Finally saw Dream Theater in Glasgow last night after about 10 years of trying. The skills of each musician are astounding. Watching john myung doubling John petrucci's guitar runs exactly on bass gives a good idea of why he's such a respected bassist. He played alot of the fast metal stuff but mixed in enough slower/more emotional playing to keep it interesting.
The venue wasn't perfect - a huge sports arena - and neither was the sound system. Overall, the 'big' sound was very good but it was often a challenge to make out individual instruments. I blame this, in part, to the popular practice of hanging strings of full range speakers from the rigging. I don't think this style of PA reproduces the music as accurately as dedicated Bass, mid and high end stacks. Also, only petrucci uses on stage speakers (for feedback effects) which I don't think works unless you're far enough from the stage to get almost a Hi-Fi stereo effect. Standing in front of the stage, inevitably alot of the music is missing.
That said, the gig was excellent. They put alot of energy into the night and played a good range of music from the new album and from just about every previous one. I know we don't often use the 'D' word on here but in my opinion, Mike Portnoy is on a par with Niel Peart for rock drumming. i took my youngest daughter along and she really enjoyed it. She's 15 and usually listens to the likes of evanescence and avril lavigne so I wasn't sure what she'd think. Both of us hated the support act - Symphony X. too much Thrash.
If Dream Theater (I can't get used to spelling it that way) are playing nearby and you like a mix of Yes and Metallica, I can thoroughly recommend that you go along.
graeme
