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Dream Theater
Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
(Sunday, March24th, 2002)
The show was sold out weeks in
advance of the event, which in the context of the 9:30 Club meant that people would
start the slow march past the id-goons at the doors at 8.00 until the lower level
became a seething mass of tightly packed, sweaty drunks, leaving the upper story
balconies open to the more timid element of the crowd (or to those smart enough to
enjoy this marathon concert sitting down, depending on how you think about these
things).
 After
treating the audience to a hearty dose of Tenacious D on the house PA system, Dream
Theater hit the stage right on time (there was no opening band), and from the first
few notes of " The Glass Prison" it was clear the fans were in for one hell of a
ride. The sound was reasonably crisp and the stage lights were adequate, without
being anything really spectacular. Gone were the multiple screens and other
theatrical production elements that characterized the "Scenes From A Memory" tour,
but not the vibe as they tore convincingly through numbers like "Strange Dj Vu" and
"The Dance Of Eternity".
 Through the course of the evening, sounds from the band's past and present were
expertly meshed, and the crowd was treated to stunning renditions of "Scarred",
"Misunderstood" and "Take The Time" (including the Derek Sherinian era arrangement
where the guitar and keyboard trade bars much a la Dixie Dregs). Not so stunning was
the way they played "Pull Me Under", with Portnoy doing a one-handed job on drums
(pun fully intended) while pretending to yawn until the number was sped-up to
thrash-like tempo on two sections for no apparent reason other than the drummer's
personal amusement.
 On
average, the whole evening could best be described as a superb, brilliant
performance by a band at the peak of their musical powers. There is no need to speak
of Petrucci, who simply concerned himself with a delivery of machine-like precision,
and Portnoy's percussive artillery was never far behind. Myung and Rudess were
simply flawless all night long, and to use the local vernacular, Labrie on more than
one occasion "tore the songs a new ass". Unfortunately, this was
punctuated by weird (and in my opinion unnecessary) bursts of adolescent humor.
Judging by the expressions of the people around me, such displays tended to
undermine the music being offered. Case in point: references to the Bangel's "Walk
Like An Egyptian" halfway through "Dance Of Eternity", and Portnoy tickling the
projection during an impressive rendition of "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence", to
name a couple of moments that left quite a few people scratching their heads.
 Before
my comments stir up all the readers of modern drummer into a frenzy of pissed-off
email, I would like to point out that I have nothing but sincere respect for Mike
Portnoy. True, maybe he overdoes the syncopation and double bass drum fills, and it
should be clear by now I'm definitely not a fan of his stage antics, but the
important fact is that he is out there, on the road and in the studio, working damn
hard. In my view, he's not only playing and making excellent music, but also
listening and trying to get other excellent and under-appreciated music heard. I
don't know many other artists who are so committed to promoting the work of others,
and his work ethic is beyond question. I believe his efforts helped to put Spock's
Beard on the European map, and I can only hope Pain Of Salvation will benefit
enormously (and deservedly) from the exposure they got during the European leg of
the 2002 World Tourbulence. Having said that, it should also be readily apparent to
readers of prog4you that I don't mince my words, and frankly, I am as entitled to
express my honest opinion as he is to make me cringe every time he clowns around
aping Trey Parker on stage. It's that simple folks, so now go right ahead and send
me your angry emails; the null device needs feeding!
Back to the matter at hand, which is the concert review
 Other entertaining moments of rare spontaneity came during Labrie's high-spirited
address to the crowd after the opening number where he said "It's great to be back
in Baltimore!, undoubtedly referring to their performance at Bohager's two years
earlier. At that point, Portnoy stepped in to greet D.C. and Virginia as well, but
his stopgap cure for the faux pas was punted by Labrie, who instantly countered by
explaining that he's Canadian, and Virginia, Maryland and D.C. are really all the
same to him, to the crowd's sincere applause and laughter. At that moment, I just
knew Christopher's Guest's ears had to be ringing. Later on, during the second half
of the show at Portnoy's request the band and everyone in the house sang happy
birthday to Juan, Portnoy's overworked drum tech. Anyone who has seen the band live
must know Juan is really not known for loafing around, and during this tour in
particular the poor guy must stand still like a hummingbird. But it was a nice
gesture, and it helped to strengthen the intimacy between performer and audience.
Overall, this was a great show. The strange juxtaposition of impressive technical
mastery with low-brow jocular bursts had a net positive effect on the crowd, who
left with a feeling of having been a part of something special. One can only hope
that sales will eventually push the band past the idiocy of US concert promoters,
because if one conclusion can be drawn from this evening, it must be that these
cretins are severely underestimating the loyalty, and perhaps more relevantly, the $ize
of the Dream Theater fan base.
One suggestion: make the merch less pricey folks! No need to take a page off the
Marillion "How to milk your fans" business book.
Reviewer: Luis Nasser
Reviewed 04/27/02
Dream Theaters Six Degrees Of Inner
Turbulence (2002) has been released
Slide on over to
Dream Theaters official website
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