Dream Theater

Great stuff. My first time seeing these guys live since their first tour of Australia in 2008, and they haven't lost a beat. A few reasons I'm not rating this 5/5, and I think the Systematic Chaos performances were a better experience: - The setlist was good, but had quite a bit of content from Scenes and Parasomnia. Given how rarely they are able to make it to Australia I think the set they were playing from around 6 months ago comprised of mostly bigger, crowd-pleasing numbers may have gone over even better. - The crowd was a bit muted, probably due to a combination of small venue and being at the end of hot day. I also noticed several times when the crowd was singing along and then kind of stopped because LaBrie was introducing rubato/timing that wasn't what the audience was expecting. Not an issue with the performance per se, but it worked against the grain of crowd participation which was a shame. That said, the performances from all 5 members were incredible and even just seeing Octavaium live was easily worth the price of admission.

Breite Palette von Songs: Ganz alte und auch ganz neue und selten live gehörte zwischendurch. Es war toll, nochmal die alte Besetzung zu sehen. Dieses Konzert war definitiv eins der besseren, die ich von DT gesehen habe. Wermutstropfen war für mich die Performance von James LaBrie: Am Anfang hatte er Probleme, die Töne zu treffen, das besserte sich mit zunehmender Zeit und war am Schluss großartig. Ich würde mir eine ÖPNV-Anbindung der Rockhal aus dem Saarland wünschen. Wer aktuell mit dem ÖPNV anreisen möchte, muss übernachten und am nächsten Tag heim fahren. Ansonsten bleibt aktuell nur das Auto zur An- und Abreise.

The venue was fantastic...not a bad seat in the house. Security was unintrusive, unlike the Hall Monitors you encounter at Riverbend. The sound was great for outdoors because the bands and the sound engineers know what they're doing. The artists, Animals As Leaders, Devon Townsend and Dream Theater were phenomenal, as they usually are. No mail it in bands here. Huge surprise to see Mike Keneally playing guitar and keyboards in the Townsend band. All around masterful show by everybody..Bands, staff and the fans. An unforgettable night and I hope it will be an annual event.

Animals As Leaders opened crushed it. Devin Townshend definitely livened the place up. But, sorry to say my first time seeing Dream Theater live I was let down. Vocalist James Labrie just wasn't that good. I wasn't sure if it was him or just the audio at Leader Bank Pavilion until they played Pull Me Under. It was nearly unlistenable. I left halfway through the song, and it sounded worse farther from the venue I got. Off key, wasn't hitting his highs and just gave up on prolonging them. Left it to the crowd. I was bummed. Been a fan since Images and Words and was really hoping for a killer performance. Hopefully it was just one bad night for James 🤷‍♂️

It was great to see the guys again (my 11th time) and the setlist was OK. Unfortunately the sound was not so great as we are used to. The last three times I saw them was two times at Cirkus (Stockholm) and once outside in Gävle (Sweden) and the sound was great at those gigs. The drums was not well mixed at the beginning and when they got it sorted the snare was to load and overtook every other drum. The guys seemed happy to be back on stage even if James was a bit off or uncertain during the concerts first half. He sang up better during the second half. All in all a great night and wonderful to see and here them again. I'm looking forward to a smaller venue that suits there sound better next time. The setlist for the night was: - The Alien - 6:00 - Awaken the Master - Endless Sacrifice - Bridges in the Sky - Invisible Monster - About to Crash - The Ministry of Lost Souls - A View From the Top of the World Encore: The Count of Tuscany

Es war eine fantastische Show. Riesige Leinwand im Hintergrund mit toller Projektion und der Sound war auch super. Von der Musik her war es Prog-Metal in Perfektion, klar bei diesen ultra-talentierten Musikern aus denen Dream Theater besteht. Wahnsinnig begeistert hat mich auch der vorherige Act: Devin Townsend Project. Townsend hat hier richtig Gas gegeben und das Publikum super eingeheizt. Sein Auftreten, sein Gesang, seine speziellen Framus Gitarren usw. ist natürlich einfach nur Einmalig. Was mich sehr überrascht hat und auch gefreut hat, war die super Pünktlichkeit beider Acts und die Leistung der Roadies, dass alles on Point war. Große Klasse!

Der Special Guest Devin Twonsend hat dafür gesorgt, dass die Stimmung vor dem Auftritt von Dream Theater bereits großartig war. Die Setlist von Dream Theater war gut ausgewogen (neue vs. ältere Stücke). In der Mitte des Gigs war der Sound leider übersteuert (Gitarre und Keyboard), wodurch es echt unangenehm laut wurde. Nach zwei Stücken hatte der Mixer dann aber doch ein Einsehen und hat wieder vernünftig geregelt. Alles in Allem ein toller Abend und eine, wie man sie von Dream Theater auch erwartet, unglaublich gute Live-Performance. James LaBrie war in richtig guter Form (der Rest der Band natürlich auch)

Had a fantastic night watching one of the most talented bands in the world, the visuals to go with the songs were wonderful, the band sounded fantastic, clear sound with a good driving bass that you felt as much as heard and just outstanding performances from everybody. It was not the loudest concert I have ever been to which was good yet you felt the sound as well as hearing it (so no ringing ears) Just a fantastic first live rock gig in several years, leaving you feeling as good as the band sounded

It's Dream Theater. It can't possibly not be awesome. The venue is amazing. Very clean and laid out very well. The acoustics are great. Of course that's irrelevant because, like every rock band, they feel the need to crank up the mains so much that the sound is indistinguishable from a chainsaw right next to your ear. It sounded perfect with earplugs though. You would be out of your mind to go to a show like this without them. The opener, Arch Echo, was incredible too. I bought all of their stuff when we got home and haven't been able to stop listening to it since. Amazing night! Well worth the ticket and the drive!

Incredible show! Last time seeing them was on the Images and Beyond tour at The Toyota venue in Dallas, and I have to say this show was so much better! Although I did truly enjoy the Images show, I feel the energy from the crowd, the acoustics at the Bomb Factory, and the band themselves were more into it! And of course with the playing of Scenes from a Memory in it's entirety...LIVE!!! So damn good that my friend (Tim) and I landed tickets to the St. Louis show just to see it again! We both agreed though that we felt the Bomb Factory show edged out the St. Louis show for all the reasons described earlier. Some venues just know how to get it right to the Tee. Thanks Bomb Factory for all the great shows I've been privileged to see at your venue!

I saw their show in Moscow about 3y ago - it was absolutely unbelievable. 3h marathon which began exactly in time and was accompanied by the emotional explosion I had never seen before. With that in mind I went to Athens to visit their current Distance over time and was completely disappointed: DT came out only after 2h of “festival “ of some 3 metal bands , one of which was even from US. I believe that with such level those guys should never travel far than Nevada desert. Then DT appeared in order to play 11 songs with completely exhausted LaBrie. The rest of the team were also rather bored and tried to finish all things asap. The audience felt it and even didn’t ask for additional songs... probably the band is in deep crisis...

Dream Theater was absolutely unreal. The best concert l’ve ever attended & the greatest group of musicians of our era! l loved that they opened with their new song “Untethered Angel.” 100% would recommend going VIP and experiencing the beauty of their talent. The concert lived up to every expectation minus getting hit in the face with a pick from the third row, center and reaching down for the memorabilia only to have someone in the fourth row jump over and steal it from me. Nevertheless, my bf and I have checked it off the bucket list; yet, its only a matter of time until we add it back to the list when they announce another show date in TN ✅😊

As usual, DT did not disappoint. Would like to have seen a little different song selection for the first set, and more than one encore song (Pull Me Under). Loved the second set of Scenes From A Memory played in its entirety. James did struggle a bit to hit the high notes on a few tunes. Other than that, the show was amazing and I loved every minute of it. Also, I am convinced Mangini is part octopus because what he did at the end of Finally Free is not humaly possible. 🤘🏻

What better way to experience your first Dream Theater concert than with Metropolis pt.2. Honestly though, I was zoning in on John for most of the night. As a fellow guitarist, I have always wanted to see the man who was on the instructional videos when I was kid shred in real life, and boy did he do that. Finally Free was killer and of course, so was Home. This is definitely going to be a concert I remember for years to come. Also, for anyone who is one the fence about seeing them, it’s worth it!

I have seen DT over a dozen times at various venues and have splurged for the VIP meet & greet experience 2 times and they have never disappointed me.........until the second show (Thursday)on the Distance over Time tour which landed them at The Wiltern, Los Angeles. Now I know this was only the second show but these guys are extremely polished perfectionist and to hear John Petrucci noticeably miss and or hit the wrong notes at least 4 times was like a parent watching there kid on stage , trip in a grade school play performance. Other then that Petrucci was flawless and his many guitar changes played emotionally beautifully. Jordan also played amazing but lacked the wizardly playfulness he usually displays, he seemed almost too focused on What he was doing and not enough on Where he was doing it at! There were also some technical issues with the mobile keyboard and his then his main keys so maybe he was focused on trying to hold it together like a runaway truck and trailer, which may have thrown him off? I was excited to hear Mike Mangini play Scenes from a Memory as I really love his playing style and feel he really keeps Dream Theater who the are and not where they were going! His playing this show was a bit slow or maybe pausastically (I made it up, it means to excessively Pause almost unnoticeably but noticeable enough if you are noticing ) There was a part he got lost once by “skipping a beat” but quickly found his way back. I did find my self questioning why he wants his symbols at a height that he is doing shoulder presses the whole show? Looks cool though! John Myung is awkward and underrated!....There I said it! He is the Muhammad Ali of bass players, his fingers are whimsical and without those lower notes and upper fills the music would have no power! He played great! Now for the “Big Guy”, the Main Man! The voice of Dream Theater James LaBrie! I watched his interview of when he lost his voice and it devastated him and how it changed his ability to sing as before (age doesn’t help neither) but, an I am truly sorry to say, his voice is the weakest link to this show! I am not going to run all over James because I genuinely love his singing but.... yeah! I also feel (be it where I sat) his microphone was also having Technical issues and I wouldn’t be able to hear the soft and lower parts but when he belted out those parts of the songs upper register it was as if they forgot the mic was at volume 10 and just flipped the switch on!.... Wholly Loud! I Love me some Dream Theater and I can Definitely look past all of my critics,.... watch.....see I already forgot about it! Now what was I talking about.... Oh Yeah, I am going to attribute all of my “Golden Ear” critic on the AWEFUL SOUNDING VENUE CALLED “THE WILTERN” I am a veteran to the theater, although it is historic and beautiful it has to be one of the top worst sounding venues I have “ “scene” DreamTheater at (yet the keep playing here???). I have sat in multiple seating areas, this particular show I was in the mezzanine almost in the back and it was So Sharp and Ear Bleeding with No lower Bass heard, I had to dawn my professional ear protection the entire show. For the risk of losing my hearing! The Wiltern just has awful acoustics and every time I see a concert here I say “Never Again” and then a great artist plays where I have to see them..... Uhhhggg! As far as the Music....well... if you know Dream Theater music then I don’t need to review that... just Go See The Show! A..M..A..Z..I..N..G..!

Dream Theater presented a SUPERB audio and video FEAST Thursday night!!! The songs selected from their newly released "Distance Over Time" album were crisply and awesomely played, and their 20 Year Old "Metropolis, Part 2; Scenes From a Memory" album was triumphantly performed in its entirety to the exquisite joy of the packed house. Lead guitarist John Petrucci, as usual, played like NOBODY else on this earth can play!!! And his guitar tone throughout their nearly 3 hour, 19 song, 2 Set Show was simply AMAZING!!! Drummer Mike Mangini was UNBELIEVABLE, demonstrating his world-class technical skills by being spot-on during even the most challenging time changes that Dream Theater is so well known for!! And his magnificent playing on this latest Distance Over Time album as well as his performance "live" at the Wiltern has put any doubts about his ability to "put the ghost to rest" of former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, once and for all!! A smaller, re-designed stage with risers and NO large video screens nor any speaker banks or curtains provided a more intimate atmosphere for the crowd to enjoy. Dream Theater came out to PLAY, and play they DID!!! 5 STARS OVER 5 STARS!!!! Randy C.

Great stuff. My first time seeing these guys live since their first tour of Australia in 2008, and they haven't lost a beat. A few reasons I'm not rating this 5/5, and I think the Systematic Chaos performances were a better experience: - The setlist was good, but had quite a bit of content from Scenes and Parasomnia. Given how rarely they are able to make it to Australia I think the set they were playing from around 6 months ago comprised of mostly bigger, crowd-pleasing numbers may have gone over even better. - The crowd was a bit muted, probably due to a combination of small venue and being at the end of hot day. I also noticed several times when the crowd was singing along and then kind of stopped because LaBrie was introducing rubato/timing that wasn't what the audience was expecting. Not an issue with the performance per se, but it worked against the grain of crowd participation which was a shame. That said, the performances from all 5 members were incredible and even just seeing Octavaium live was easily worth the price of admission.

Breite Palette von Songs: Ganz alte und auch ganz neue und selten live gehörte zwischendurch. Es war toll, nochmal die alte Besetzung zu sehen. Dieses Konzert war definitiv eins der besseren, die ich von DT gesehen habe. Wermutstropfen war für mich die Performance von James LaBrie: Am Anfang hatte er Probleme, die Töne zu treffen, das besserte sich mit zunehmender Zeit und war am Schluss großartig. Ich würde mir eine ÖPNV-Anbindung der Rockhal aus dem Saarland wünschen. Wer aktuell mit dem ÖPNV anreisen möchte, muss übernachten und am nächsten Tag heim fahren. Ansonsten bleibt aktuell nur das Auto zur An- und Abreise.

The venue was fantastic...not a bad seat in the house. Security was unintrusive, unlike the Hall Monitors you encounter at Riverbend. The sound was great for outdoors because the bands and the sound engineers know what they're doing. The artists, Animals As Leaders, Devon Townsend and Dream Theater were phenomenal, as they usually are. No mail it in bands here. Huge surprise to see Mike Keneally playing guitar and keyboards in the Townsend band. All around masterful show by everybody..Bands, staff and the fans. An unforgettable night and I hope it will be an annual event.

Animals As Leaders opened crushed it. Devin Townshend definitely livened the place up. But, sorry to say my first time seeing Dream Theater live I was let down. Vocalist James Labrie just wasn't that good. I wasn't sure if it was him or just the audio at Leader Bank Pavilion until they played Pull Me Under. It was nearly unlistenable. I left halfway through the song, and it sounded worse farther from the venue I got. Off key, wasn't hitting his highs and just gave up on prolonging them. Left it to the crowd. I was bummed. Been a fan since Images and Words and was really hoping for a killer performance. Hopefully it was just one bad night for James 🤷‍♂️

It was great to see the guys again (my 11th time) and the setlist was OK. Unfortunately the sound was not so great as we are used to. The last three times I saw them was two times at Cirkus (Stockholm) and once outside in Gävle (Sweden) and the sound was great at those gigs. The drums was not well mixed at the beginning and when they got it sorted the snare was to load and overtook every other drum. The guys seemed happy to be back on stage even if James was a bit off or uncertain during the concerts first half. He sang up better during the second half. All in all a great night and wonderful to see and here them again. I'm looking forward to a smaller venue that suits there sound better next time. The setlist for the night was: - The Alien - 6:00 - Awaken the Master - Endless Sacrifice - Bridges in the Sky - Invisible Monster - About to Crash - The Ministry of Lost Souls - A View From the Top of the World Encore: The Count of Tuscany

Es war eine fantastische Show. Riesige Leinwand im Hintergrund mit toller Projektion und der Sound war auch super. Von der Musik her war es Prog-Metal in Perfektion, klar bei diesen ultra-talentierten Musikern aus denen Dream Theater besteht. Wahnsinnig begeistert hat mich auch der vorherige Act: Devin Townsend Project. Townsend hat hier richtig Gas gegeben und das Publikum super eingeheizt. Sein Auftreten, sein Gesang, seine speziellen Framus Gitarren usw. ist natürlich einfach nur Einmalig. Was mich sehr überrascht hat und auch gefreut hat, war die super Pünktlichkeit beider Acts und die Leistung der Roadies, dass alles on Point war. Große Klasse!

Der Special Guest Devin Twonsend hat dafür gesorgt, dass die Stimmung vor dem Auftritt von Dream Theater bereits großartig war. Die Setlist von Dream Theater war gut ausgewogen (neue vs. ältere Stücke). In der Mitte des Gigs war der Sound leider übersteuert (Gitarre und Keyboard), wodurch es echt unangenehm laut wurde. Nach zwei Stücken hatte der Mixer dann aber doch ein Einsehen und hat wieder vernünftig geregelt. Alles in Allem ein toller Abend und eine, wie man sie von Dream Theater auch erwartet, unglaublich gute Live-Performance. James LaBrie war in richtig guter Form (der Rest der Band natürlich auch)

Had a fantastic night watching one of the most talented bands in the world, the visuals to go with the songs were wonderful, the band sounded fantastic, clear sound with a good driving bass that you felt as much as heard and just outstanding performances from everybody. It was not the loudest concert I have ever been to which was good yet you felt the sound as well as hearing it (so no ringing ears) Just a fantastic first live rock gig in several years, leaving you feeling as good as the band sounded

It's Dream Theater. It can't possibly not be awesome. The venue is amazing. Very clean and laid out very well. The acoustics are great. Of course that's irrelevant because, like every rock band, they feel the need to crank up the mains so much that the sound is indistinguishable from a chainsaw right next to your ear. It sounded perfect with earplugs though. You would be out of your mind to go to a show like this without them. The opener, Arch Echo, was incredible too. I bought all of their stuff when we got home and haven't been able to stop listening to it since. Amazing night! Well worth the ticket and the drive!

Incredible show! Last time seeing them was on the Images and Beyond tour at The Toyota venue in Dallas, and I have to say this show was so much better! Although I did truly enjoy the Images show, I feel the energy from the crowd, the acoustics at the Bomb Factory, and the band themselves were more into it! And of course with the playing of Scenes from a Memory in it's entirety...LIVE!!! So damn good that my friend (Tim) and I landed tickets to the St. Louis show just to see it again! We both agreed though that we felt the Bomb Factory show edged out the St. Louis show for all the reasons described earlier. Some venues just know how to get it right to the Tee. Thanks Bomb Factory for all the great shows I've been privileged to see at your venue!

I saw their show in Moscow about 3y ago - it was absolutely unbelievable. 3h marathon which began exactly in time and was accompanied by the emotional explosion I had never seen before. With that in mind I went to Athens to visit their current Distance over time and was completely disappointed: DT came out only after 2h of “festival “ of some 3 metal bands , one of which was even from US. I believe that with such level those guys should never travel far than Nevada desert. Then DT appeared in order to play 11 songs with completely exhausted LaBrie. The rest of the team were also rather bored and tried to finish all things asap. The audience felt it and even didn’t ask for additional songs... probably the band is in deep crisis...

Dream Theater was absolutely unreal. The best concert l’ve ever attended & the greatest group of musicians of our era! l loved that they opened with their new song “Untethered Angel.” 100% would recommend going VIP and experiencing the beauty of their talent. The concert lived up to every expectation minus getting hit in the face with a pick from the third row, center and reaching down for the memorabilia only to have someone in the fourth row jump over and steal it from me. Nevertheless, my bf and I have checked it off the bucket list; yet, its only a matter of time until we add it back to the list when they announce another show date in TN ✅😊

As usual, DT did not disappoint. Would like to have seen a little different song selection for the first set, and more than one encore song (Pull Me Under). Loved the second set of Scenes From A Memory played in its entirety. James did struggle a bit to hit the high notes on a few tunes. Other than that, the show was amazing and I loved every minute of it. Also, I am convinced Mangini is part octopus because what he did at the end of Finally Free is not humaly possible. 🤘🏻

What better way to experience your first Dream Theater concert than with Metropolis pt.2. Honestly though, I was zoning in on John for most of the night. As a fellow guitarist, I have always wanted to see the man who was on the instructional videos when I was kid shred in real life, and boy did he do that. Finally Free was killer and of course, so was Home. This is definitely going to be a concert I remember for years to come. Also, for anyone who is one the fence about seeing them, it’s worth it!

I have seen DT over a dozen times at various venues and have splurged for the VIP meet & greet experience 2 times and they have never disappointed me.........until the second show (Thursday)on the Distance over Time tour which landed them at The Wiltern, Los Angeles. Now I know this was only the second show but these guys are extremely polished perfectionist and to hear John Petrucci noticeably miss and or hit the wrong notes at least 4 times was like a parent watching there kid on stage , trip in a grade school play performance. Other then that Petrucci was flawless and his many guitar changes played emotionally beautifully. Jordan also played amazing but lacked the wizardly playfulness he usually displays, he seemed almost too focused on What he was doing and not enough on Where he was doing it at! There were also some technical issues with the mobile keyboard and his then his main keys so maybe he was focused on trying to hold it together like a runaway truck and trailer, which may have thrown him off? I was excited to hear Mike Mangini play Scenes from a Memory as I really love his playing style and feel he really keeps Dream Theater who the are and not where they were going! His playing this show was a bit slow or maybe pausastically (I made it up, it means to excessively Pause almost unnoticeably but noticeable enough if you are noticing ) There was a part he got lost once by “skipping a beat” but quickly found his way back. I did find my self questioning why he wants his symbols at a height that he is doing shoulder presses the whole show? Looks cool though! John Myung is awkward and underrated!....There I said it! He is the Muhammad Ali of bass players, his fingers are whimsical and without those lower notes and upper fills the music would have no power! He played great! Now for the “Big Guy”, the Main Man! The voice of Dream Theater James LaBrie! I watched his interview of when he lost his voice and it devastated him and how it changed his ability to sing as before (age doesn’t help neither) but, an I am truly sorry to say, his voice is the weakest link to this show! I am not going to run all over James because I genuinely love his singing but.... yeah! I also feel (be it where I sat) his microphone was also having Technical issues and I wouldn’t be able to hear the soft and lower parts but when he belted out those parts of the songs upper register it was as if they forgot the mic was at volume 10 and just flipped the switch on!.... Wholly Loud! I Love me some Dream Theater and I can Definitely look past all of my critics,.... watch.....see I already forgot about it! Now what was I talking about.... Oh Yeah, I am going to attribute all of my “Golden Ear” critic on the AWEFUL SOUNDING VENUE CALLED “THE WILTERN” I am a veteran to the theater, although it is historic and beautiful it has to be one of the top worst sounding venues I have “ “scene” DreamTheater at (yet the keep playing here???). I have sat in multiple seating areas, this particular show I was in the mezzanine almost in the back and it was So Sharp and Ear Bleeding with No lower Bass heard, I had to dawn my professional ear protection the entire show. For the risk of losing my hearing! The Wiltern just has awful acoustics and every time I see a concert here I say “Never Again” and then a great artist plays where I have to see them..... Uhhhggg! As far as the Music....well... if you know Dream Theater music then I don’t need to review that... just Go See The Show! A..M..A..Z..I..N..G..!

Dream Theater presented a SUPERB audio and video FEAST Thursday night!!! The songs selected from their newly released "Distance Over Time" album were crisply and awesomely played, and their 20 Year Old "Metropolis, Part 2; Scenes From a Memory" album was triumphantly performed in its entirety to the exquisite joy of the packed house. Lead guitarist John Petrucci, as usual, played like NOBODY else on this earth can play!!! And his guitar tone throughout their nearly 3 hour, 19 song, 2 Set Show was simply AMAZING!!! Drummer Mike Mangini was UNBELIEVABLE, demonstrating his world-class technical skills by being spot-on during even the most challenging time changes that Dream Theater is so well known for!! And his magnificent playing on this latest Distance Over Time album as well as his performance "live" at the Wiltern has put any doubts about his ability to "put the ghost to rest" of former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, once and for all!! A smaller, re-designed stage with risers and NO large video screens nor any speaker banks or curtains provided a more intimate atmosphere for the crowd to enjoy. Dream Theater came out to PLAY, and play they DID!!! 5 STARS OVER 5 STARS!!!! Randy C.