amandamuise, click on "pics". I've also put in a little video of my i-cat on my site to prove that it's a Canadian Kitty. You'll all understand the joke once you click on it. :-)

 

I will upload Saturday night's pics hopefully tonight.

 

Saturday's concert was fantastic! Dennis' voice was back and ROCKIN! He was wearing his black vest under his suit. Suzanne was wearing the CUTEST skirt! The setlist was the same as Friday except that they played Queen of Spades instead of something else. And yes, This Time Next Year was played both nights. The encore was Suite Madam Blue and Come Sail Away both nights as well. (I hear he doesn't play Suite Madam Blue as the encore in the US??). The crowd went BONKERS over Suite Madam Blue. I was at the front of the stage myself, among the crowd for the encore. I was sitting four rows back to the right on Saturday. The crowd was much rowdier on Saturday than on Friday.

 

When Dennis' is in Montreal, he tries out his french and it's so cute! He'll mispronounce the words just enough to make it funny and repeats verbatim exactly what everyone's school teacher would have said in class!

 

One unfortunate decision that was made at both concerts IMHO was to have Marc-Andre from Star Academie sing Ave Maria. One, Marc-Andre is no tenor and cannot hit the high notes and two, his accent when he sings in English was enough to make me cringe. The drunk female in the row behind me yelled out that Marc-Andre was better than Dennis in her gutteral french. Apparently, I wasn't the only fan in the seats that wanted to smack her. Dennis pretended he didn't hear her, which shows better class than anything else he could have done.

 

What else? The orchestra was fab as usual. Lights were fab as usual. The songs were right on as usual.

 

Oh! He started his Montreal concerts differently. He had the old "Paradise Theater" backdrop at the beginning of the concert and had this janitor come onstage to try and move a piano. Dennis then pops out from behind the piano and starts the concert. They also had a screen at the back of the hall with wonderful background images, including Dennis and Suzanne's wedding picture at the end of Lady. The pics during the Hunchback songs were gorgeous.

 

If I think of anything else, I'll add on later. You know me, Ms. Chatterbox. Did I forget anything, Gatfan?

 

Everything was described perfectly except for the wedding picture which was during "Babe" and not "Lady". It's true, the concerts were great and thank God, no Eric Lapointe to sing with DDY, altough I saw him behind the curtains at Saturday's show. DDY just mentionned him briefly.

 

Jojo

[J.J.]

Nice Review......well summarized.

 

I was at the Saturday Show.

I was in the 13th row, righthand side.

There were a few drunks in my corner that deserved a few smacks to the back of the head.

They should go to an Eric Lapointe concert - they would fit-in so perfectly.

 

 

This is the first time that I have ever been so disguted at a DDY concert.

I would rather have seen Lawrence Gowan flaunt his stuff than listen to Marc-Andre from Star Academie. I walked out during that song. I also walked out again (and for good) during the encore, when he joined them on stage to sing Suite Madame Blue.

 

That's it - No more Dennis concerts for me. I had enough.

 

He sold himself!!!

[mtlfan]

Nice Review......well summarized.

 

I was at the Saturday Show.

I was in the 13th row, righthand side.

There were a few drunks in my corner that deserved a few smacks to the back of the head.

They should go to an Eric Lapointe concert - they would fit-in so perfectly.

This is the first time that I have ever been so disguted at a DDY concert.

I would rather have seen Lawrence Gowan flaunt his stuff than listen to Marc-Andre from Star Academie. I walked out during that song. I also walked out again (and for good) during the encore, when he joined them on stage to sing Suite Madame Blue.

 

That's it - No more Dennis concerts for me. I had enough.

 

He sold himself!!!

 

I'm very sorry you feel that way, JJ. But if I may, there is nothing that Dennis can do about drunks at concerts - he has to abide by the rules and regulations of the venue just like everyone else.

 

Secondly, the way you feel about Marc-Andre has no impact on the fact that Dennis is as much of a talent now as he was before the concert. Personally, I cringed when Marc-Andre opened his mouth to sing. So, I left my seat to go buy a bottle of water and came back when it was over. No biggie.

 

You feel as if he has sold out. I felt that way at first too. Then I stopped to think about it. Personally, I think he is simply trying to please the majority of one of his largest fan base - Quebec. I'm sure he has many people who work for him that said hey, why don't we try to give something back to these loyal fans by bringing in locals at your concerts? Problem is, not having LIVED in Quebec, I think that Dennis and company have unknowingly blindly stepped into a political maelstrom, the result of which are feelings of outrage from fans, just like you are experiencing now. When I lived in Halifax six years ago, before I moved to Montreal, I had no idea what it was like up here and I wouldn't expect Dennis and company to know either. It's up to us to tell him.

 

Thirdly, just like the rest of us, Dennis, and everyone that works with him, is human and will make mistakes. Anyone who tells you that he doesn't make mistakes is lying. :-)

 

And come say hi the next time you're at a concert! I don't bite. :-)

 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited April 10, 2007 by mtlfan

[J.J.]

I am not questioning Dennis' talent....and the drunks are a given at any concert........but bringing guests to sing on stage? C'mon, this is more of a Tommy Shaw stunt.

 

I think that this decision (management decision?) cost him big.

Did you notice that the June 23rd outdoor concert hasn't sold out? Perhaps for fear of another unpopular surprise appearance? My group of 12 friends decided to boycott this upcoming concert.

[mtlfan]

I am not questioning Dennis' talent....and the drunks are a given at any concert........but bringing guests to sing on stage? C'mon, this is more of a Tommy Shaw stunt.

 

I think that this decision (management decision?) cost him big.

Did you notice that the June 23rd outdoor concert hasn't sold out? Perhaps for fear of another unpopular surprise appearance? My group of 12 friends decided to boycott this upcoming concert.

 

But Dennis has had a guest come in to sing Ave Maria at his Symphony shows since the beginning. He's had Amick or Mike. So this is nothing new, except for the choice of singer. I agree that having Marc-Andre is definately a contentious decision on his/their part.

 

I think the only reason why the June 23rd concert hasn't sold out is because it's going to be outdoors and is general admission, which means everyone will have to fight for space and there is no guarantee as to the weather. (And it will have a good share of drunks, I'm sure.) That is the only reason why I hesitated to buy my ticket, but I'm going anyway. Personally, I prefer a well ordered seating plan and music hall, but I want to see Dennis and Tommy D., and I'm curious as to what Glen brings to the show.

 

Cheers!

[Ron]

My initial reaction to Dennis using Canadian performers is one of caution, especially when using one to record a track for his new CD. While familiar to Canadians, this may not be something favorable with some American fans. (Yes, I will admit that some of the negative American stereotypes that exist do exist, unfortunately.) Is it a gimmick? A sell out?

I know there have been reservations expressed by those familiar with Canadian artists. I do not know anything about Dennis' relationships or knowledge concerning Canadian artists. Personally, I only know a few: Rush, Rik Emmett, Bryan Adams, Celene Dion (who I wish you would take back ) ) so I am quite ignorant to the people Dennis is working with and their abilities.

I think I'll just wait for the final product, and base a decision on the music.

Ron

[ladybugking]

I guess there are some Canadian politics involved here, but I think Dennis was extending a hand of thank you to Star Academie and its winner. Nothing else.

 

This show really gave him a HUGE boost in Canada, shot his DVD to 3X Platinum and the double live CD to Platinum. You cannot argue with that amazing turn of events for him, and largely from this show. He got the CI gig, I am certain, because of his rousing performance on Star Academie. And Canadian Idol just enhanced his profile all the more. American Idol could learn a thing or two about the great mentoring job Dennis and Roger did on that show last season.

 

He did get a very cool appearance on Celebrity Duets last summer in the US. (And that appearance did send his CD up in sales for a few weeks). I am hoping he gets some more high profile appearances in the coming months to showcase the new CD.

 

OOPS! Almost forgot to thank all of you for the reviews. Look forward to the next ones as well!

Edited April 18, 2007 by ladybugking