The black t-shirt brigade approached the Hordern Pavillion and lined up hours before the gates opened. On our approach we were worried. Really worried. Honestly, of the three of us, none of us had seen Dream Theater before, two of us would never have known they were coming or considered going to the gig without a nudge, and one of us had never heard of the band before.I must confess, I was in all three groups.A Bit of BackgroundMy friend, Michael, is the fan. Here is an excerpt from his email to entice us to go:
This band is without doubt one of the finest group of musicians in the world.
They are stylistically very diverse and are impossible to pigeon hole. The only
word I can really use is Progressive.They are all of the following rolled into
one but still an animal all of their own : Rush / Yes / Pink Floyd / Iron Maiden
/ Metallica / Deep Purple. I could describe them as Metal but that doesn't do
them justice. The are elements of Blues / Jazz / Gospel / Classical / Fusion and
a big scoop of Rock and Progressive Metal.Tour details are below, let me know
who's in and I'll buy the tickets. This music is complex , polished , extremely
detailed , technical , challenging. Please be aware it is not rock by numbers so
I've attached an instrumental to give you just a taste. ACDC this is not
(although I love them too).
OK, so you get the picture, Michael is a connoisseur of this type of music. I wish he were also a prolific writer, but he seems to only come out of his shell every three months or so and only after a fistful of bourbons. So you're stuck with me.
Me, I'm a tragic music lover. I don't remember names, I don't remember albums, I didn't go to a lot of tours, but I grew up in the US and I did get to see some great bands in my young years... still do. My taste is incredibly diverse. What surprises most people is that I like hard rock and heavy metal. So for Michael to think I'd like Dream Theater wasn't much of a stretch.
Back to the Review....
We were worried because we had heard (1) the gig had no opening act, (2) the main act (oxymoron, I know) was hitting the stage at 7:00 (which seemed a bit early for a show in this genre), and (3) the band was going to play for three and a half HOURS. We were worried about the sound quality (we're always worried about that, actually). We were worried about being able to sit through three and a half HOURS of progressive rock. Sorry, even Michael was apologizing in advance, just in case everything went horribly wrong.
Michael made his way to the merch desk and bought his 579th concert t-shirt. Interestingly not a black one. We downed a few bourbon and cokes just to be social and then made our way to our seats.
The band started on time, the capacity crowd was in good spirits. The seats we had a partially blocked view (we couldn't see the screen behind the band), so we moved to the side of stage to get a better look.
The lights went down and the black curtain was swept away. The first thing that happened was (surprise) music. Just music. The drums, the bass, the guitar and the keyboards erupted into an introduction that lasted a good five minutes. The crowd went wild. Hands in the air across the entire floor. You could see the phones in the air and you just know there are already clips of the moment on YouTube. (They're there, but the quality is horrible. No worthy links...yet.)It's nearly impossible to describe the concert in words. But I'll try. The description Michael gave above is good.
Let there be Drums!
Mike Portnoy's drumming was sensational. His involvement with the crowd and the rest of the band (including the onstage cameras) was absolutely entertaining. His technique was fantastic, but also the sound. We could hear tone from the kit and it was great. We weren't sitting near the sound desk (our preferred seats are always near the sound desk), we were on the side, and we STILL loved the sound of the kit (and overall). Very impressive.
Amazing Bass
John Myung, the bass player, didn't get enough credit for his talent. When I say he didn't get enough credit, what I mean is that the camera work provided on the back screen didn't cover his intricate work as much as it did the guitar and keys. The audience loved him. He played a six string bass with his two fingers moving as fast as the plectrum playing guitar at the other edge of the stage. He didn't play a typical bass line in any regard. Most of the time he was actually mirroring the guitar riffs, which was impressive to see and also added a fantastic bass structure to the riffs.
The Piano Man
The sound coming out of the keyboards was nothing short of phenomenal. Remember, I knew nothing coming into this gig, so I can't mention song names with any accuracy, but when Jordan Rudess played, the tone was great, the structure was fantastic, and the energy was contagious. In one song he interjected a ragtime lick and the audience shouted out for more... but he was already off to the next highlight. Jordan was afforded the opportunity of a solo - really the only solo of the night - and he took full advantage of his fixed keyboards and his guitar-style, mobile keyboard. Again, the sound and the tone were fantastic.
Six Strings
For a guitar player, Dream Theater is a wet dream... if you'll excuse the pun and the crass imagery. John Petrucci is, without question, one of the best guitar players in the world. Dream Theater is not like a G3 performance where the guitar players just pander to themselves all night long. It is truly a band experience. John respected that and played his parts in the songs. Honestly, though he played long and hard and with intense skill, not once did I feel he was being selfish. That was partly because a lot of the time I was enjoying watching the bass and keys mirror his dexterity and skill practically note-for-note. (Funny to note though... during one solo, we did catch Mike miming a wank to John behind his back - maybe he did go off a bit.)
The Voice
James LaBrie is the vocalist for Dream Theater. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he walked on stage (notably at least 5 minutes after the band started playing). My opinion: the singing is not the most important part of Dream Theater. And, again my opinion, the James isn't a highlight of the band. He has good solid vocals and good stage presence, but I didn't get the same vibe from him as I did from the rest of the band. If I had to, I would rate each of the other four band members at 10/10, while I'd only give James 7-8. Maybe I'm being harsh (shoot, maybe I'm being generous), but it's my review. My opinion. Take it or argue with it.
Staging
Finally, I just want to acknowledge the amazing graphic display that went on behind the band throughout the concert. Whoever developed the concepts for that part of the show is as much of an artist as the band members - and I think contributed as much to the entertainment value of the show. The quality, timing, variety, and content of the imagery was fantastic. I've used that word a few times in this review. It's a good word.
All in all, I loved the night. We capped it off with another bourbon and coke outside at the Entertainment Quarter. As you do.
GET OUT THERE! Try something new. I did.
Dream Theatre: http://www.dreamtheater.net/.
Thanks, Michael.
Photo from http://www.dreamtheater.net/layout/bio_photo.jpg
Great photos available at http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/gallery/4976/Dream-Theater.htm
