Live Reviews : Dream Theater @ Palais Theatre, Melbourne 29/10/2014

Words: Jonathon Besanko

Images: Jainash Prakash

(Click here to view the full gallery)

‘An Evening with Dream Theater’. Wow, where do I even begin? Last night was quite unlike any other gig I’ve been to. In fact, calling it a ‘gig’ in itself detracts in my mind from the real spectacle witnessed by me and the host of other fans assembled at the Palais Theatre. I say a ‘host’ as, from as far as I could tell, virtually every seat was filled. And for those who haven’t been there before, the Palais isn’t exactly small. Decorated with a very traditional Victorian decor, Gothic-styled lamps lit the areas along the walls, and under the low light of the venue, the soft of veil of mist that accompanied the Palais brought a type of sweet ambiance to the room that only heightened the atmosphere Dream Theater themselves brought with them when they arrived on stage.

Dream Theater

But before I get into the full details of the night, may I first give mention to the staff of the night? This event was extremely well organised. I arrived about 15 minutes before Dream Theater were set to take the stage (thank peak hour traffic for that one), and aside from the hundreds of people already waiting outside and flooding into the Palais, the whole atmosphere of the evening was one of calmness, direction, and excitement. The staff themselves, whilst focused, looked just as euphoric about the evening as the fans themselves did; something very rarely seen on the night of gigs. And upon entering the Palais, I was met by the luxurious nature of the venue’s interior. Whilst the outside was undergoing renovation, the Palais’ interior remained as magnificent as ever. The whole vibe and feeling itself felt absolutely perfect to bring to life the music and style of Dream Theater. And the sound quality and efforts of the sound engineers and lighting crew – of which frontman James LaBrie later gave thanks to under the title of his “unsung heroes” – was fantastic. I don’t imagine I could have seen or attended a better venue for Dream Theater’s epic front than I did on this night at the Palais. And without trying to showboat, I can say with absolute clarity and honesty, this is one of the best shows I’ve ever attended. And I remember thinking to myself later on that I can’t remember the last time I was as awestruck and taken aback by the proceedings of a night than when I saw Orphaned Land at The Espy earlier this year. And like with the Orphaned Land show, despite the significant gap between myself and the band (I was seated on the left near the far back), it felt just as intimate and engrossing. Great thanks and commendations to everyone involved on this night. Your efforts made this show the wonderful spectacle it deserved to be, and promised to be. Both of which were well delivered on.

Dream Theater

Now, to the show! As my phone’s clock ticked over to 7:45 pm, all lights in the Palais dimmed, and a screen set in front of the stage suddenly illuminated the crowd before it. There were no supports tonight. It was purely ‘An Evening with Dream Theater’ as the title of the event said. And with a band such as this, it couldn’t be more brilliant because of it. As “False Awakening Suite” fell over the crowd, we, the audience, were greeted to an interesting animated display which, as a far as I can tell, was about the coming of the band. As the introductory instrumental came to its end, the screen fell, revealing the stage, and it was met with rapturous applause by the crowd. And as LaBrie ran out onto stage shortly after, in only about a minutes time, everyone that had been sitting down was standing from their seats, crying out, and throwing up the horns. And this tradition carried for virtually the entirety of the night, with a few people, including myself, only sitting occasionally to rest our legs (keep in mind, this night was about 3 hours worth of pure Dream Theater majesty!).

Dream Theater

Whilst I can’t divulge the details of every song the band played (as it stands on about 20 in total), one thing I can mention that was consistently impressive were the band themselves. Now, whilst it isn’t often I go to a gig and can tear about the synchronicity and power of a band’s music when played live, what is rare, however, is watching a band that’s music is this sharp, crisp, and clear throughout. When the band feel this in key with one another. And not only that, but you also had the fact that because of the nature of their extended set, it gave the American prog metallers a chance to let every member of the band shine, with more than a handful of moments where bassist John Myung, keyboardist Jordan Rudess (his keytar solo was fantastic, by the way!), and drummer Mangini, alongside, of course, lead guitarist John Petrucci, got their moment of spotlight. And to say it was ‘amazing’ is an understatement. Melbourne is the second last show of Dream Theater’s extravagant ‘Along for the Ride’ world tour (with the show in Sydney tonight being the last), and after what has thus far been 91 dates they’ve covered, the band didn’t in the slightest appear weary or looked as if their heart was no longer in it. They pushed through the whole night, and I’m sure it can be said with confidence for more than just myself, that a large smile pulled across my lips on more than occasion because of it. Between Myung’s reserved technicality; LaBrie’s confident, inspired delivery; Mangini and Rudess’ wackiness, yet sheer technical brilliance; and the deified flashiness of Petrucci’s guitar licks and riffs, it’s safe to say Dream Theater owned every moment they were on stage. And, judging by the crowd’s response during breaks, even those when they weren’t.

Dream Theater

Though vocal crowd interaction was kept to a minimum, this wasn’t to the disadvantage of Dream Theater. Even with the rest of the interaction – which included fist pumping, crowd chants and sways, and more – keeping vocal interaction to a minimum actually served the band in that, as it was for me, looking about the venue at different times, almost every time I did, all I witnessed was everyone’s eyes fixated entirely on what was happening on stage in front of them. They were as ensorcelled by the display as I was, and it made me pleased to think that I had the opportunity to be a part of that. Dream Theater were just enchanting to watch, though. And their music was like magic beneath the fascinating light displays. A few of the ones I recall best are when all lights were on LaBrie, and as he titled his microphone forward, the light that caught the bottom of the mic’s stand suddenly splayed out over the crowd as if LaBrie were pointing and giving reverence directly to those its touch reached. And that’s not even to mention the excellent timing given to the faster moments in songs where, without fail, the light would dance about Mangini’s impressive all-round, overhead drum kit, and under an assortment of purples, greens, blues and more, bounced along the stage at a furious pace. It was an awesome thing to watch!

Dream Theater

All I can say is, despite being wrecked from a long day earlier on, this night was an incredible thing to be a part of, and not only did it get me pumped and kept me feeling exhilarated all night, I have to give thanks and credit to Dream Theater themselves (as well as Metropolis Touring for bringing it over here) for putting this event together and giving us, the fans, the opportunity to witness your music as it was always meant to be shown and heard. It’s an evening I know I won’t forget.

‘An Evening with Dream Theater’ 2014

Related Posts

• 

  El Colosso – Forgotten Ancestors
• 

  Markus Saastamoinen – Puzzle Pieces
• 

  HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel
• 

  AC/DC – Power Up