Dream Theater

This show was initially billed as having only Dream Theater in the bill, booked for a theater, sitting down and numbered chairs. It was advertised that Scenes From a Memory would be played in its entirety, along with a regular set.

To my surprise, on the week of the show itself, two opening acts "popped up" out of nowhere, leaving DT with a reduced stage time from 9:30PM to 11PM instead of the planned 6:30PM start time. Needless to say you can only fit 10 DT songs in a 1h30m show.

I bought my tickets specifically BECAUSE they would be playing SFAM in its entirety. Their latest record Distance Over Time might be the best of the last 6 records, but rather than that meaning it's a good record, it just shows how horrible the other 5 are.

After checking setlists in other places, I came to the conclusion they would be playing the exact same set here - heavy on the new material, some deep cuts that they felt like playing and NO fan pleasers. Yes, I mean a DT show without Pull Me Under or any other iconic DT song, unless you consider Peruvian Skies iconic.

Band came on stage 5 minutes late, opening with the new album's opening track. James' vocals were getting cut off - bad wireless mic? Acoustics at the Capitol Gent were great, but it was also hard to hear Mangini, especially the kick and cymbals - I guess setting the cymbals at a 2.2m height makes you lose all the power when hitting them, and having to stretch takes away all the force in the feet for the kick.

Mangini was as bad as always, no groove at all in heavier tunes like Lie and As I Am. He can play the new material competently, but so could a drum machine.

JP, JR and JM were all at the top of their games, and James tried a few interactions with the public. This being a sit down gig, the public's reaction was always very lukewarm, and the PA was so quiet my singing along was disturbing to the people around me.

All in all the whole endeavor felt very unsatisfying, and felt like watching a live recording of the new material without any interaction with the audience.

I have started a petition to claim refunds for the tickets, seeing as it was advertised they would play SFAM in its entirety, which you can sign here: http://chng.it/NVkYfqTXFm

I attended my 7th Dream Theater show at the historic Paramount Theatre in Denver this year. As always, the show left me feeling like I had just attended a clinic for each instrument played and at the same time I wanted more. The mark of a good show is leaving your audience with these feelings and Dream Theater did not disappoint then, nor have they ever. The music, for all its over-the-top soaring symphonic bombacity, is extremely easy to listen to (provided you are smart and wear hearing protection). My girlfriend, who is not a fan of their style of music, was very impressed by the show. Positives for this show were: 1) The new record is a lot more accessible to the casual fan and they played quite a few new songs. They were well rehearsed and included many impressive visuals. 2) The band were very receptive to the crowd and recognized very early on the "aeromatic" quality of the venue. 3) It is worth sticking around for the intermision. They played a collection of hilarious fan-submitted videos, most of which only a real DT fan would understand. 4) Awake is one of my favorite DT records, and they paid tribute to it by starting the second half of the show with a string of songs from the record. They blew the roof off the joint with The Mirror/Lie. 5) The whole show showcased their awesome instrumental talents and, suprisingly, James Labrie was in very good voice. On a lot of their live recordings, his voice comes off reedy and out of tune. Well done, James. The only negative was the venue itself. I've seen DT in places that could use a good wrecking ball taken to them and their music demands good acoustics. While the Paramount Theatre may be "historic," it is a bit of a dump. I had excellent seats and thorougly enjoyed the show, but would have enjoyed it a lot more in a quality venue. Perhaps the Paramount should transpose the "re" at the end of Theatre and not fool us into thinking it is an opera house. Overall, if I were to score the show on a 1 to 10 scale, I'd give it an 8-1/2, not a 10, just because of the venue.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Dream Theater @ The Fox Theater-Oakland, CA
8:00 PM - 11-00 PM (That's right ;)

Super pumped for the show... Arrived two hours early, found indoor parking (Thank God), had a bite to eat right next door to the Fox and then got in line...

Every kind of music fan was represented at the show. Some of the t-shirts I saw standing in line:

Yanni (wtf?)~Van Halen~Rush~Haken~Judas Priest~ Opeth~Between the Buried and Me~Prince~Jimi Hendrix~The Beatles~Tom Petty~Joe Satriani~Ayreon-Eric Clapton~Fates Warning~Iron Maiden~Dio~Black Sabbath~The Eagles~~~ Just to name a few...

I saw little kids, teenagers, 20 somethings, 30 somethings, 40 somethings, 50 somethings (That's me ;), all the way up to VERY OLD grandmas... (Oddly enough, I didn't see any grandpas ???)

Got into our seats at about 7:30 PM... They were playing some good hard rock over the PA---Rush~Iron Maiden~Metallica~~~ THEN.... Wait for it... Neil Diamond :O (Holy Cow)

Then the show started... It was so freaking loud..I mean LOUD (brain piercing LOUD)..Seriously, the loudest show I've ever been to (over 100)!!! TOO LOUD..

The musicianship was unparalleled... I wish I could say the same for James' voice--- He seemed to be flat most of the night and he was not even attempting to hit the high notes. Those days are gone :(

Nevertheless, it was FANTASTIC!!!! Played a great mix of songs before their first 20 minute break.. Came back with I&W in all its glory (albeit, tempered by James' obviously deteriorated vocal range)...

The encore was "A Change Of Seasons"... So AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad I went... Big News too... James said they will be recording a new album in 2018 with a release date sometime in 2019, followed by another tour!!

If you get the opportunity to see them on the I&W and Beyond tour, DO IT! You won't be sorry... Peace~

This is the 5th time I see Dream Theater in concert. At Cirkus in Stockholm, on March 1 2016, the band performed all songs from the new double CD "The Astonishing". Very brave of a rock band to build a tour on new songs without even well known songs as encores. But this is a unique band and I really admire them for doing this. The music and the performance was just great. Listening to 34 new songs take some time to get to know. On stage the songs gave the whole picture in an easier way. The background film and stage light gave the concert another dimension. Just incredible! The guys in Dream Theater manage to perform complex songs with ease and a smile on their faces! The communication within the band and with the audience is something other rock bands could learn from. This is entertainment but everyone is treated with respect and the fun side never falls into any kind of sillyness. No matter what songs are played I know I will be satisfied because of the professionalism this band show us.

I look forward the next time in Sweden. Hey, did I mention that the Meet & Greet was the best I have experienced? The arrangement was well planned. We were given good information, the meeting with the musicians was great, no hurry, autographs, merchandise and photos that turned out marvellous. Well worth paying for.

Massachusetts progressive metal outfit Dream Theater is known for a rousing live performance and unmatched dedication to the touring schedule. The group has been known on the circuit since the late 80s and it appears they are getting better with age as everything seems to be performed with even more effort and commitment with every single show.

They recognise there are fans here who have followed their career from the very beginning and reward them with performances of older tracks such as 'Lifting Shadows Off a Dream' and 'The Mirror'. The majority do seem to know the material though and the choruses are sang back in aggressive tones whilst the audience continues to surge and move in time with the thumping drum beats. The instrumental solos demonstrated could make your head spin as these five musicians are insanely talented. They leave the crowd with a feeling of euphoria as they have only seen all their favourite tracks performed, but also a real impressive metal live show. There is a triumphant moment as the five musicians walk to the front of stage following 'Finally Free' to enjoy the final rapturous applause.

When it was announced that Dream Theater will perform in Manila, I was not able to contain my excitement. I said that I will finally see Dream Theater by flesh. Come July 12th, pre-sale of tickets began. I bought the best package money can buy (Platinum VIP M&G). After I bought the package straight from the band's website (provided by you guys), I was not able to sleep properly that day due to excitement. At the meet and greet session, I was so excited and nervous that I did not properly compose what I'm going to say to Dream Theater; I just proceeded with greetings and small talk. When the show was about to begin, I was already standing for 4 hours. I asked myself if I can endure 3 more hours standing while watching Dream Theater rock Kia Theatre. When they finally showed up, the pain in my feet and legs vanished, as if there was 'magic'. They did not disappoint. All of us were enthusiastic. We sang with Dream Theater. Though I feel the after-effects of standing for 7+ hours when the show ended, it did not matter to me. 'The best' would still be an understatement to describe my experience watching Dream Theater.

Saturday 11 January 2020 -- AFAS Live
The Distance Over Time Tour

After a while, I still pretty clearly remember what a hopeless failure was the concert.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't fault of the musicians and I was ready to bear La Brie's recent whine. I had been to them before, so I thought it was totally worth it. Alas :-(

We sat right behind FOH desk, in a mid-to-top row. I had "music" ear buds that you can by at AFAS. Long story short, with the latter or without, guitar + bass + drums ~ already beyond comprehensible mix. Add heavily processed keys or high-reverbed vocals to the mix, or worse both, it went to a loud muddy mess that had few resemblance to Dream Theater music. Very close to the sound of a crappy local high-gain metal band in a concrete basement club. Seriously, even songs that I listened to tens of times like A Nightmare to Remember, I couldn't navigate. Total waste of money and time. Would've left after first break if I was alone.

Let me start this off with I am a huge Dream Theater fan and have all their Lps and have seen them 11 times since their start, The Astonishing was anything but that, almost every song started with a slow piano intro and then lots of vocal, I missed the old DT when James would walk off stage for 20 minutes and the boys could jam, He did leave the stage but would come back after only a few minutes, there was only one real guitar solo in the whole set and even though they all play as masters they never got up to any peek. Mikes drumming was lame and unimpressive performance. My gilrfriend slept through most of the show, But I understand she is not a fan and the show was BORING ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!

PS This was my Last DT show.

Dream Theater were amazing, the entire show was a spectacle with the graphics and the nomacs in the background and of course the amazing talent of John Petrucci and the rest of the gang. Mike Mangini's drum set was an awe to look at and the complex playing of everyone in the band showed a great degree of talent and musicianship from everyone in the band. Jordan Rudness's Keyboard/Piano playing was breathtaking and beautiful. Overall a stunning performance. James LaBrie is an amazing vocalist and John Myung is a wonder when he plays the bass. Such as great experience.

HOWEVER, that is the last time I attend a show at Portland's Merrill Auditorium. I didn't like having to sit down for most of the show, not a good venue for a band like Dream Theater.

Astonishing live DT in Nuremberg Germany:
It was perfect like listening the original record.
A negative thing, it was not allowed to take pictures or videos, and of course the German security people were unpolite while controlling it.
We felt like LaBrie was not very happy with the public, but it was not possible to know all the songs because it was a 100% new disc concert.
Interaction between the band and public almost zero, except with Petrucci who always tried to connect with us.
No classics in the concert, just 100% astonishing. Too long just with new ballads and songs
A gift of music, new beginning and new world were the best songs.
In general a good concert as expected but it would be better to play old songs as well.