Dark Matter in Theaters

RG73141

syzygy523 said:

Really enjoyed the record and am absolutely fascinated by Setting Sun. 

Maybe a dumb question - Did anyone else get zero lyrics for Got to Give until the very end? Wasn't sure if that was by design or if my theater just had it framed wrong on the screen

I was not familiar with song titles at all, there was one song that this happened. Lyrics popped up towards the end only for me. 

LizJ

I enjoyed listening to the new album in that kind of setting, although the sound wasn’t that good. Was a bit better the second time around. No Atmos. But was quite loud at least. 

Looking forward to listening to it again with proper headphones. 

Would have been nice to see the song titles too, not just the lyrics, to make it easier to remember certain things about the songs. 

I remember thinking, that it was a strong start. Maybe in the middle the mood slowed down a bit, but then everything picked up speed again. But honestly after listening to it twice yesterday everything is just a blur right now. 😂

Found Setting Sun to be a beautiful closer. Was quite different, than I thought it would be, when I listened to the clip before. 

But could say the same about most of the songs.  

So to anyone judging from the clips (or other sources in not so decent quality) I think it’s better to wait till the release date to listen to the whole album in a good quality, to get the right/ whole impression. 

And I’m also going to wait with my final judgement (for the songs that I didn’t like the first time) to the time after hearing the live versions, too.

And yes, no lyrics at all in the beginning of one song. 

jlindgren2

Definitely enjoyed the album, seems to be their best in a long time

Super cool experience for the first couple listen-throughs.  Enjoyed listening in a large dark room.

EL91640

Had about 30 or so in the Alamo theater in suburban Denver. Sound quality in the theater wasn't great, but enjoyed the album overall. 

troubledsoulsuniteblog

That was... interesting.

Sound was wayyyy off at AMC Skokie. I had Stone really loud, and everyone else was significantly quieter. Was very hard to get a good feel for the album this way.

Also - it definitely felt to me like the idea was half-assed. I liked the concept of listening in the dark and then with visuals, but the visuals truly felt like a Windows 98 screensaver. It really felt like an idea that PJ management had where the band said - "cool, go for it" but didn't really have any involvement. I think if Ed and the guys were involved, instead of visuals they would've had videos of them playing the songs in rehearsals. I know that's a bigger production cost and more effort - but that just reinforces my feeling that this wasn't really the band's idea.

As for the album - it's hard to judge having not heard Ed's vocals too well. A lot of the lyrics felt... cheesy to me. And many of the songs sounded very radio-friendly. Not in a bad way, but nothing truly blew me away. Again - maybe because of the poor sound, but I'm not feeling super confident that this is going to be an album with songs I'm itching to see live (either now or in a decade).

That said - I could totally see this album jumping to the top of the Billboard charts and winning a few Grammys. It's got that "aging rockers keep making rock music when no one else does" vibe. Consistent performance. True rock songs. But nothing truly challenging or unique for me.

Hoping I change my mind when I hear it with better sound.

Gern Blansten

We didn't have the best sound quality either. Really wanted it to be much louder.

Loved it though. The way some of these songs translate live will be amazing.

mpedone

Saw it in Lowell, MA. Definitely had the surround sound in effect, which was pretty cool, especially on the title track. Could have been louder, but it certainly wasn't quiet. I thought the "visuals" would change more throughout the songs, so I wasn't super jazzed about them. I think they'll be fine as background for the band (don't want too much going on), but for this setting it was kinda boring. I did appreciate having the lyrics up, though, especially as Ed's pronunciations can be... Unique. I really liked the album, but I'm not super critical/knowledgeable. 

NK10452

Saw it in Farmingdale, NY last night.  The sound was comically bad -- it was just bass and vocals.  I've heard Dark Matter (the song) like a hundred times and it was almost unrecognizable at the theater.  The whole album -- not sure if the theater fucked up or it was just a horrible mix or whatever (I dont know how these things work).  There was basically no Stone or Mike during the entire two listens.  Really weird.  All of that said, I think the album seems pretty good!  Dark Matter is great, I thought wreckage, waiting for Stevie, and upper hand were really good, as was the last song.  I'm pumped for the release and for the tour, but that sound last night . . . woof.

CROJAM95

NK10452 said:

Saw it in Farmingdale, NY last night.  The sound was comically bad -- it was just bass and vocals.  I've heard Dark Matter (the song) like a hundred times and it was almost unrecognizable at the theater.  The whole album -- not sure if the theater fucked up or it was just a horrible mix or whatever (I dont know how these things work).  There was basically no Stone or Mike during the entire two listens.  Really weird.  All of that said, I think the album seems pretty good!  Dark Matter is great, I thought wreckage, waiting for Stevie, and upper hand were really good, as was the last song.  I'm pumped for the release and for the tour, but that sound last night . . . woof.

I went to Stony Brook instead last minute change, it was in a nicely renovated Dolby Theatre

sound was great imo 

NK10452

CROJAM95 said:

NK10452 said:

Saw it in Farmingdale, NY last night.  The sound was comically bad -- it was just bass and vocals.  I've heard Dark Matter (the song) like a hundred times and it was almost unrecognizable at the theater.  The whole album -- not sure if the theater fucked up or it was just a horrible mix or whatever (I dont know how these things work).  There was basically no Stone or Mike during the entire two listens.  Really weird.  All of that said, I think the album seems pretty good!  Dark Matter is great, I thought wreckage, waiting for Stevie, and upper hand were really good, as was the last song.  I'm pumped for the release and for the tour, but that sound last night . . . woof.

I went to Stony Brook instead last minute change, it was in a nicely renovated Dolby Theatre

sound was great imo 

seems as though i chose poorly

SVRDhand13

Hearing all these horror stories makes me even happier that I went to the (free) listening party on Saturday!

CM189191

Riverview Theater is a gem, so glad we went!

Total 50s MCM vibe.  Theater was nice and sounded great.

Vedd Hedd

That theater is awesome. 

PmPhlow

saw it in Jupiter Fl last night....Waiting for Stevie, Wreckage, Setting Sun and Upper Hand were the highlights

DL136722

Saw it in Boston yesterday, not bad, thought it was going to be heavier though. To me, it sounds like a combo of VS, Lightning Bolt and Gigaton with a sprinkle of Backspacer and Avocado. I read on here that some said this is an extention of their Bruce, Neil and Tom era, accurate assessment. 

lastexitlondon

DL136722 said:

Saw it in Boston yesterday, not bad, thought it was going to be heavier though. To me, it sounds like a combo of VS, Lightning Bolt and Gigaton with a sprinkle of Backspacer and Avocado. I read on here that some said this is an extention of their Bruce, Neil and Tom era, accurate assessment. 

I think I agree I heard it lots now and it's not what I hoped

JOEJOEJOE

Loved hearing the new album at a theatre.  Lots of Post-punk influences on several of the songs!

OfThePearl

aisleseats said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

pjl44 said:

 It was also interesting that the first play had an interlude between Stevie and Running but the second play did not.

Because there not being visuals done for it like for the actual songs? I take it, these visuals were mainly done to play during the songs for the youtube uploads (and now also used on this tour and for the theatrical thing). Like the Gigaton stock-footage edits.

I really hope these aren't the visuals for the tour. If so, I think most of us would vote for the return of rear stage seats instead.

I hope not too, but I fear they may be. I'm very interested in what's going on, On the stage, Not peripherally. The first visuals were not bad, kind of drawing with light, and I thought it might be ok for the show screens. But the image on Waiting For Stevie was just awful. A whole- screen throbbing mess, gave me a headache, intensified by the subsequent visuals. I blocked the screen with one hand so I could still see the lyrics, which I really enjoyed having.

At the shows, I would so much rather have close ups of the guys on stage (the reason I'm there), than these.
But we'll see what they've planned for us, its likely way beyond what we've yet imagined.

*I did thoroughly enjoy the theater screening, and it was great to have it played twice. It really left me with SO many more impressions than the in-store listening party. Very glad I went to both.
Looking forward to these live, soon! 
I feel like the 1st 3 will be extremely strong, and some others as well.

runstaples

Went to the showing here in Raleigh. There was about 30 people, I definitely thought there'd be more. I heard the show in Durham was sold out, though. This was an old theater, not great sound. Was about half as loud as I was hoping, so I'm looking forward to listening at home with it cranked up. I got this picture because I thought it was cool sharing with Ghostbusters, haha.

Pap

Amazing experience! A little bit less than 50 attendees at the Vue Cinema Portsmouth, UK. I invited two of my friends who are not big PJ fans to the screening. They both enjoyed it, as they felt that they got more than they had expected. In fact, one of them was singing along to the lyrics. They liked Scared of Fear, Running and Something Special. For me the visuals along with the lyrics offered a totally new perspective to the whole album. Now, I can appreciate more/relate to React, Respond and Waiting for Stevie. Off to London tomorrow morning Happy DM release day, everybody!