Another journey across the East Lancs sees me take in the delights of Dream Theater for the first time, with the prog metal masters long being a must-see band for me. An all-seated gig – becoming more and more common with a lot of the bands I like – might often make for less noise from the crowd. That said, Dream Theater are hardly known for Iggy Pop like stage antics, just about pure musicianship and musical ability. A couple of beers in and it’s time for our sole support for the evening.
I deliberately avoided listening to what Arion sounded like prior to the gig – I’ve always found music is almost always best first experienced in the live setting. I feel slightly bad for them, as the sound is clearly not really set up for them. Backing vocals and keys are hard to hear in the mix, but the band are both very tight and very able. An enjoyable take on power metal, it feels like they would be better suited for a standing gig than a seated one, but they battle on well and get a good reception from the crowd. They are clearly all very able and it’s hard not to enjoy the set, despite the sound issues. Of particular interest are the songs ‘Punish You’, which comes a couple of songs in, and final track ‘At The Break Of Dawn’, which rounds off a very likeable 30 minute set.
Dream Theater haven’t garnered their reputation by accident and the virtuoso individuals make one hell of a whole! Pure talent held together with seemingly strong bonds, vocalist James LaBrie almost seems like a very capable addendum, at times, given the role vocals play in their music. There are times I end up closing my eyes and just losing myself in the music, such is the sheer beauty and power of what we are presented with. The sheer beauty of the harmonies pervading the music doesn’t even feel like a juxtaposition to their heavier side, as some bands do, which is a testament to the sheer quality both of the song writing and of their technical ability to recreate it to such an incredible level in a live setting.
Twelve songs in a two-hour set? Not entirely unexpected for a prog band and Dream Theater live up to their tag in spectacular style. It says something when a vocalist like LaBrie spends more time off stage than on, giving full centre stage to the instrumentalists. While latest album ‘A View From The Top Of The World’ takes up a third of the set – hardly unexpectedly so – there is time for ‘Pull Me Under’, from 1992’s ‘Images And Words’ to be included in the set to many peoples’ great delight, as well as ‘6:00’ and ‘Caught In A Web’ from following release ‘Awake’, showing that they are not afraid to revisit their older back catalogue. The crowd are up for it from the start and with no surprise – once again, Dream Theater have proven quite why they sit at the pinnacle of the progressive metal tree. An outstanding live set and evening of entertainment as a whole.
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