An almost perfect night in Prague – our report of Dream Theater’s show at the Sportovní hala Fortuna 02.11

There are some bands that are so hyped and so iconic, that missing their tour or their live shows can be viewed as sort of a crime. This is why this time the Chaoszine team travelled to the Czech Republic to witness “An Evening with Dream Theater”, their 40th anniversary tour that is currently on the road in Europe and soon also in the United States. A huge thank you to Niels and Katja for giving us the opportunity to report on their show!

While scheduled to start at 20:00, the show actually started a couple of minutes later, but that was absolutely fine. The whole venue went dark, and some laser lights highlighted part of the huge sheet hanging in front of the stage. We could hear the bands starting to hint their presence behind this sheet, and then the sheet fell on the ground, revealing a very simple yet sophisticated scenography, with the drums in the middle, the keyboards on the left side (from the audience point of view), mister Petrucci and Myung respectively at the right and left of the stage. Not long passes until also lead vocalist James LaBrie jogs on stage, and the crowd goes crazy.

One thing I noticed off the bat is that this band is very static when it comes to performing. They maintain almost the same positions and they hold their ground very firmly; it’s not a fault, and since they play a very technical genre it’s almost understandable, but still does hold a bit from the overall experience. One instead that doesn’t hold back is James: he jumps, runs, swings the microphone stand left and right, up and down. Now, that is a frontman with all the right moves!

Another interesting and very important aspect is that they not only delivered an amazing performance sound-wise, but also the visuals and the graphics were extremely helpful in connecting to the songs they played. “We are so great that our brother is back, Mike Portnoy!“, exclaims LaBrie before introducing “The Mirror“, where mister Rudess shows us a very cool portable keytar – what a talented artist!

Even though mister Petrucci is alone in playing guitar, the sound is very massive, and the same can be said for mister Myung on bass. Quality over quantity! I was a bit disappointed that mister LaBrie did not speak a single word in the Czech language – it’s hard, I get it, but even just thank you would have gone a long mile here. If I have to be candid, he also lacked emotion when singing. He sang everything perfectly, but without changing his intonation and timbre much. Nevertheless, I thought that he was particularly good in “Night Terror” (their latest single) and “Home” during the encore.

A funny moment happened when LaBrie and Portnoy were discussing the first time they played in Prague, which they sort of remember was during the 90s. Portnoy said “Prague was invented in Prague, the name of this town used to be jazz until 1969″; the crowd loved this little anecdote before they resumed playing “Barstool Warrior“, one of LaBrie’s favourites. There were some minor audio problems during this song, but they did not reappear during the rest of the evening.

After one hour and about 15 minutes of the show, the first part of the concert was concluded and there was a small 15-minute break. Then, an orchestra suite welcomed us back, tracing back to every single album released by the band. I really enjoyed the speech that LaBrie gave before “This Is The Life“, encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves that they can, and not settle for less. Very wise advice indeed!

During “Vacant“, I almost thought that Jordan Rudess was playing the theremin, and instead, he was simply playing his keyboard. This shows how incredible this man can be! And yes, I have a soft spot for keyboardists, so don’t blame me. He is just unreal for this world! But everything was made even better when during “The Spirit Carries On“, everyone got the phone lights on and the crowd became thousands of little dots, waving their arms at the rhythm of the music.

So if you’re still undecided on whether you should see Dream Theater live or not, just consider this. Yes, the show is more than 3 hours, but you won’t get bored. Their setlist is varied, engaging and accessible even for new fans (like myself). Long live Dream Theater!

Setlist:

1. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
2. Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
3. Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
4. The Mirror (with ‘Lie’ outro solo)
5. Panic Attack
6. Barstool Warrior
7. Hollow Years (’96 demo version)
8. Constant Motion
9. As I Am
10. Night Terror
11. Under a Glass Moon
12. This Is the Life
13. Vacant
14. Stream of Consciousness
15. Octavarium
16. Act II: Scene Six: Home
17. Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
18. Pull Me Under

Photo: Silvio Colombo.