They continue on with another song from the new Octavarium album, the radio-friendly "I Walk Beside You." After that is when things really get interesting. "Another One" takes you all the way back to the Majesty demos. It reminded me of the melodic Images/Awake-era stuff. Great song.
Continuing up the musical timeline, they dust off "Afterlife," from 1989's When Dream And Day Unite, and bring it to a dazzling climax built around an incredible Petrucci guitar solo. One of many.
Now four songs into the set, LaBrie finally addresses the audience with an annoyingly over-enunciated, Rob Halford-like front man voice. It's okay, you can just be yourself James. I insist. Eventually he sends the crowd into a frenzy with "Lets continue that journey with Images And Words" as the band launches into "Under A Glass Moon".
Labrie's vocals have never sounded better and he really shines on "Under A Glass Moon." He carried every note, even the impossibly high ones, with apparent ease. Rudess couldn't help himself from throwing in one of his little ragtime piano riffs, which will always annoy me. Too bad they didn't get any of the former band members to appear as special guests. It would have been great to see Kevin Moore again on this classic.
The Awake album was only represented by "Innocence Faded." Although it is not one of the album's best songs, they breathe new life into it this night. I was hoping to hear more of my favorites such as "Scarred," "6:00," or "Caught In A Web" but, hell, they only played for three hours.
One of the absolute highlights and surprises from the first set is the performance of the previously unreleased "Raise The Knife," which was recorded during the Falling Into Infinity sessions.
Unlike most fans/critics, I like Falling Into Infinity; certainly more than everything after Scenes From A Memory. It's amazing that this awesome song didn't make the cut, but at nearly 12 minutes, they would have needed another double album. The first set ends magnificently with one of the best versions of "The Spirit Carries On" that you may ever hear.
Although I'm sure the band probably took a short intermission after the first set, the DVD jumps directly to the orchestra who has taken the stage for the second set. They launch right into the intro to the evening's magnum opus, "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence," which you get in its entirety — all eight parts, all forty-something minutes.
Article comments
1 - Lee
Nice review, it's an 18 string not a 12 string though!
2 - Tony
The most technically proficient band to grace the planet earth, of course the new dvd was amazing.
3 - Nicholas
"Dream Theater was everything I had been waiting for in a band - the progressive grandeur of Yes, the power and intensity of Metallica, the melodic charm of Boston, and the instrumental virtuosity of Rush."
Give yourself a hand, that is poetry.
4 - greenblob
ok..
call me stupid.. call me naive.. but i had never listened to Dream Theater before..
im a big fan (and player) of tech metal like Cynic, Death, Athiest..
bought this dvd.. and damn...
what a show.. not the kind of vocals im used to, but damn that guy can sing.. as for the rest of the band.. wow...
i agree, the PCM 2 chan mix is great.. much better than many many others i have heard on main stream dvd releases..
awesome review man.. it pretty much sums up the dvd.. guessing i'll be a late comer to join the dream theater bandwagon. will have to buy "images and words" in the coming days..
sorry.. a long post... but i'm just damn impressed by this..
blob..
5 - Paul Roy
Welcome to the club greenblob. Dream Theater has always enjoyed good crossover appeal, which is why they can more than hold their own with the likes of Megadeth and Fear Factory on a mostly thrash metal tour like Gigantour, while at the same time not being entirely out of place opening for Yes.
6 - Nicolas Salas
Hi..... Jordan Rudess has the best style from dream theater....... derek sherinian its the worst thing that ever hapened to dream theater
7 - mascha
yup, derek sherinian its the worst
8 - Tumpal
I have no problem whatsoever concerning this album, the set list is simply acceptable. And thats what Dream Theater is all about: Simply the best band one the surface of the world up to the stratosphere.
9 - davo
Kevin moore is better than rudess, he does wonders in Images and words. Although rudess is awesome, they should get all the guys back together for a jam sesh. Any ideas as to why they fired Dominici in the early stages?