Dream Theater

I posted this on dreamtheaterforums.org

WOW We had such a great time yesterday!
First off, Trivium won me over, they really rocked. They worked the crowd and played their asses off!. I could do without the growling vocals, but they played tight and I totally enjoyed the music. KUDOS to them!

DT, what can be said? The greatest band in the world. Everything was perfect. My wife and son loved it and that makes my day. My son talked about it all the way home.
The band looked so happy and seemed to be really enjoying what they were doing. They sounded fantastic! James sounded great! Mangini is a beast, he looked confident and seemed to be totally enjoying himself. From the band member's reactions, they really seem to understand how much their fans love them.
DT ROCKS

In regards to Pittsburgh show....
First off, i had been second guessing myself for past month having spent 275.00 on meet and great tickets (i have a son in college, etc....) Let me say that i would do it again in a heartbeat. The meet and greet was unreal! Just being in the presence of this incredible band was definitely surreal. What a moment in my life. The guys were engaging, funny and very humble. I thought the meet and greet ran very smoothly. After that i went to find my seat....First row right in front of Petrucci!!! The show absolutely blew me away. This was my 8th DT show and by far the most incredible. James was totally flawless. Mangini blew me away song after song. What can i say about Petrucci, JM, and Jordan?? Spent many moments staring in awe at what i was seeing and hearing....I thought the band looked really relaxed and totally into the vibe. Set list was also killer. A HUGE Thank You to the guys in Dream Theater for far exceeding my expectations not only for the show, but the new album and choice of Mangini...Greatest band in world!!!!!!

That's great to hear. I'm doing a M&G in Morristown. A bit skeptical about not knowing the seat before day of show, but hey first row sounds decent enough!

The show last night was amazing. I also did the M&G and would do it again in a heartbeat. The thing that struck me was that the band seemed so relaxed and at ease. There was a sense of pure joy and fun that I haven't seen since SFAM tour. JP is on a level that mere mortals cannot reach. Mangini was confident, exciting to watch, and full of personality I was blown away by his performance. Labrie just gets better and better each tour. He was very comfortable and showed his great sense of humor last night. JM smiled more last night than in the previous 7 times I'd seen them. Jordan is Jordan, always a blast to watch and a musician beyond compare. In all, the show was like a rebirth, they all seemed to just be so happy where the band is right now and it really showed in their flawless performance. Once again they have raised the bar to a new level.Kudos boys!!!

Well, reading all this comments, I´m counting the days for Morristown and NYC shows. I´ll do M&G in both. My 5th and 6th DT shows (Octavarium twice and SC in Brazil, and with IM in MSG).

Cya!

Set list, anyone? And curious about 'The Great Debate' , since it is one of my least favorite DT tracks and always skipped. Do they use the taped radio voices, or are they hopefully eliminated?

To stir up the pot, I'd rather have a couple of shorter, more uptempo tracks in its place (Constant Motion, As I Am). Let MP get a royalty penny or two from them. Just my opinion.

This was my, i dunno 8th or 9th DT show, and I must say that I have never seen the band so energized and just....happy looking! Everyone made concentrated efforts to be active and engaging. I missed a great photo op during Endless Sacrifice of JR,JM, and JP standing next to one another in a sort of 80's-esque power rock pose. JP sang all the backing vocals, and sang more than I have ever seen him before. He seemed to really bleed the lyrics as he sang them (especially during These Walls). I think the guys are truly happy where they are right now. I was so impressed with the show, the mix (no straining to hear individual parts) and overall experience. The meet and greet (my third) was cool as always. Had a funny conversation with James, JP, and Jordan about how I thought James should open the show in a pirate jacket, riding a unicycle while jordan played circus music.

I may be a little off but here's what I can remember of the setlist (may or may not be in order):

Bridges in the Sky
These Walls
Build me Up, Break me Down
Endless Sacrifice
Drum Solo
Ytse Jam
Wait for Sleep
Far From Heaven
The Great Debate
Caught in a Web
Through my Words
Fatal Tragedy
Breaking All Illusions

Encore: Pull me Under

The only albums they did not touch on were FII, SC, and BCSL

As for the Great Debate, I do recall the news snippits at the begining, but not sure about later on. I have always been iffy on that song but seeing it performed live allowed me to see a lot of the little stuff written into it. I really enjoyed it personally. I thought Mangini performed masterfully -minus a small hiccup in the first minute of Breaking All Illusions - which he recovered from so smoothly that I might have missed it had I not been counting along with the song in my head. He redeemed himself later on when the main motif presented itself again. I think his in-ears went out cuz it seemed like he was really having trouble hearing the rest of the band for that song.

Overall, I think we as DT fans are in for some incredible music in the future. The band seem re-energized, inspired, and most of all.....completely and utterly happy. I am so glad I went to this show, and those of you who have yet to see them this time around will be blown away!

All I can say is amazing! The show was great. The M&G was fantastic. The night just blew me away.

I've seen DT numerous times in NY including the "Evening With", Roseland and Radio City Music Hall shows. I saw them last night in Pittsburgh and something just seemed different, they came across really casual and happy to be playing. Mangini's facial expressions were entertaining. LaBrie sounded great (although the first song he seemed distracted and kept looking off stage...) I really enjoyed the moments when he addressed the crowd and even took a seat to sing some more intimate songs. It was a great concert. I hadn't seen them in a while and loved the variety of tunes they played. The new album is fantastic and I look forward to the next one where Mangini will have more input in the creative process. I'm so glad that for as long as they've been playing, they still have enthusiasm and fun. This will only make them stronger. Great concert.

I think James was having problems w/ his in-ear monitors for the first few songs