Location: Zagreb / KC Dražen Petrovič / Croatia
Date: 03.02.2014
Dream Theater really don’t need a long introduction, except maybe for those who spent the last twenty-five years frozen under the ice of the ninth circle of Dante’s Hell and are only now slowly getting used to life on the surface. This is the most revered band in its genre, one that even in Slovenia regularly lands on the charts whenever a new studio album drops. Since 1989, this American progressive metal institution has racked up hordes of fans who swear above all by the band’s enviable technical know-how and the virtuoso skills of its individual members, who can play pretty much anything their hearts desire. Yet first and foremost they are diligent composers of more or less complex pieces that often go beyond traditional prog metal frameworks and have far more sensitivity than you might think at first glance.
After some less inspired studio efforts in a rather up-and-down stretch between 2002 and 2009, and the (un)expected departure of founding drummer Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Winery Dogs and Neal Morse), Dream Theater bounced back in a flash and came out of this little ‘crisis’ even stronger. Portnoy’s successor Mike Mangini didn’t just prove to be the best possible replacement for the cult drumming ‘know-it-all’. By the band’s own admission, with him in the lineup they can now play some ideas they couldn’t get down on record before with their rather autocratic founding member. With Mangini they’ve made two very good studio albums, »A Dramatic Turn of Events« (2011) and the current release »Dream Theater« (2013), which they’ve been promoting heavily on the ongoing tour that also brought them to our southern neighbors in Zagreb.
The atmosphere in the Dražen Petrovič hall, home of the Zagreb basketball club Cibona, where legends of Yugoslav/Croatian basketball like Dražen Petrović, Mikovil Nakić, Krešimir Ćosić, Nikola Plećaš and Andro Knego have their jerseys retired, was brimming with excited anticipation among the crowd of prog metal devotees half an hour before the band took the stage. By showtime the floor was almost completely packed, while some seats in the stands stood empty, though thanks to the fans’ drive (and their mostly intellectual look) you barely noticed. As expected, there was no shortage of ‘music doctors’, bespectacled swots and black-clad metalheads. In fact they were the majority, but there were also quite a few women in the crowd, and not all of them had come as someone’s plus-one. That prompts a cheeky observation: all those swooning ladies at a gig by one of the least ‘cool-guy’ bands in the world, one that couldn’t care less about trends, are further proof that Canadian singer James LaBrie hasn’t lost his charm over the years, even if he no longer hides his gray streaks.
Dream Theater decided that the current tour, which incidentally also coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the debut »When Dream And Day Unite« (1989), would be dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of »Awake« (1994) and the fifteenth anniversary of the concept-album masterpiece »Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory« (1999). The setlist was tailored accordingly and full of surprises, spanning both newer and older eras, with the nineties favorites, meaning the ones from those two albums, saved for the second half of the three-hour show. Fantastic video projections played on the screen in the background between songs the whole time, adding a lot to the already superb atmosphere in the hall.
They had us hooked from the opening animation, which showed the animated covers of all Dream Theater albums to date. Together with the taped »False Aweakening Suite«, it made for a hugely entertaining overture to the band’s arrival on stage. Legendary Rush, one of the main role models of these American prog metal masters, pulled off something similar with their album covers years ago. Dream Theater are probably one of the last rock bands in the world you could accuse of having a predictable setlist, so there was no way to guess what they’d play this evening. They sprang a fun surprise by dropping their one and only hit »Pull Me Under« from the set, and most of the crowd hardly missed it, since we heard so many better and, above all, more interesting songs, including some Dream Theater hadn’t played in years. Iron Maiden could learn a lot from this example about how to put together an interesting setlist without the worn-out old staples.
The band opened the show with a long instrumental intro to a new song, the punchy »Enemy Inside«, one of their better creations in recent years, with real ‘head and tail’ to it and a strong pacifist message, which a video about a traumatized former soldier who can’t get over the horrors of war drove home. Before LaBrie even appeared on stage, the quartet of virtuoso maniacs ‘blew the heads off’ everyone who doesn’t often get a chance to see them up close and may have slightly forgotten just how enviable their instrumental skills are. Guitar maestro and original member John Petrucci was once again in ‘his own universe’ while improvising, and as always swapped between a six-string and a seven-string guitar over the course of the show. His partner in crime and fellow original member, the proverbially solemn bassist John Myung, didn’t hold back on his seasoned finesse when it came to the art of laying down complex and challenging bass lines.
Jordan Rudess, sporting a gray goatee and, along with Petrucci, undoubtedly the most ‘checked-out’ member of the band, proved in the opening minutes that he’s not only a phenomenal keyboardist with a ‘supersonic’ approach to the keys, but also a first-rate entertainer, whose burlesque grimaces, especially for the camera, set off quite a few salvos of laughter. During »Enemy Inside« his keyboard rig, which included two rotating synthesizers and a portable keytar-style synth shaped like some kind of seashell, was tuned slightly higher than on the studio version, and you could hear it right away. Mike Mangini’s futuristic drum setup left nothing to the imagination and looked like a silver ticket booth, while his Spartan drumming meant that hardly anyone in the crowd even thought about his famous predecessor during the show. LaBrie, despite no longer being in the prime of youth, is still an excellent singer, and it’s usually his vocals that ‘ground’ the band a bit after long instrumental detours and give it soul.
After the dramatic energy catalyst that is »Enemy Inside« came »The Shattered Fortress« from Portnoy’s last album with the band, »Black Clouds And Silver Leanings«, with even more ‘supersonic’ improvisational detours courtesy of the masters of their instruments. The sound, which was best at the mixing desk, wasn’t optimal at the start of the show, but by the third song, »On The Backs of Angels« from »A Dramatic Turn of Events«, once the band had properly warmed up, it quickly got fixed, so LaBrie’s vocals came through much more clearly for the rest of the set. With »The Looking Glass« they reminded us once again that they have a new album ‘out there’ that couldn’t have a more fitting title. The first big surprise came with the epic suite »Trail of Tears«, from the often overlooked album »Falling Into Infinity« (1997), the first trip in a time machine back to the nineties, when Dream Theater built their reputation as prog metal champions. »Enigma Machine«, another thrilling highlight from the current studio album, came with a seriously funny video-game-style animation starring the band members, and featured a breathtaking Mangini drum solo that sent every young drummer who dreams of becoming the most technically polished in their craft straight to nirvana. Mangini doesn’t (yet) have Portnoy’s entertaining stage charisma, but on the other hand it’s good that with him the band has found the stability and the conflict-free personality it needed.
»Along For The Ride« and »Breaking All Illusions«, which gave Petrucci and Rudess plenty of room for improvisational duels, wrapped up the first part of the show, followed by a fifteen-minute break. During the intermission Dream Theater made sure nobody was bored, and the whole hall had a blast watching satirical commercials starring the band members, who have a good sense of self-mocking humor. The only one you could accuse of lacking humor is the eternally solemn bassist Myung, though even he managed more smiles during the show than people are usually used to seeing from him. We got satirical ads for special plastic dolls of Rudess and LaBrie, while Petrucci’s doll became the newest member of the Transformers. Petrucci also poked fun at his old friend Joe Satriani, who, in a sound-manipulated verbal showdown with an Italian accent, ‘squeaked’ his way through some guitar showboating, while John, like a character out of Mortal Kombat, threatened to rip his heart out. Of course the clip was staged for laughs, since Satriani and all the members of Dream Theater are old friends.
According to LaBrie, the harshest criticism Dream Theater usually get from their detractors is that they have no soul. But this evening, besides demonstrations of huge technical know-how on the individual instruments, we also got to enjoy plenty of gorgeous arrangements and passages with deep lyrical messages. That goes especially for the nineties material in the second half of the show, when they played no fewer than five songs from the cult »Awake« in a row, which means we heard the entire second half of the album. Some of these were songs Dream Theater hadn’t played in years, including the classic »Lie«, so all the fans were completely blown away by a heaping helping of freshly ‘revived’ prog metal standards. To close out the second part, the prog metal heavyweights played the epic masterpiece »Illumination Theory«, from the current studio album.
Then came the third and final part of the show, dedicated to songs from the concept album magnum opus »Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory«, for many even their best work ever, with which Dream Theater made history and stepped into the ranks of the most important names in modern progressive rock. A quick recap of the album’s complex concept about an individual’s memories of a past life came through playing key pieces from it, namely »Overture 1928«, »Strange Deja Vu«, »The Dance of Eternity« and »Finally Free«, all of which count among the compositional peaks of their career.
Dream Theater once again confirmed their reputation as a first-rate live attraction for all music gourmets who value top-notch technical chops above all, who steer clear of current sonic trends and want the richest possible arrangement variety. On their ‘walk through time’ they left absolutely nobody in the hall indifferent. It was an extra treat to hear so much material from »Awake« and »Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory«, plus »Trail of Tears« from the perennially ‘forgotten’ album »Falling Into Infinity«, while the newer material, especially the songs from the two studio albums with Mangini, also supplied an abundance of high points. Whenever Dream Theater play, it’s a blast to see so many slack-jawed faces on the faces of the music doctors, who just can’t get over the boundless technical know-how of four champions of their instruments. Meanwhile the rest of the crowd, who don’t much care about who’ll play a given improvisation faster in academic-flavored jams, enjoyed themselves most during the songs with ‘head and tail’ and a real message, which fortunately dominated the night and so won over even those who don’t count themselves among the prog metal fanatics.
author: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
Act I
1. False Awakening Suite (intro)
2. The Enemy Inside
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. On the Backs of Angels
5. The Looking Glass
6. Trial of Tears
7. Enigma Machine (with drum solo by Mike Mangini)
8. Along for the Ride
9. Breaking All Illusions
Act II
10. The Mirror
11. Lie
12. Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
13. Scarred
14. Space-Dye Vest
15. Illumination Theory
—encore—
16. Overture 1928
17. Strange Déjà Vu
18. The Dance of Eternity
19. Finally Free
20. Illumination Theory (outro)
