Dream Theater (complete tourcoverage)

Thu 7th Feb, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Dream Theater celebrated their twentieth anniversary last year but despite being around for so long they had never toured Australia and it looked like they never would. Fortunately a combination of things came to pass – a new label (Roadrunner Records), the right deal (with KMW Productions) and the fact that they had just finished a short Asian tour put them in the right place at the right time.

I managed to catch up with keyboardist, Jordan Rudess in Sydney who was very positive about the tour of Australia. “It is hard to believe but a week ago I was in Beijing, China and it was absolutely freezing”, he said. While Rudess is a native New Yorker obviously the last two weeks in China has been unseasonably cold. “When we got to Perth, we couldn’t believe how hot it was and we all had to go and buy new summer clothing”, he went on to say.

It wasn’t just the weather that was hot but also the band as they played at the Burswood Casino complex on Australia Day. As it turned out this wasn’t ideal especially seeing that this was the third change of venue. Coming the day after the Bon Jovi Concert and during the local Australia Day fireworks show took its toll. Being on the Perth foreshore, all the streets around Burswood were closed from about 2 pm and show goers had to park miles away – well those that went to the correct venue that is.

This string of mistakes was deemed so bad by some fans that a Hitler video was made up taking the piss out of those that should have known better. This ended up being played before the show opened but it wasn’t the end of their problems. “The Evening with Dream Theater Shows consisted of two eighty minute sets (yes you did read that correctly) plus a twenty minute encore – a total of three hours of music. About three quarters of the way through the second set one of the mixing boards fried itself and they had to call the show early – mind you it would have been longer than a normal show anyway.

“That was not a good way to begin the tour”, Rudess conceded. The Adelaide show was held two days later and this gig went very smoothly though Rudess admitted that these were “two of the smallest gigs we have played in about seven years”. Still they were breaking into a new market and when I finally caught up to them at the Melbourne Show they would have more fans to impress.

It was raining outside Festival Hall when the five members of Dream Theater went on stage at 7.25pm however by the end of the first set we were all sweating profusely from the heat inside the hall. The show was a sell out and it seemed that every person that had ever played a guitar, keyboards or drum kit in the southern capital was in attendance as plenty of air guitar and air drum beating was happening in the crowd.

The band ripped into material from their new “Systematic Chaos” album and the crowd were straight into it. The first set consisted of oldies and newies but the standouts for me were “Endless Sacrifice” and “As I Am” – songs written about the down side of constant touring. In light of the fact that the Adelaide show was supposed to have been their 1000th show this would be easy to understand however I am assured that this special concert will occur mid-way through the next American leg.

The second set opened with the signature tune of their half million selling “Scenes From A Memory” opus – “Overture 1928” – it was just awesome. A combination of some older and some softer songs were followed by the brain stem shattering two part “Presence of Enemies” which went for well over twenty minutes. My big left toe already had a blister on it from tapping so much.

The encore was another combination of songs that came together under the name of the “Shmedley Wilcox”. As I was taking photos in the pit I could see the set list and this was the final entry. I must make mention of one guy I saw in front of me when I returned to the floor. The shoulder length hair and head swinging from side to side looked the same as hundreds of others around him but when he moved to one side I saw he had a blind person’s cane and I thought to myself with his keen sense of hearing he is probably enjoying the concert more than me – a very uplifting experience.

On to Sydney the following day and a super hot day gave way to a cooler change as the large crowd made their way into the Hordern Pavilion at six oclock. “These Evening With shows” are starting to take their toll on our bodies”, Rudess admitted in an interview just prior to the show. “We aren’t getting any younger but we wanted to give the Aussie fans as much music as we could” and they certainly did.

Right on seven pm the band ripped into “Constant Motion” catching many drinkers in the pub across the road by surprise. As I took photos of the band I aimed my fisheye lens at guitarist John Petrucci’s boot only six inches away. I could literally feel the music going through me as he belted out a solo from his signature Music Man guitar. After the first song singer, James LaBrie said “we’ve got three hours of music so don’t go anywhere/ If I see any of you trying to leave – I’ll set you on fire – we’ve got a flamethrower up here” – a statement that received an enormous cheer.

I caught up with my son just as the second set erupted with “Overture 1928” – his favourite Dream Theater anthem giving him a smile from ear to ear. The second set was the same as Melbourne and was played with the band’s usual incredible musical dexterity. This was not harmed in any way by the fact that Mike Portnoy’s incredible acrylic version of his “Siamese Monster” (a normal drum kit plus a second kit with two kick drums and every tom and cymbal known to man) took up nearly half the stage.

Again a nearly full house of some 5000 fans saw the encore start with “As I Am” but after switching to Metropolis Part 1 Portnoy seemed to lose concentration and went into a 4/4 groove that saw everyone else come to a halt. Another failed attempt then saw them back on track but even their mistakes were worshipped by an audience of many musicians and would be musicians.

And so to the last port of call – Brisbane, and the Riverstage in the beautiful Brisbane Botanical Gardens. This venue has to be one of the nicest I’ve ever walked into and reminded me of the very first gig I went to – Ourimbah’s “Pilgrimage for Pop” in 1970 with a steep grassy bank coming down to the stage.

As a father with a son who has cerebral palsy I was quite taken by a severely handicapped fan who was given access to the venue before the hoards came galloping down the hill. With a pair of aluminium sticks and four friends urging him on he gamely crossed the grass to take up a position in front of the stage. Later I saw him as I exited the photo pit and the beaming smile on his face had obviously cast the negative aspects of his life to one side as he enjoyed what I believe are the most technically brilliant bunch of musicians on the planet.

While a lot of the songs were the same as before we also saw some new ones included in the mix with their one and only hit “Pull me Under” being combined with Metropolis to finish up the second set. The Shmedley Wilcox encore also finished with a full on metal version of “In the Name of God” which was played with all the subtly of a helicopter crash.

After twenty years of willing this band to come down under the tour seemed to be over as quickly as it had started and in their true Dream Theater “Over the Top” style proved to be just right. Before taking their final bow LaBrie announced to the audience “we’ve had a great time down here and I can tell you won’t be waiting twenty years to see us again”.

As I shuffled my way of the venue out I heard one punter say. ” I thought $130 for a ticket was a bit steep but after listening to three hours of simply awesome musician it has to be the best money I’ve ever spent”. I couldn’t have agreed more