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*Edit: Okay...I've checked back and I 5 people have not found my review helpful. I knew my review was long, but I guess it was a little too long for people to read or understand properly. As such, I've condensed this review somewhat (even taken out a couple of unnecessary ramblings) and hopefully it will be more informative and well-received than before.
As the title of the review says, if I could give this DVD/CD 4.5 stars instead of 5, I would have. It's not perfect by any means, but it is excellent. I want to focus on three main things in this review: the band members and their performance here, the setlists on each DVD/CD, and the audio mix.
I'll start by giving an overview of each of the current members and how I feel they performed here. I'll give each of them a rating out of 5, and I'll explain why briefly in each overview.
John Petrucci (Guitars/Backing Vocals): Along with John Myung, John Petrucci is the only original member of Dream Theater still touring and recording with the band. It is worth mentioning that John has a guitar solo on this DVD/CD. Through his solo and in the songs, you can tell that he pours his heart and soul into every note he picks. Petrucci gets a 5/5 on this performance.
John Myung (Bass Guitar): As already mentioned, John Myung is one of the original members of Dream Theater. He is an absolute monster of a bass player. Some of his finger work is so fast that it literally looks sped up on some parts. Check out the 32nd notes he does on 6:00 and you'll see what I mean. Like with Petrucci, John Myung gets a 5/5 on this performance.
James LaBrie (Lead Vocals): James has developed somewhat of a mixed reputation over the years with his voice. However, despite suffering from a major setback in 1994 and seemingly developing some bad habits over the last decade, he has come a long way and has improved noticeably over the past two years. He just needs to improve his high mid range (still too nasily sounding, as you'll see during many of the songs from Images and Words/Awake that are performed here) and stick to the melody more closely and he'll be pretty much back to his old self. James gets a 3.5/5 here.
Jordan Rudess (Keyboard Instruments): The keyboard wizard himself! Jordan is definitely your stereotypical musical prodigy. Jordan is very technical on every instrument he plays here, from the Keyboard to the Continuum Board to his Ipad! Like John Petrucci and Mike, Jordan has a keyboard solo here, and it is very much a treat to see! Jordan gets a 4.5/5 on this performance.
Mike Mangini (Drums): Mike Mangini is the newest member of Dream Theater. He's incredibly technical, being able to play complex polyrhythms and pretty much fly around the kit all the while keeping time very precisely. He showcases his talent throughout the songs on this performance as well as in his solo, which he does during the first half of the main show. I'm definitely glad he joined Dream Theater, and I can't wait to see what he has to offer in the coming years. Despite a few slight timing hiccups (which every drummer has), Mike gets a 4.5/5 on this DVD/CD.
Next, I'd like to talk about the setlist on both DVDs.
The first DVD (and the first 2 CD's) contains the full show plus encore song from one of the two nights that was taped. Being that this was the tour to promote A Dramatic Turn of Events, a lot of songs from that album were played here, 7 in fact (with the other 2 being in the bonus tracks). Even so, a lot of the classics were played here, such as A Fortune in Lies, 6:00, and of course the inevitable epic (and my favorite Dream Theater song), Metropolis. The array of songs and dynamics is fairly balanced, leaning towards the louder, heavier songs as per usual with this band. As mentioned in the profiles of each band member, there are three solos on this DVD! I don't think I've seen this many on one of their live tapings yet, and each of them contributes well to the overall show. Also, a bonus is that on several songs there is a string quartet that backs up the band and gives a sound reminiscent of some of the tracks from their Score DVD. As usual, the concert ends on a high note with one of their longer, more epic songs. First, there is Breaking All Illusions, which is one of the last tracks from A Dramatic Turn of Events. Of course, no Dream Theater show is complete without an encore, and they chose Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper. Just in case I forgot to mention, the concert is just short of three hours long.
The second DVD contains all of the bonus materials. First, there are six bonus tracks. These are These Walls, Build me up; Break me down, Caught in a Web, Wait for Sleep, Far From Heaven, and Pull me under. The two songs from A Dramatic Turn of Events that were not included on the first DVD are played here. Two of the songs include the string quartet mentioned just moments ago, and they do a great job. This DVD also features a Documentary, a cartoon introduction, and a couple of other tidbits. They aren't necessary to explain, but they are cool to watch.
I bought the package that also had the CD's of the show. The CDs are simply the songs from the DVD. The first two CDs are the main show while the 3rd CD contains all of the bonus tracks. Not much to them other than that.
Finally, time for my favorite part, the mix! I don't know much about cameras and camera work, but it seemed adequate, as did the crowd interaction with the band and vice versa.
Overall the mix was quite nice. I did have a few issues, which I will talk about here. As far as the individual instruments go, I think that most of them were EQ'd, Compressed, Panned, etc. fairly well. I thought a few little things were lacking, though. For one, John's backup vocals were a tad too quiet. Also, the electric guitar was a hair too loud at times. Some of Jordan's settings were louder than others, so at times he was a hair too quiet. They should have focused on making those more consistent. The bass was also noticeably too quiet, which made the mix sound a tad empty in terms of the low end. Some VERY slight panning on the guitars and the keyboards would have been nice so that the bass would have more room. Finally, I felt the drum mix needed some slight tweaking in a couple of areas. First, the panning on some of the cymbals was a bit distracting and the big gong behind the kit should have had its own microphone (or they should've turned it up louder if it did). It sounded too "distant" and I'd like to have that "full bodied" gong sound when he hits it (which was only once or twice, but still). Also, the 26" kick drum needed a bit more low end, and the 20" gong drum needed more life. It was all "attack" and no body or low end, both of which it needed a significant amount more of. If I could have made one change to the mix overall, it would be to add in more room sound. It sounded too dry and "studio"-like. The amount of room sound on Live at Budokan was perfect and should have been used here also. Still, the mix was a lot better than on the Score DVD (where there was too much room sound and the drums were mixed TERRIBLY), so I can't complain too much.
Well, I think I covered it all as much as I can. Dream Theater continues to put out great music and live performances, and I think they've still got quite a future ahead of them. Let's all hope and pray they don't go through any more lineup changes anytime soon and that LaBrie gets his hi-mid range to sound like the rest of it, and everything will be awesome! In short, I'd recommend this DVD. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to listening to the music many more times to come. Thanks for reading!
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Terrible mix by Richard Chycki (who is this guy?)
This was a great concert! I saw this show live in San Diego. I have the Blu-ray - cd set. The CDs sound ok, but the audio mix on the Blu-ray is crap! It's the worst sounding Dream Theater live DVD or Blu-ray ever.John Petrucci needs to get Kevin Shirley back to do the Blu-ray audio mixes. Just listen to Live at Budokan - & you'll hear a world of difference between the two!Even the early DVDs sound better then this mix - just listen to Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York!Just my two cents.
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2013
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Miguel ÁngelReviewed in Mexico on October 25, 2022
Gran concierto
Es de los mejores conciertos de Dream Theater, el set-list es de lo mejor, esta edición es importada de EEUU, contiene 1 Blu Ray y 3 Cd's.Miguel ÁngelGran concierto
Reviewed in Mexico on October 25, 2022
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