Personal Dream Theater history; exciting moments from your DT n00b days

[TAC]

the first time I had seen them live was in San Diego on the Images tour and they were opening for some band and a guy came outside where we were standing and told another guy, "dude, that drummer is like Neil Peart on acid!"

Awesome!


I would say that the winter of 92/93 was a magical time and I was in full blown DT mode.

I was introduced to DT when I saw them open for Iron Maiden at the Ritz in '92. I bought I&W as soon as it came out, and it was easiyl the most interesting album that I'd ever heard. They were part clasic Rush, Maiden, even a little Helloween sprinkled in there. The lyrics were really interesting.
Between Oct 92 and March 93, I saw them 3 times. A couple of those were at Axis, a VERY small club in Boston. I stood at the stage, falling in love with the greatest band I'd ever heard or seen.
Once the VHS bootlegs started rolling in, I spent many nights just watching them and reliving the live experience. I was completely addicted. I had an hour ride to work during this time, and played I&W almost exclusively for about 6 months.

[King Postwhore]

I have so many fond memories of shows at Axis TAC.  King's X, DT, Dada, Our Lady Peace, Dishwalla.  Oh man I could go on.

I also remember holding a phone to a speaker so my friend who moved to Cali(Drummer) could check out I & W.

[TAC]

I have so many fond memories of shows at Axis TAC.  King's X, DT, Dada, Our Lady Peace, Dishwalla.  Oh man I could go on.

I also remember holding a phone to a speaker so my friend who moved to Cali(Drummer) could check out I & W.

Awesome! I saw Michael Schenker, Mr Bungle, and Anthrax there. Most of my club days were in Providence. But those DT shows were so classic.
Here's a pic of James from the December 16th show.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

When I first heard Awake. There is amazing, but that was just INCREDIBLY AND EXTREMELY amazing. Mind was blown countless times.

[Dublagent66]

When I first heard I&W, I knew that DT was gonna be big.  So yeah.......

[pmahoney1337]

I first heard Dream Theater in Rock Band, Panic Attack was the song. When I played the song on drums I failed miserably, but it was a good fail. I liked how difficult it was. Before this my favorite band was Linkin Park (there new album is awesome btw). I was never really interested in the progressive genre, so I don't know why it appealed to me so much. So then I thought maybe they'll have more stuff I'll enjoy. I looked them up and downloaded my first DT song, Home. At first I didn't like it so much, but then it got to the part when Petrucci does the guitar part that leads into the chorus. I'm no guitarist so I don't know what to call it (listen to it if you don't know what i'm talking about). This absolutely blew my mind, it was the most impressive thing I had ever hear a musician do since an Angus Young solo. Some of there stuff took some getting used to, but like everyone else is saying, the songs just kept clicking as I continued to listen to them. From there on I have absolutely loved them. Music has become a passion for me. I also started to play drums, Mike Portnoy inspired me too. Dream Theater just may be one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

[?]

BC&SL was my first DT album so The Shattered Fortress was the first 12-step suite song I heard. It was nice to find where the reprises were taken from. The Metropolis Pt. 1 references on SFAM were nice to find too.

[Jarlaxle]

A buddy of mine showed me Sacrificed Sons, and I was initially pretty disappointed, then the instrumental section with the orchestra kicked in and I started liking it more and more. I picked up 8vm and loved all of it except for Panic Attack and Never Enough. I then realised that DT had so many preceding albums, so I bought SFAM and absolutely fell in love. Later on I bought I&W and Awake and legitimately hated them. Nowadays I love I&W, but Awake still is a sore spot. I consider myself lucky to see them twice at Calgary when they did two shows during the first Progressive Nation '09(?).

[Lowdz]

In '88 when the cassette of WDADU arrived and I got to Afterlife and that solo... I remember laughing, and thinking YES!!!!!!!!! I'm going to love this band.
And then nothing...for years... and in those days, with no internet, there was no way of finding out WTF was going on. Then I was in a pub and the DJ played two songs back to back. I didn't recognise them and didn't even realise the songs were by the same band, but I loved them both. A little later I was in the toilet and the DJ came in. I asked him who those two songs were by and it was DT; Pull Me Under and Another Day, and the rest is history. I&W was bought the next day.

Best encounter I ever had in the men's toilets!

[Jarlaxle]

Also, when Learning to Live FINALLY clicked for me. It was only 4 or 5 months ago where I decided I needed to give it another listen with all the love going on for it here at DTF. The whole song is beautiful, and maybe the best work they have ever done.

[jdprsaga]

Mine is a bit funny and misleading hahaha.

first time i listen to DT was Live @ the marquee back in 93/94 dont remember exactly.. but i do remember this. a bit brief history.. i was a metallica fanboy around that time.

My brother came home with the L@M CD and told me.. listen to this band, this guys teach music to Metallica (he was meaning that they were better than metallica) but i misunderstood it and thought they were actually teachers of james, lars and kirk,  and thought they were old or so.

As i was hooked with it i thought i must share this with my friends in middle school (i was 13 maybe) so i told my friends that this guys were metallica's teacher and so..

life continued like that until one day my brother comes home with the live in Tokyo and i saw they were younger than metallica.. then i realized i was mistaken

[nikostheater]

My story..
At school i was a big big fan of Deep Purple,Pink Floyd,Iron Maiden,Guns N' Roses and such and my friends were into that similar music.
When i finished school,i went to Athens to study something and wen i came back at Christmas to see my family and friends,one of them,big fan of Deep Purple,Rainbow etc told me " you know,you should check the band named Dream Theater,they will blow you away,you must listen to the album Images And Words".
I didn't listened anything back then and when i went back in Athens i went to Metropolis cd store and goofing around i saw the cover of the I&W,i remembered what my friend told me and i bought it.I thought if he liked it so much they must be good.So i went home,i put the cd on the cd player and i listened to PMU.i thought cool song,different and interesting,good players and impressive singer.I listened to Another Day,i thought what a cool song.After that Take The Time came in,my jaw fell,when i listened to the Moore-Petrucci unison i was sold,i declared that DT from now on is my favorite group,even before Take the Time ends.
I Bought after that the EP A Change Of Seasons and i became really dedicated fan.
When i went to see them live at the Lycabettus Theater in Athens i was awestruck,i didn't believe that they were on the stage.They were absolutely fantastic.They made legions of new fans after that concert.
Icredible times..
This year i made a dream a reality..i saw them in New York at the Madison Square Garden show..
My God,50 minutes living in a dream..

[kala1928]

I had listened to DT some bit (friend was a big fan) then I finally bought my own first DT album. Live in New York.

Needless to say, once I got home, I didn't do much except sit and listen for the next 6 or so hours.

[ytserush]

This is how it happened for me:

The Spirit Of Rush Fanzine Number 8 which I bought in New York City about August 1989. On the back inside cover was a Dream Theater feature and When Dream and Day Unite album review that was reprinted from an issue of Kerrang (Never found out what issue it was).
There weren't too many recent bands recording music that I liked in the late 80s save for maybe Kings X, Queensryche, Faith No More and Living Colour.
The feature and review mentioned influences such as Rush, The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and at that time it didn't seem like anyone new was recording music with those influences so I was easily suckered in.
I couldn't find the CD anywhere and was forced to spend $17 at a mall chain store for it. I listened to it constantly for about 3 solid months until Presto came out. I never heard another word about them until I stumbled on their mispelled name on the marquee at the Ritz November 14, 1989 opening for the Hogarth-fronted Marillion's debut in New York City.
Yes, I was lucky.
Never heard a word about them again until I found a promo copy of Images and Words for $5 at a spring 1992 record show. It took me a while to get used to James' voice since I'd been listening to Charlie for about 3 years, but I got used to it. James has improved SO much since then.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this amusing quote (I'm not sure who is responsible for it but I think it was the editor) regarding When Dream And Day Unite from The Spirit Of Rush Number 9 (Fall 1989)

"The aforementioned opener (A Fortune In Lies) sums up the album completely--a dense hard rockers paradise with more time changes than the entire Rush and Yes back catalogs put together. A drummer who puts Neil Peart to shame, a vocalist fully capable of holding his own and a sound so full that it actually takes 20 plays to hear everything that's going on in the mix, and all this perfectly crafted and laid down on tape in just four weeks.
Quite frankly, this album rubbishes at least three Rush albums, and the entire Yes series, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery being the only album I can think of in the same league. I never thought it would happen, but this album makes something like Signals sound resolutely boring; I know I'm going to get hate mail for saying so, but I have to be honest...
If Geddy, Neil and Alex have heard this album, then they probably reacted in one of two ways--become blubbering nervous wrecks, in the knowledge they have some serious young competition, or (hopefully) they have pulled out their fingers in order to show that they can indeed rise to the occasion. This album will either bring out the best in our friends or finish them off..."

As a Rush fan, that quote was what sold me.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

"The aforementioned opener (A Fortune In Lies) sums up the album completely--a dense hard rockers paradise with more time changes than the entire Rush and Yes back catalogs put together. A drummer who puts Neil Peart to shame, a vocalist fully capable of holding his own and a sound so full that it actually takes 20 plays to hear everything that's going on in the mix, and all this perfectly crafted and laid down on tape in just four weeks.
Quite frankly, this album rubbishes at least three Rush albums, and the entire Yes series, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery being the only album I can think of in the same league. I never thought it would happen, but this album makes something like Signals sound resolutely boring; I know I'm going to get hate mail for saying so, but I have to be honest...
If Geddy, Neil and Alex have heard this album, then they probably reacted in one of two ways--become blubbering nervous wrecks, in the knowledge they have some serious young competition, or (hopefully) they have pulled out their fingers in order to show that they can indeed rise to the occasion. This album will either bring out the best in our friends or finish them off..."

I wonder how he reacted to I&W.

[m0hawk]

When the instrumental of Fatal Tragedy suddenly clicked. Pretty sure tears welled up in my eyes, my pants suddenly got all hot and wet, and I got a nosebleed all simultaneously.

[Freko]

I got this tape of some songs from a guitar teacher back in 96 maybe.. not sure.. under the bridge, some panthera and stuff.. and Metropolis! I just couldn´t belive what I was hearing, Labries voice and the instrumental section was unreal, I was hooked... later when Scenes From A Memory was released I had my first fail moment.. I bought it and run to my music school and plugged it into the speaker system, something was wrong tho, dunno if it was a vocal remover effect or something but it sounded like shit, I thought "what the hell is this.." forgot about it for a week.. then listened at home, and well it´s a great album!