For those of you who are not yet introduced to the wonder of Dream Theater, they are an awesome band that's been around for a while, progressive metal, sort of like a cross between Rush and Metallica. Anyway, they are one of my favorite bands, very diverse, incredible musicians, and great songwriters.
They were playing at the New York State Fairgrounds last night. I skipped practice ( 😱 ) and drove the two hours to see them. I had good seats, 19th row, but once DT started, I made my way to the front. I got a great vantage point, 2nd row, just in front of John Petrucci, the guitarist. This guy is amazing. He is right up there with Steve Vai, SRV, Clapton, Yngwie, all the best. He is phenonomal, and it's even more apparent when you're 6 feet from him. His fingers just fly, and his timing is impeccable. John Myung, the bassist, is another machine; his fingers never stop moving. And everyone else was on top of the game too. A great show. They played a cover of Yes' "Machine Messiah" which kicked my ass. Holy crap, that intro was sweet! (It was a bit heavier with DT playing it) I think that was the best part of the show, even though they also played two of my favorite songs, Stream of Consciousness, a 9-minute intrumental, and The Spirit Carries On, complete with the wicked solo and the audience singing along, lighters in the air.
At one point, after a sweet solo, JP raided both his hands into the air, illuminated with a red aura from the lights and the smoke. Picture perfect metal moment right there. He got a standing ovation after the solo in TSCO too. I overheard some conversations after their set that all went something like this:
"Hey, have you ever heard of this Dream Theater before?"
"No, man, but holy shit, their bass player is a machine!"
"Yeah, so is the guitarist."
"The keyboardist is amazing."
"Their vocalist is phenomonal!"
"The drummer had three bass drums!"
very cool 🙂
As for Yes, I wasn't too familiar with them. I knew "Roundabout," "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "I see All Good people." They played the last one, which was very cool. They also played some other really great songs that kicked my ass, such as "Your's is No Disgrace." Man, the guitar solos in that song are great. I left before their encore, as I wanted to beat the traffic, and get back early enough to get some sleep as I have a race this Saturday, but just found out today that they played a non-acoustic version of Roundabout for the encore. 🙁 I love that song! and I missed it! But I did get front row seats to see DT and got a nod from JP and a thumbs up from Mike, so it's all good.
They were playing at the New York State Fairgrounds last night. I skipped practice ( 😱 ) and drove the two hours to see them. I had good seats, 19th row, but once DT started, I made my way to the front. I got a great vantage point, 2nd row, just in front of John Petrucci, the guitarist. This guy is amazing. He is right up there with Steve Vai, SRV, Clapton, Yngwie, all the best. He is phenonomal, and it's even more apparent when you're 6 feet from him. His fingers just fly, and his timing is impeccable. John Myung, the bassist, is another machine; his fingers never stop moving. And everyone else was on top of the game too. A great show. They played a cover of Yes' "Machine Messiah" which kicked my ass. Holy crap, that intro was sweet! (It was a bit heavier with DT playing it) I think that was the best part of the show, even though they also played two of my favorite songs, Stream of Consciousness, a 9-minute intrumental, and The Spirit Carries On, complete with the wicked solo and the audience singing along, lighters in the air.
At one point, after a sweet solo, JP raided both his hands into the air, illuminated with a red aura from the lights and the smoke. Picture perfect metal moment right there. He got a standing ovation after the solo in TSCO too. I overheard some conversations after their set that all went something like this:
"Hey, have you ever heard of this Dream Theater before?"
"No, man, but holy shit, their bass player is a machine!"
"Yeah, so is the guitarist."
"The keyboardist is amazing."
"Their vocalist is phenomonal!"
"The drummer had three bass drums!"
very cool 🙂
As for Yes, I wasn't too familiar with them. I knew "Roundabout," "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "I see All Good people." They played the last one, which was very cool. They also played some other really great songs that kicked my ass, such as "Your's is No Disgrace." Man, the guitar solos in that song are great. I left before their encore, as I wanted to beat the traffic, and get back early enough to get some sleep as I have a race this Saturday, but just found out today that they played a non-acoustic version of Roundabout for the encore. 🙁 I love that song! and I missed it! But I did get front row seats to see DT and got a nod from JP and a thumbs up from Mike, so it's all good.
