2014-03-25 - Opera House - Boston, MA

[Awaken]

Amazing show! Just wow!

Agreed.  I thought each members performance was flawless. My 1st time seeing them in over 10 years and my wife's first time.  We're both still stunned at how perfect they play

[TAC]

You can really tell how much JM loves playing with MM. JM is hard to read, but he cannot hide this.

[King Postwhore]

Tim I was looking for you before the show but I couldn't find you!

[TAC]

Got there at 7:20  went right to our seats 

[rumborak]

You missed some good pre-show beer!

[King Postwhore]

He had his kids.  Not bad food either for a dive!

[EstyMaJ]

Was a great show , 6th row orchestra in front of JP made my night! ( thanks Sad Wings)
Sound was good but they were having a problem with one or some of the PA , even the orchestra was was buzzing at times but over all one of the best sounding shows I heard since I seen them at Berlkee , Cant wait to hear the mix on DVD!!!

[TAC]

You missed some good pre-show beer!

Ended the night with some Trooper beer when I got home!

[King Postwhore]

A few pictures from the show.

Walking in the the Opera House.



Before the show started.



JP soloing.



Blob's work, DT and the choir.  Perfection.



The Encore.

[rumborak]

BTW, I had forgotten what a sausage fest DT concerts are. Holy crap

[King Postwhore]

A saw a few older ladies which surprised me because there were no men with them.

[Gonza_1928DT]

Did someone recorded Overture 1928?

[Sad Wings]

Was a great show , 6th row orchestra in front of JP made my night! ( thanks Sad Wings)
Sound was good but they were having a problem with one or some of the PA , even the orchestra was was buzzing at times but over all one of the best sounding shows I heard since I seen them at Berlkee , Cant wait to hear the mix on DVD!!!

No prob. I agree about the sound. MM's snair sounded far too hissy and rattley, particularly toward the end of Trial of Tears. I could say the same for some of the YouTube clips I've seen, so I think it may be his drum setup. Aside from FAS and Illumination Theory, the orchestra and choir didn't add much, but that's not a huge surprise. This blew the Score show away, if by the Awake section alone. It was the best I've seen them and makes up for the disappointing and lopsided shows I attended on the SC tour.

[Milzinga]

Show was spectacular.  Venue more breathtaking in person. Got picture with frank solomon (before show) and eren signed my playbill (after show). Bravo eren! Orchestra played fas, il and scenes encore. Choir stood before screen on stage and elevated the songs to majestic heights. Kinda disappointed that  orchestra was hidden in pit, so only front row could see the performance. Guess we will wait for dvd to see it. Funny how this thread revived the stand v. sit debate earlier. Ive always advocated standing at rock shows but tonight would have benfitted from everyone sitting during orchestra section as the audience would have at least seen eren conducting. Glad to chat with others who traveled far (seatle, los angeles).  special tshirts commemorating tonight sold out fast, hope avail elsewhere.

Who'd you talk to from Seattle? I flew from Seattle also to see them last night. I'm curious if it was me you were talking to haha! I

[jingle.boy]

Kinda surprising the Orchestra/Choir wasn't in on the Awake set.  Sure, The Mirror and Lie don't really setup for it, but LSOAD/Scarred/SDV are perfect for it.  WTH??

[PolarizeMe]

According to the Playbill, the Concert Film was directed by Pierre and Fracois Lameroux. Not sure if they were in chage of the production per se, or if they are charged with filming the DVD. Either way, the film shots I was watching were breathtaking. This DVD will kill Luna Park.

Pierre and Francois Lameroux are part of the Fogo Labs production company. They were the ones that were involved in Rush's R30 and Snakes and Arrows Live DVDs which BTW were nicely filmed IMO. I agree with you, this DVD will blow Luna Park completely.

[Serpentor]

This show topped the Palladium show as my favorite DT concert.   Incredible set, they were flawless all night.
Had 3rd row, Orchestra Left.   The 2 rows in front of us sat for the first set which was a little weird, but maybe I'll get on the DVD because of it.  There was some guy that must of been a Berklee teacher that kept coming down the aisle watching the orchestra.  JP saw him and gave him a big smile.   Older guy, balding on top, long gray hair in back.

Ushers had no issues with people taking pics, but they would not allow videotaping.

And what a gorgeous venue for a show.

[Grizz]

Indeed, there were some PA issues. Seemed to be harsh distortion on the tweeters, most noticeable during SDV, which sounded like my beginner's Yamaha keyboard on "Brite Piano" going through my beginner's guitar amp on overdrive.

A saw a few older ladies which surprised me because there were no men with them.

Berklee parents?

Here are some sick photos, and maybe a video of IT after I edit the parts in which I hid my phone in my pocket to stand and cheer:

https://imgur.com/a/MBJ2t

[Benedettosoxfan]

I'm so glad that this got to be my first DT concert! It was a fantastic show, and I'm sure it'll only be better once the DVD comes out and some of the kinks caused by how freaking loud it was can be worked out. I think Trial of Tears was the best song to be honest. They just nailed it and it really is one of the best songs to showcase every single member of the band. My favorite one single moment might have been in Space Dye Vest when James came in absolutely slaying "There's no one to take my blame!" That was goosebump city. I really can't wait to see how Illumination Theory comes out on the DVD because I'm sure that it'll end up being my other other favorite moment 

[Serpentor]

Some pics from last night as well

[KevShmev]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

[Sad Wings]

Aww, I thought the orchestra would play on the Awake songs as well Anyway, can't wait to see/hear the recording of this show!

This. I was totally hoping we'd get an orchestrated version of Scarred. The ending just sounds epic in my head with choir and strings.

Agreed. Any chance that they were in fact playing but it was mixed too low end the PA was overtaxed? Might the sound be better on the DVD? I'm also surprised that they didn't do an improv jam or extended intro to Scarred as they have on previous tourss. Such an intro could've been boring, yes, but it also could've been fun. Will be very curious how it comes out on the DVD as it's my favorite tune from them and none of the live versions that they've released have been that spectacular.

[Shadow2222]

JP and JLB have really similar shirts! I see they all generally favor the JM-look now (almost all black) 

I remember the good ol' days when JLB had yellow pants and JP had blond and orange highlights, and of course Portnoy's colored beards 

[robwebster]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

They only did it throughout the entire Dramatic Turn of Events world tour! It makes up like four whole songs on Luna Park. Rotterdam did have a pretty special vibe to it, I bloody love that set, but I think any attempt to channel that specific vibe would be both "been there, done that," just like you said, and doomed to failure anyway. Never repeat a holiday!

I think an orchestra was just plain logical, given the album they just released. And it sounds a lot, lot tighter than Score - and more creative. The Octavarium Orchestra was basically session musicians, doing a pretty good job with limited rehearsal time. This time, they've got Eren Basbug on the case, who's been collaborating with the band for quite a while, now, and from what I gather they've had a lot more time to practice. Eager to find out just how they used that choir - that's brand new.

[TAC]

There was some guy that must of been a Berklee teacher that kept coming down the aisle watching the orchestra.  JP saw him and gave him a big smile.   Older guy, balding on top, long gray hair in back.

That was likely Frank Soloman, the band's manager. He was all over the place last night.

[Sad Wings]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

They only did it throughout the entire Dramatic Turn of Events world tour! It makes up like four whole songs on Luna Park. Rotterdam did have a pretty special vibe to it, I bloody love that set, but I think any attempt to channel that specific vibe would be both "been there, done that," just like you said, and doomed to failure anyway. Never repeat a holiday!

I think an orchestra was just plain logical, given the album they just released. And it sounds a lot, lot tighter than Score - and more creative. The Octavarium Orchestra was basically session musicians, doing a pretty good job with limited rehearsal time. This time, they've got Eren Basbug on the case, who's been collaborating with the band for quite a while, now, and from what I gather they've had a lot more time to practice. Eager to find out just how they used that choir - that's brand new.

I agree with Shmev to an extent. The only songs where the orchestra and choir made a huge impact last night were FAS and Illumination Theory. I enjoyed last nights show far more than the score show since it had a much stronger set list, but thought we could've gotten definitive versions of the last three awake songs, and I'm not sure that we did.

[Grizz]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

They only did it throughout the entire Dramatic Turn of Events world tour!

Erm, no, I think that stripped down means "sans production team." The closest thing to that done in recent years was the 2010 tour, including the one-offs and openings.

Everyone keeps saying that the orchestra played FAS. Did they really? I didn't think that they were even in the pit until at least the second set

[cramx3]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

They only did it throughout the entire Dramatic Turn of Events world tour!

Erm, no, I think that stripped down means "sans production team." The closest thing to that done in recent years was the 2010 tour, including the one-offs and openings.

Everyone keeps saying that the orchestra played FAS. Did they really? I didn't think that they were even in the pit until at least the second set

Im wondering that too, but we all know the orchestra can play it from the youtube video so it would make a lot of sense for them to be doing it.

[Buddyhunter1]

FAS was just an intro tape.
I was able to see the orchestra pit the whole show, and I can confirm that they didn't start playing at all until IT.

[JayOctavarium]

Bummer

[rumborak]

FAS was just an intro tape.
I was able to see the orchestra pit the whole show, and I can confirm that they didn't start playing at all until IT.

Well, they weren't even in the pit until after intermission

BTW, that guy who posted recently on DTF about his tribute band (the one that tries to look like DT): Let's be honest, after all those great tributes in that video segment, their band was put there for comedic relief. Everybody around me started laughing, saying stuff like "Oh god" and the like.

[Grizz]

So, I was in the bar/restaurant next door and Right Mezzanine, Row H, seat 14. Did I nearly meet anyone?

[robwebster]

Call me a spoil sport, but the whole playing with an orchestra or whatever thing is kind of a "been there, done that" thing for DT.  If they were gonna do a special show that was a bit different, I still wish they'd consider doing some stripped down shows again like the Rotterdam one from 5YIAL.  That kind of thing is waaaay overdue.

They only did it throughout the entire Dramatic Turn of Events world tour!

Erm, no, I think that stripped down means "sans production team." The closest thing to that done in recent years was the 2010 tour, including the one-offs and openings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xtbuQTPQcU

They turned off the video screens, they dialled the lights right down, how little production team do you want? That's about as sans-production-team as you can get without turning the amps off!

[EstyMaJ]

So, I was in the bar/restaurant next door and Right Mezzanine, Row H, seat 14. Did I nearly meet anyone?

I was next door eating dinner and had a couple ale's before I went in the lobby.

[rumborak]

I think realistically, what is Dream Theater, a band that has been continuously touring for 25 years, still going to do that is completely new?
What they *could* do though is do something like Pink Floyd did with Live At Pompeii, i.e. a concert at an unusual venue.