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Dream Theater

Live in Rosemont, IL May 13, 2008

Review by Greg Olma

Dream Theater hit the road again but this time it is more of a tour package instead of the usual concert with a support group. Titled Progressive Nation 2008, Dream Theater headlined a four band bill that consisted of bands hand picked by Mike Portnoy.  Opeth, Between The Buried And Me, and Three supported the main act and although the fans enjoyed all the groups, this was definitely a Dream Theater crowd. The title of the tour may have changed but this was really an extension of the Systematic Chaos tour.
They opened up the show with a video of themselves through the years and as the band hit the stage, they warmed up with “2008: An Ant Odyssey” which is the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme. This quickly moved into “In The Presence Of Enemies – Part 1” from Systematic Chaos. Next up, the guys performed “Beyond This Life." That was a great choice from Scenes From A Memory because they have played “Home” and “The Spirit Carries On” quite a bit on previous shows so it was nice to get a different tune. I always enjoyed the Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence CD so I was happy when they played “Misunderstood."That album is often overlooked and I’m glad they still played something from it. Taking us back to the present, James LaBrie announced “Forsaken” as their most recent video which they had playing on the giant monitor behind them.
   
Going back a bit, Dream Theater gave us a double dose from the Awake CD.  They played “Erotomania” and “Voices” back to back. The crowd (myself included) seemed to really enjoy this part of the show and we all watched in awe at the skill of playing that these five musician possess.  Seriously, these guys make it look so damn easy but the reality is that they are all masters of their craft.  Before they had a minute to catch their breath, they launched into “As I Am” from Train Of Thought.  There is something about this cut that always gets me going and it seems as though it is the heaviest of the Dream Theater catalogue. They finished off the set with “The Ministry Of Lost Souls."
   
We all knew they would come back for an encore but before they did, they played a video on the giant screen.  It was of an older 80’s style video game that had a little bit of prog elements thrown in.  Dream Theater entered the stage with a medley that consisted mostly of “Metropolis – Part 1” and “Learning To Live." Even though we have been spoiled with a whole evening of Dream Theater music on previous tours, they certainly made the most of their time and gave the fans just what we wanted.
     
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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