Dream Theater live in Glasgow 8th Feb 2012

Prog rock legends Dream Theater were in Glasgow last night and it was a magnificent concert.

Things started well for me when I arrived because I was given an upgrade on my ticket. I had initially bought a cheap seat in the gallery but sadly they hadn't sold out so they moved all the gallery people down to the unsold seats in the rear circle which turned out to be a much better view for me. I was a bit disappointed in my fellow countrymen that the gig hadn't sold out - I mean this was Dream Theater, what's wrong with you guys?

I was just about to text a friend I knew from the internet when he came up to me and introduced himself. Ingvaras is a Lithuanian student studying in Edinburgh and he had come over to Glasgow for the gig. We were talking away when the stewards came over to discuss further seat changes but thankfully I was allowed to stay where I was.

The house lights went down at 8:50 and the Hans Zimmer orchestral introduction (taken from the film Inception) started up with a new cartoon of Dream Theater projected onto the three cuboid screens. I always thought these were actual cuboids based on the pictures I had seen but they were simply optical illusions.

I had brought along a setlist so knew they were going to start with Bridges in the Sky and it was an explosive start.

Myung's bass was the dominant instrument, filling the hall with a massive bass sound. I could see his fingers from my seat dancing all over his instrument, with occasional leans back. Don't tell me the man's not emotional - he's just immersed in the music.

The next song 6:00 was an inspired choice, going from a new song to a classic. The momentum seemed to go in the next few songs and I was getting annoyed with a lot of the audience as they seemed a bit muted.

However one song seemed to take things up a level and I was pleased for another reason as it was one of the setlist variations that I was hoping for. It was instantly recognisable due to its introduction and that was Root of All Evil from Octavarium. Petrucci was super human - firing off solos and power chords into the audience like Thor would deliver a lightning bolt. The audience were lapping it up every time he swung his arm out after a chord.

By this stage in the gig I was seriously impressed with the acoustics and in particular with James La Brie's vocals. I've always liked him but my admiration for him increased massively last night. Before starting the acoustic part of the show he said that he hadn't been feeling too good in the vocal department due to a cold he had suffered whilst on tour. If this was a below par performance for him then I can only imagine what he would be like at full fitness as he was incredible, especially at the end of Beneath the Surface.

The bit of the set that I had been most looking forward to were the two songs from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. They were good but they also revealed something that had become apparant as the gig went on, namely that Mangini was no Mike Portnoy. Perhaps I am being a bit unfair and judgmental, given that I have never seen Portnoy with Dream Theater but the drumming on these two songs sounded like nothing more than a competent drummer playing back Portnoy's originals. Mangini also seemed to lack the charisma of Portnoy. Furthermore, whilst Rudess is obviously a maestro on the keyboard, he seemed overshadowed by the the two John's who just dominated the sound throughout the gig.

The Spirit Carries On was the penultimate song but we were treated to an extended Petrucci guitar solo prior to it. It was very David Gilmour in its sound with Rudess backing him up with some deep chords on the keyboard. Throughout the gig, fans were just in awe of Petrucci - he truely is the greatest guitar player in rock today (bar Gilmour of course!).

The final song of the main set was Breaking All Illusions and it was an excellent song to finish off on, showcasing all the band and their prodigious talents. I feel like I have been in the presence of superhumans. Their musicianship is undeniable and I hope to see them again some time.

Setlist
Dream Is Collapsing (Hans Zimmer song intro)

Bridges in the Sky
6:00
Build Me Up, Break Me Down
Surrounded
The Root of All Evil
Drum Solo
A Fortune in Lies
Outcry

Acoustic
The Silent Man
Beneath the Surface

On the Backs of Angels
War Inside My Head
The Test that Stumped Them All
The Spirit Carries On
Breaking All Illusions

Encore:
Pull Me Under

Note: John Petrucci played an extended guitar solo before The Spirit Carries On