Ah, Dream Theater. If you don’t play an instrument, this band might inspire you to pick one up and learn. But if you already know how to play, regardless of skill level, this band might also inspire you to put your instrument down because you’re just never going to be this good. I will argue that they are literally the most talented band on this planet. This doesn’t mean they’re my favorite band, but they are the absolute best when it comes to skill level.
Anyway, they rolled into Providence on October 22, and did not disappoint. I do want to point out that I am not a Berklee College of Music graduate, a composer, music theorist, or musician (but I appreciate all those things) so this is written from the perspective of a music lover. So any diehard fans, please don’t be too rough on me.
Last time I saw this band was maybe 20 years ago. It’s been a bit. This is my 3rd time seeing them, and the first time I didn’t get to meet them after the show. But that’s ok. For this tour, they’re playing their new album, “Parasomnia,” straight through, “the way it was meant to be heard” as James LaBrie (singer) tells us. I had only skimmed the album prior (see? Not the way you’re supposed to enjoy an album) so it was pretty awesome to hear it in its entirety….LIVE! Midnight Messiah may have been my favorite song of the album when hearing it this way.
What I, and I assume others, love about this band is their ability to write a kick ass 4 minute long song, a 42 minute long song, or anything in between. It’s incredible. As you can rightly assume, you can’t have a 42 minute song with singing the whole time, so they have long instrumental parts. The new album is no different, with no singing until around the 7 minute mark. So while the rest of the band took the stage at 8pm, we didn’t get to see James until 8:07ish. Throughout the night, he gets several opportunities to leave the stage and take a break, catch his breath, etc.
The Parasomnia section of their show is over 70 minutes, and then a 20 minute intermission before coming back to play some random songs from some of their other albums. As I Am started out this portion – a fantastic song from their “Train of Thought” album. The Enemy Inside followed and I sadly didn’t know this one. It’s from their 2013 self-titled album that I never listened to. I think I was busy working or something! Note to self – add this album to playlist. A Rite of Passage (Black Clouds & Silver Linings), two songs from “Metropolis Part II: Scenes from a Memory,” Peruvian Skies (Falling Into Infinity), and Take the Time (Images and Words) filled the next hour or more.
James, like the rest of the band, is no spring chicken anymore. They’re all pushing 60 or older. And while the band can still play their instruments with precision, delivering a flawless vocal performance just isn’t possible. I will say I checked out some videos earlier this year of live Dream Theater and had some doubts. But for this show, I thought he was great. Was he perfect? No. I noticed this during As I Am since it’s a song I really love. But he did awesome. He just didn’t go for the high notes on this one and instead used a lower tone/register to deliver the lyrics effectively. He isn’t precise and perfect like he was, and maybe this takes away from the Dream Theater legend for the hardcore devotees. But I can tell you he’s better than 90% or more of other touring bands today. He definitely went for and hit the highs during Take the Time and I thought it was pretty darn good.
I should note that either the venue or the band wasn’t allowing pictures or videos for this show and anyone trying was quickly asked to put their phones and cameras away. I snapped a few but nothing crazy, and honestly, it’s better this way. You just watch the show and listen to the music with no distractions. Some of my favorite concerts ever only live my memories. No evidence I was there besides maybe a ticket stub (remember those?).
The show finished, another 25 minutes or so later, with one last song…the 23 minutes plus song A Change of Seasons. This was the first song I ever heard by this band. And it was unlike anything else I’d ever heard at that point. This had to be shortly after the album first came out when I borrowed it from a neighbor. Sadly though, I don’t think I owned a Dream Theater album until 99ish when my friend Dan said I had to check out Metropolis Part II. That was a game changer for sure! After that, it was diving back into the previous albums I’d missed out on and staying mostly up to date on newer stuff. I’ve missed a few along the way though it seems.
But I’ve gone off track again! Anyway, so why play A Change of Seasons to close out the show? Because Dream Theater is mean! They want to remind us that the album with the same title is 30 years old! It just doesn’t seem possible. And while I believe their first album wasn’t out until 1989, they’re calling this their 40th anniversary tour.
I’m going to say that the show was incredible. No, they didn’t play their only radio hit Pull Me Under – they don’t need to and they can get away with it each time. If you hate on James’s voice, that’s on you. He might be the oldest member at 62. Maybe? But regardless he was great. The stage set up was cool, huge screens showing videos and animations that go along with the songs, a pretty awesome laser show, plenty of smoke machines, and more. Oddly though, they had another 10 feet of stage in front of them that they never used so they kept a distance from the crowd. There’s also very little interaction between band members. Inner turmoil? James Labrie and guitarist John Petrucci interacted a bit. Petruccie interacted with Mike Portnoy (drummer) a bit. Portnoy with Jordan Rudess (keyboards), and that was kind of it. Poor John Myung (bassist) gets no band love on stage.
While maybe I’m rambling, if you get an opportunity to see these guys live, do it! Sadly, this tour is coming to end. There were only 2 more shows after this one and I’m 2 days late writing this. But it’s incredible and they’ll be back, I’m sure. It’s just an impressive presentation. Look at Portnoy’s drum set! It’s insane and there are many pictures and videos of it online. Throughout the night he does backup vocals (and lead just once during the first few lines of Take the Time). His mic would always just appear right where it needed to be, and I just assumed he had some cool foot pedal or contraption to move the mic. But nope, when the lighting was just right, I could see it was his drum tech’s hand moving it! Nothing better than a reliable tech!
Last thing I’ll say, to drive home my point of being the most talented band, is a story I once heard or read. While it may not be true, it’s so believable that I use it to tell others about how awesomely talented this band is. John Petrucci writes a ton of the songs and he’s a modern-day composer. I’ve heard that he writes a lot of the music out on paper. You know, like sheet music, as he hears it in his head. Then looks at it, after writing it, and says “well shit. Now I need to figure out how to play this.” I really hope that’s true. And if it isn’t true, I don’t want to know.
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